Star fund manager ups stake in AIG

By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- So-called "fund manager of the decade" Bruce Berkowitz has upped his stake in AIG, to the point that his $14 billion stock fund owns nearly a quarter of the troubled insurance company.

The Fairholme Fund, which Berkowitz manages, announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday that the fund held 32.8 million shares, or 24.3% of AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) shares not owned by the government, as of June 30 -- an increase of 7.3 million shares since April 30.

Fairholme (FAIRX) has the second largest stake in AIG after the U.S. government, which took ownership of the collapsing insurance giant when it issued what was originally an $85 billion bailout in September 2008. That government's assistance later rose to $182 billion.

Berkowitz, who was crowned Morningstar's "U.S. stock manager of the decade" earlier this year, has been bullish on financial shares, which he has predicted will stage a major rally.

After Goldman Sachs's (GS, Fortune 500) stock fell 24% after the SEC filed its fraud case against the bank in April, he called the stock a great buy. And earlier this year, he bought $700 million worth of Citi (C, Fortune 500), which is still swimming in toxic assets.

Berkowitz declined to comment on Monday's SEC filing. To top of page

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