Bullish on Obamacare

Larry Robbins usually describes the approach of his $6.4 billion hedge-fund firm, Glenview Capital Management, as "suggestivist," cultivating amicable working relationships with corporate management to propose shareholder-friendly changes. Now he's becoming an activist for the first time, challenging one of his holdings in a proxy contest that is under way. The switch in tactics isn't the result of any shortfall in Glenview's performance. Its flagship, the $4.8 billion Glenview fund, returned 26.8% last year, and over 10 years has provided an annualized 13.4% gain to its investors, due in large part to Robbins' focus on health-care stocks. His 13-year-old firm today has 72 employees and occupies the 44th floor of the prestigious General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue. He's the rare Wall Streeter who likes the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, which extends insurance coverage to all US citizens. Robbins' push for changes stems from his belief that hospitals are "underleveraged" and should be buying back stock.