Billionaire investor Bill Ackman on Thursday blamed retail investors for the roughly 18% drop in his newly listed closed-end fund’s stock price. Shares of Pershing Square USA (PSUS.N), priced at $50 for its New York Stock Exchange debut, fell to $40.90 on Wednesday before trading up more than 6% to $43.54 on Thursday, still below the IPO price. Ackman asserted that retail investors “don’t know how to invest in IPOs,” despite having marketed the U.S. listing as an opportunity for broader access. Pershing Square USA is a stock-picking fund, managed by his company Pershing Square Inc, that aims to deliver returns through strategic equity investments.
Ackman suggested retail investors overcommitted to the IPO, received shares but then lacked the cash to pay, forcing sales for “technical reasons.” He made these comments on a call with foreign journalists from Montreal, held to comply with U.S. securities regulations. However, Ackman also noted that institutional investors accounted for over 80% of the capital, raising questions about how retail investors could be solely blamed. Investors buying five shares of Pershing Square USA were gifted one share of his management company, Pershing Square Inc (PS.N), which rose 20% to $29.18 after opening at $24.
The IPO raised $5 billion, increasing Ackman’s overall assets by 25%. He confirmed his and his employees’ commitment of approximately $500 million in cash to Pershing Square USA, with investments also from Marc Lasry and ICONIQ Capital. The new fund’s investments will closely mirror Pershing Square Holdings (PSHP.L), a London-listed fund with main holdings including Alphabet and Meta Platforms. While Ackman stated his closed-end fund averaged 25% annual returns over eight years, Pershing Square Holdings delivered an annualised 7% from 2015 through 2025, underperforming the S&P 500’s 11% increase. Ackman indicated plans to launch another fund within a year.
