4Q2025 - Global Growth Commentary
Our quality focused approach encountered headwinds as high beta stocks regained market leadership, and shifting sentiment around the AI trade contributed to performance that trailed the broader index.
- The fourth quarter of 2025 felt like a microcosm of the year. Much like the tariff related drawdown in the first quarter that was followed by a V shaped recovery, the period saw a sharp 5% sell off that was quickly erased as global stocks returned to all time highs.
- Our emphasis on quality growth investing was challenged by the market’s preference for high-beta growth stocks, contributing to underperformance relative to broader indexes during the quarter.
- Top relative contributors to the Portfolio’s performance included Eli Lilly, Alphabet, and Shopify.
- Top absolute contributors were Eli Lilly, Alphabet, and TSMC.
- The largest relative and absolute detractors in the quarter were Oracle, Paycom Software, and CoStar Group.
- During the quarter, we established new positions in Tencent Holdings and Spotify and added to several existing holdings to capture emerging opportunities and evolving company fundamentals.
- To fund these investments and optimize portfolio positioning, we eliminated positions in Sage Group, Willis Towers Watson, ICON Plc, and Workday, and trimmed selected exposures across the Portfolio.