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Li Lu's Q1 2026 13F moves

By HoldLens EditorialPublished May 28, 2026

TL;DR

Himalaya Capital's Q1 2026 13F-HR (filed 2026-05-15) shows Li Lu cutting his 15-year Bank of America anchor by 71% — the position drops from roughly 28.6% of the book to 4.6%, his most significant single-position cut in years. The freed capital fans out into four brand-new positions — Moody's, MSCI, Tencent Music, and H&R Block — plus a 41% add to Crocs. The book stays highly concentrated: Alphabet (Class A + C) is now nearly 45% combined, with Pinduoduo, Berkshire Hathaway, and East West Bancorp held unchanged. Notably he kept East West Bancorp — another bank — so the BAC trim is position-specific, not a banking-sector exit. Every move is reconstructable from EDGAR using Form 13F-HR.

The Q1 2026 picture

Li Lu — Charlie Munger's protégé, whom Munger called “the Asian Warren Buffett” and to whom he entrusted a large share of his personal capital — runs one of the most concentrated, lowest-turnover portfolios HoldLens tracks. Himalaya Capital typically holds a dozen-or-so names for years at a time. That is what makes the Q1 2026 13F notable: it contains the kind of decisive reshaping Li Lu almost never makes.

The single dominant move is the Bank of America trim. BAC had been one of Himalaya's largest positions and its longest-held name (since 2009), built up across multiple consecutive quarters. In Q1 2026 it was cut by 71% of its share count — roughly 7.4 million shares sold — collapsing its portfolio weight from about 28.6% at the end of Q4 2025 to 4.6%. For an investor whose entire reputation rests on conviction and patience, taking a 15-year, quarter-of-the-book anchor down to a small residual is the headline.

The Bank of America trim (the headline)

Bank of America (BAC) — trimmed 71% by share count (~7.4M shares sold). Resulting portfolio weight: ~28.6% (end Q4 2025) → 4.6% (Q1 2026). A 15-year top holding reduced to a residual position in a single quarter. The capital did not exit the portfolio — it redistributed into the new positions below and re-weighted the long-held names.

Four new positions (where the capital went)

Moody's (MCO) — brand-new at 1.6% of the book (~118k shares). A wide-moat credit-ratings franchise with toll-booth economics — exactly the kind of durable-quality compounder the Munger/Buffett school favors.
MSCI Inc. (MSCI) — brand-new at 0.3% (~19k shares). The index and analytics franchise, another toll-booth data business. A small starter position.
Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) — brand-new at 1.9% (~6.6M shares). It deepens Li Lu's China exposure, which already runs through his large Pinduoduo position — consistent with the China expertise he is known for.
H&R Block (HRB) — brand-new at 1.6% (~1.6M shares). A cash-generative, capital-returning consumer-tax franchise.

Add + holds

Crocs (CROX) — added 41% by share count (~259k shares), bringing the position to 2.3% of the book.
Alphabet (GOOGL ~23.2% + GOOG ~22.3%), Pinduoduo (PDD ~14.9%), Berkshire Hathaway (~13.7%), East West Bancorp (EWBC ~9.4%), Occidental (~3.0%), Apple (~0.9%) — no reported Q1 change. These long-held positions did not trade this quarter; with BAC cut to 4.6%, they become a larger share of the book, and Alphabet's two share classes now make up nearly 45% of the portfolio between them. Notably, East West Bancorp — also a bank — was left untouched, so the BAC reduction is a position-specific call, not a retreat from the banking sector.

What the pattern signals

The shape of the quarter is a position-specific exit from the BAC anchor, not a broad de-concentration. The book stays intensely concentrated — Alphabet's two share classes alone are near 45%, and Pinduoduo, Berkshire, and East West Bancorp round out a top-heavy portfolio. What changed is that the single oldest holding was cut down and the proceeds seeded four small, durable franchises: Moody's and MSCI are textbook wide-moat “toll-booth” data businesses, Tencent Music adds China exposure alongside the long-held Pinduoduo stake, and H&R Block is a cash-generative consumer franchise. Himalaya added names this quarter rather than thinning the book.

The 13F alone cannot tell us why. The BAC trim could be valuation discipline after a long run, or a reallocation toward businesses Li Lu rates as higher-quality at current prices. One thing it is not: a retreat from banking — East West Bancorp, a 9.4% position, was left untouched. The public record establishes the direction: the 15-year BAC anchor is no longer a core position, while the Alphabet-and-China core remains firmly in place.

For comparison, this quarter's recaps show several distinct value-investor moves. Chris Hohn gutted Microsoft to deepen GE + Visa. Warren Buffett ran Berkshire's most active quarter in years. David Tepper rotated China into US tech. Li Lu's version is a de-concentration of his single largest, longest-held anchor — a different signature from a manager who almost never makes one.

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How to verify this yourself

Every position change above is reconstructable from public SEC EDGAR filings. Steps:

Open Himalaya Capital Management's 13F-HR filing history on EDGAR (CIK 0001709323).
Compare the Q1 2026 13F (filed 2026-05-15, report date 2026-03-31) line-by-line against the Q4 2025 13F (filed Feb 2026).
Position changes appear as: decreased share counts (the Bank of America trim is the headline), new CUSIP rows (Moody's, MSCI, Tencent Music, H&R Block are all new), and increased share counts (the Crocs add).
Cross-reference with HoldLens's machine-readable /api/v1/snapshot/2026-Q1.json and the live Li Lu portfolio page.

Our view

For most managers, a 71% trim of a major position would be unremarkable. For Li Lu it is the loudest signal the 13F can carry, precisely because he so rarely moves. Cutting his 15-year Bank of America anchor from ~28.6% to 4.6% is the headline — but read it carefully: this is not a turn toward diversification. Alphabet's two share classes alone are near 45% of the book, and the China-heavy, top-concentrated character is fully intact. What we see is the patient retirement of the single oldest position into four small quality-franchise starters, not a fire sale. Whether the call proves correct is something only time and subsequent filings can answer; the public record tells us how Himalaya is positioned right now — the BAC anchor is no longer core, while the Alphabet-and-China conviction stays firmly in place.

Famous trades — the public-record case studies

Six historical trades reconstructable from SEC EDGAR alone. Each essay traces the trade through 13F + Form 4 + DEF 14A filings.

Warren Buffett's Coca-Cola trade

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Warren Buffett's Apple position

Berkshire's 2016-onward AAPL accumulation — largest equity position in firm history.

Warren Buffett's Bank of America 2011 deal

The $5B preferred + 700M-share warrants at $7.14 strike. ~$13B paper gain at 2017 exercise.

David Tepper's 2009 bank trade

Appaloosa's $2B March 2009 distressed-bank bet (BAC + C + AIG). ~$7B returned. $4B Tepper payday.

Michael Burry's Big Short

Scion Capital's 2005-2008 subprime CDS trade — ~489% net return.

Bill Ackman's Herbalife short

Pershing Square's 2012-2018 multi-year activist campaign.

Black Wednesday — the Quantum Fund pound trade

September 16, 1992. The single-day macro trade that broke the Bank of England.

Charlie Munger's Costco position

1997-2023 hold + board seat — the canonical long-duration value position.

Carl Icahn's Apple buyback campaign

2013-2016 long-side activism — public letter to Tim Cook, ~$2B realized gain.

See all 6 essays in the Famous Trades collection →

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