Seth Klarman’s Baupost makes Amazon top holding, starts Aon and Visa stakes

Seth Klarman's Baupost Group continued searching for opportunities amid elevated valuations tied to the AI-driven rally in U.S. stocks, hiking its stake in Amazon and adding new picks including Aon and Visa . The hedge fund, with more than $20 billion in assets , boosted its stake in Amazon by 47% in the first quarter, making the e-commerce and cloud-computing giant the hedge fund's largest disclosed U.S. equity holding at the end of March, according to a new regulatory filing. The Boston-based investment firm also initiated sizable new positions in insurance broker Aon, payments giant Visa and medical-device maker Teleflex , according to a regulatory filing released Thursday. Baupost's Amazon stake was valued at roughly $650 million at the end of the quarter, topping longtime holdings including Restaurant Brands , Wesco International and Union Pacific . The fund also increased its positions in Alphabet and Ferguson Enterprises , while trimming stakes in Union Pacific and Willis Towers Watson . Klarman, a longtime follower of Benjamin Graham's value-investing philosophy, is known for taking a patient and often contrarian approach to markets. The 67-year-old investor has frequently been compared to Warren Buffett, earning the nickname "Oracle of Boston" in investing circles. …