Druckenmiller says he bought five Argentinian stocks, praises Javier Milei's policies

Published Tue, May 7 20249:12 AM EDTUpdated Tue, May 7 202412:48 PM EDT

Jesse Pound @/in/jesse-pound @jesserpound

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller said Tuesday that he has been finding ways to invest in Argentina as the country has shifted to a more capitalistic approach after last year's presidential change. Druckenmiller said on CNBC's " Squawk Box " that he has been impressed with the country's new president, Javier Milei, a self-described "anarcho-capitalist" who was previously an economist and radio host. "The only free market leader in the world right now, bizarrely, is in Argentina of all places," Druckenmiller said. Milei took office in December, promising economic reforms after inflation hit Argentina hard. Druckenmiller said he saw the leader's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January and decided to buy the five most liquid American Depositary Receipts for Argentinian companies. ADRs are certificates representing foreign stock that trade in the U.S. "I followed the old Soros rule of 'invest, and then investigate.' I bought all of them, we did some work on them, I increased my positions," Druckenmiller said. The investor did not specify which shares he bought, and the Duquesne Family Office, which he runs, has not yet released its first-quarter holdings report. The biggest Argentinian stocks in the U.S. — whether ADRs or primary listings — include YPF , Grupo Supervielle , Lithium Americas , Arcos Dorados , Banco BBVA Argentina , MercadoLibre , Grupo Financiero Galicia , and Banco Macro . Six of those eight names are positive year to date, with financial stocks performing particularly well, as Milei has enacted heavy cuts to public spending. "So far, it's been great, but we'll see. I don't know how much time the populace is going to give this guy, but so far his popularity has maintained," Druckenmiller said. ARGT 1D mountain The Global X MSCI Argentina ETF rose on Tuesday morning. Some traders may have decided to follow Druckenmiller's lead on Tuesday. The Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT) , which includes many of the stocks listed above, rose more than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday. Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Grupo Supervielle.