By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - David Einhorn's GreenlightCapital has added to its investment position in Apple Inc and is waiting for the company's "next blockbusterproduct," Einhorn said on Tuesday.
In a conference call for his Cayman Islands-based reinsurerGreenlight Capital Re Ltd, Einhorn did not specify whenthe hedge fund added to its Apple position or the size of itscurrent holdings.
At the end of 2012, the $8.8 billion Greenlight Capital held1.3 million Apple shares, according to a regulatory filing. Atthe market close on Monday, the shares were worth about $600million.
Einhorn, one of the $2 trillion hedge fund industry's mostclosely watched investors, had been pushing Apple to return someof its massive cash pile to investors.
He said Apple's roughly 17 percent stock price decline inthe first quarter led to the biggest loss in the Greenlightinvestment portfolio in the period.
He added, however, that Apple took a "major step forward" byissuing $17 billion in bonds on April 30, and that its recentplan to return $100 billion to shareholders via an increase inits dividend and share buybacks is a "vastly moreshareholder-friendly" policy than it had a few months ago.
"We've added to our Apple position. Now we just wait for therelease of Apple's next blockbuster product," Einhorn said.
The hedge fund manager, who has a bullish stance on gold,said he was "somewhat surprised" by the decline in gold pricesin April. Over a two-week stretch last month, the price of goldfell 17 percent. It plunged $125 on April 15, its biggest-everdaily loss.
But Einhorn said the recent regime change at the Bank ofJapan supports his outlook for a weaker yen and strongergold. He was referring to the appointment of new governorHaruhiko Kuroda, who committed the central bank to a $1.4trillion burst of monetary stimulus to fight deflation, mainlythrough purchases of long-term Japanese government bonds.
"We believe that recent events, including the regime changeat the Bank of Japan, support our long-term thesis of both aweaker yen and stronger gold," Einhorn said.
He said about a quarter of his investment portfolio's 5.8percent return in the first quarter came from bets on aweakening yen. He also said the gains from that wager have "morethan offset" the quarterly decline in gold prices.
Einhorn also said gains in Marvell Technology Group Ltd and Vodafone boosted the investment return. Hesaid investors have focused on Marvell's strong product pipelineand buyback plan, while Verizon's aim to buy Vodafone's45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless has lifted Vodafone shares.
Einhorn is chairman of Greenlight Re. Hedge funds areturning to reinsurers to become a permanent source of capitalthat is not subject to investor withdrawals. The reinsurers usetheir premiums to take positions in the hedge funds that setthem up.
Vodafone (VOD)