After graduating from the University of Virginia, James Dondero began a career in finance and investments. Jim Dondero worked for a variety of companies for several years in different roles, including analyst, Chief Investment Officer, portfolio manager and corporate bond analyst. He had these positions are companies such as American Express, a Protective Life GIC subsidiary and the Morgan Guaranty training program. Over the course of his career, Jim got certified as a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Certified Management Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant.
Jim Dondero founded Highland Capital Management in 1993. The fund had previously been the Protective Life GIC subsidiary that Jim Dondero had served as the Chief Investment Officer for. Jim then bought the company out and turned it into his own investment firm. In 1996, the firm began to stand out as a leader in the market when they started one of the very first non-bank collateralized loan obligations. In the 2 decades since their first CLO, Highland Capital and Dondero have managed to structure and monitor 39 CLOs and CDOs. The total asset value that was created is equivalent to 32 billion dollars, making Highland Capital the world’s largest CLO manager in the world.
Octa Finance recently took a look at the activity going on at Highland Capital. The online newspaper analyzed the company’s most recently filed 13F, which was filed for the third quarter of 2015. During the third quarter of 2015, Highland Capital Management saw a significant amount of change. The article discussed how the fund increased its positions in several stocks and sold out of quite a few as well.
The fund increased its position in Ldr Hldg Corp, Burlington Stores Inc, Salesforce Com Inc, Corning Inc, Kinder Morgan Inc Del, Patterson Companies Inc and American Airls Group Inc. The fund sold out its stakes in Laboratory Corp Amer Hldgs, Envision Healthcare Hldgs In, Mckesson Corp, Nexpoint Cr Strategis Fd and Spdr Series Trust.
The firm’s filing also revealed what its portfolio was worth at the end of quarter. By the end of the third quarter the portfolio’s value was down by 1.49 billion dollars from the second quarter’s 4.91 billion dollars. This amount represents the fund’s equity exposure and only accounts for roughly 22 percent of the firm’s assets under management, which is roughly 15 billion dollars.
Follow Jim on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on Highland Capital’s holdings.
