Copycats May Beat `Smart Guys' Buffett, Soros: Chart of the Day

By Michael Patterson and Alexis Xydias

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Investors may have the chance to make more money on NRG Energy Inc. and Petroleo Brasileiro SA than billionaires Warren Buffett and George Soros do.

NRG closed yesterday at $35.22 in New York trading, 8.2 percent below its lowest price during the second quarter, when Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. purchased 3.24 million shares. Petrobras's American depositary receipts ended the day at $50.68, 22 percent less than their average price last quarter and just 21 cents above their low in the period, when Soros Fund Management LLC bought an $811 million stake.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows the one-year performance of NRG, the second-biggest power producer in Texas, and Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled oil company. The yellow lines mark when Buffett and Soros bought their stakes and the average and lowest prices for the period. Both purchases were reported yesterday in regulatory filings.

``Buffett and Soros have proven to be the smartest guys in the room,'' said Ioan Smith, a vice president at Knight Equity Markets International Ltd. in London. ``This is a chance for copycats to shine.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Patterson in London at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net; Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.