Soros Fund Management buys new stakes in financials

BOSTON (Reuters) - Soros Fund Management, the firm that invests the personal fortune of billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, took a handful of new positions in financial stocks during the fourth quarter as the sector was buoyed by Donald Trump's presidential victory.

The New York-based firm disclosed a $14.9 million position in Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and made a new bet on Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) worth $3.9 million. One of its biggest buys during the last three months of 2016 was a call option on the S&P Select Sector SPDR Fund - Financial Sector worth $72.6 million.

A number of asset managers bought into financial stocks during the final months of 2016 after Trump's surprise victory suggested that tax cuts and a reduction of regulatory burdens plus higher interest rates could benefit the financial sector.

Soros recently hired UBS executive Dawn Fitzpatrick to be the firm's chief investment officer, putting a woman in charge of his portfolio for the first time.

Soros sold his entire stake in Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), while Trian Fund Management bought a stake worth $3.5 billion in the company.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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