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Ever wanted to manage your portfolio like your very own hedge fund? If so, then there's no reason to re-invent the wheel. There are thousands of pro investors who live by a simple imperative: earn or die. One strategy for building your own wealth, therefore, is to select a few with proven track records, concentrated portfolios, and low turnover, and pore over their quarterly regulatory statements.

In a recent Barron's article, Andrew Barry found five such mavericks and the names that were among their top holdings as of September 30, when the last 13-F reports were filed. Sure, your timing might be off because the information is 45 days old, but these investments can at least shed light on what the best brains are thinking and possibly indicate similar plays in hot sectors.

Appaloosa Management (David Tepper)

According to Barry's piece, Tepper's $4 billion fund is up by around 25% this year, based on shrewd investments in tech shares such as Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) – which are each up by more than half – and big daddy Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). As of his last filing, Tepper also held positions in Micron Technology (NYSE: MU), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TI). His largest holding was in the tech-heavy ETF Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares; he's also scored some turnaround wealth with airlines AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL).

Greenlight Capital (David Einhorn)

The highlight of Einhorn's Greenlight fund, which was up 23% for the year as of last month, was Freescale Semiconductor, which rose 58% the year before a $17 billion LBO took it private. Barry's piece also indicates that Einhorn's 13-F showed holdings in Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP) and Hospira (NYSE: HSP), spin-offs from American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), respectively. Einhorn has also ridden Microsoft up from $23 to $29.

Lone Pine Capital (Steve Mandel)

Lone Pine, buoyed by nice results from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL), has returned around 25% annually over the past eight years and risen in value to $8 billion. Mandel has since sold off some of Google on valuation, but in the third quarter he bought more Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and opened a holding in Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB). Mandel also recently sold out of Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) and America Movil (NASDAQ: AMOV).

ESL Investment Management (Ed Lampert)

Lampert, one of the key figures in the merger between Kmart and Sears, owns $10.3 billion alone (or over 40%) of Sears Holdings, which has soared tenfold over the last three years. According to Barry, Lampert likes retailers to grow profits at existing stores rather than to expand mindshare with too many locations; this is why ESL holds Autozone (NYSE: AZO) and Autonation (NYSE: AN), which are the remaining two equities he holds – testimony to Lampert's plan of intense focus.

Icahn Partners (Carl Icahn)

And lastly, to Big Carl. Icahn's lives up to his iconic last name not just from his corporate activism, but also from the success of his fund (which is up 30% this year). Icahn's reaped some nice profits from Kerr-McGee (NYSE: MCG), which was bought by Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) this year, Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) and ImClone Systems (NASDAQ: IMCL). He's also famously involved with Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), whose stock, his biggest stake, is up 16% this year.

Of course, the strategy of following around the big dogs has pitfalls. For one, it's not like this is anything new. Everyone's been looking over everyone else's shoulders since the Buttonwood Agreement, and some investors might be scared off by herd mentality. If your stock becomes a "hedge-fund hotel," a selling frenzy could set off huge ripple effects. Like Pfizer (NYSE: PFE). You're not going to rake in the billions, and you won't have the access that the world's Icahns have, but if you're looking for big-cap ideas that have paid off well, it current hurt to draw off the wake of the biggest boats.