Not even billionaire John Paulson, one of the best-known gold bulls, positioned himself to benefit from this year’s rally.

The hedge-fund manager’s firm, Paulson & Co., cut its stake in the world’s biggest exchange-traded product backed by bullion by 37 percent last quarter. The holding was 5.8 million shares in SPDR Gold Shares at the end of the fourth quarter, compared with 9.23 million in the three months ended September, a government filing showed.