| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 13.3% | 3.1% | 5.5% |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.9% | 16.1% | 39.0% | -38.0% | 24.0% | 34.0% |
Polen Focus Growth posted a -1.4% return in Q4 2025 versus +1.1% for the Russell 1000 Growth Index, as quality factors continued to underperform in a high-beta market environment. The managers express concern about elevated index concentration risk, with nearly two-thirds of the benchmark comprised of just 10 trillion-dollar companies whose growth is expected to slow. Portfolio activity included initiating Intuitive Surgical, a robotic surgery monopoly with accelerating procedure growth, while exiting Netflix due to regulatory and leverage concerns from its Warner Brothers acquisition, and Workday due to decelerating growth. Oracle was the primary performance drag, reversing Q3 gains amid skepticism over OpenAI financing risks tied to contracted revenues. Despite AI bubble concerns driving market volatility, the managers expect the datacenter capex cycle to continue supported by strong demand and pro-AI policy. The portfolio is intentionally diversified beyond AI themes, positioning for potential outperformance if market leadership broadens beyond the current mega-cap concentration.
Polen Focus Growth maintains a quality-focused, concentrated portfolio of high-growth companies positioned for long-term compounding, diversified beyond AI themes to capture the next generation of great growth businesses while the market remains overly concentrated in trillion-dollar mega-caps.
The managers expect the datacenter capex cycle and equity bull market to continue, driven by strong earnings, demand, and supportive policy. They believe their portfolio can deliver above average earnings growth while not relying on singular AI themes, with majority exposure outside Gen AI and datacenter themes positioned for potential outperformance if market leadership broadens.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 12 2026 | 2025 Q4 | AAPL, ABT, AMZN, GOOGL, ISRG, LLY, META, MSFT, NFLX, NOW, ORCL, SHOP, WDAY, ZTS | AI, Concentration, growth, healthcare, large cap, Quality, software |
LLY ORCL ISRG WDAY NFLX |
Despite market concerns about an AI bubble and infrastructure investment circularity, the managers believe the datacenter capex cycle should continue driven by rapid revenue and… |
| Oct 9 2025 | 2025 Q3 | AVGO, BSX, INTU, IT, NVDA, ORCL, SNPS, TMO, UBER | AI, Cloud, growth, Quality, semiconductors |
NVDA AVGO INTU BSX SNPS UBER |
Market performance remains dominated by AI enthusiasm and semiconductor strength. Polen emphasizes high-quality, durable businesses like Oracle and Broadcom, expecting AI infrastructure demand to sustain… |
| Jul 15 2025 | 2025 Q2 | AAPL, ADBE, AMZN, IDXX, NOW, ORCL, SBUX, UNH | Concentration, growth, Margins, Quality, Reinvestment |
ORCL IDXX AAPL UNH |
The commentary centers on owning a concentrated portfolio of high-quality growth businesses with durable competitive advantages and long reinvestment runways. Management believes market volatility creates… |
| Apr 14 2025 | 2025 Q1 | AON, NVDA, NVO, ORCL, SBUX, TSLA | - | - | - |
| Jan 16 2025 | 2024 Q4 | ADBE, AMZN, AVGO, CSGP, LLY, NFLX, NOW, ORCL, SHOP, TMO, TSLA, ZTS | - | - | - |
| Oct 23 2024 | 2024 Q3 | ABNB, APPL, CRM, GOOG, MSCI, NKE, NOW, NVDA, ORCL, PAYC, SHOP, TSLA | - | - | - |
| Jul 16 2024 | 2024 Q2 | AAPL, ABBY, ACN, ADSK, ALGN, AMZN, CRM, GOOG, HD, META, MSCI, MSFT, NFLX, NVDA, SPOT | - | - | - |
| May 9 2024 | 2024 Q1 | AAPL, ADBE, AMZN, META, MSFT, NFLX, NKE, NVDA, PAYC, PYPL, TSLA, ZTS | - | - | - |
| Dec 1 2024 | 2023 Q4 | AAPL, ABNB, AMZN, CRM, ILMN, MSFT, NFLX, NOW, NVDA | - | - | - |
| Oct 26 2022 | 2022 Q3 | ADBE, ILMN | - | - | - |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 |
AIAI has been integrated into RGA's research process through tools like NotebookLM, Gems in Gemini, and Claude Code. The firm views AI as a force multiplier for human judgment rather than a replacement, emphasizing the Kasparov Law principle. They believe the market narrative around AI displacement is swinging to unhelpful extremes, creating investment opportunities. |
Machine Learning Automation Software Productivity Innovation |
GLP1Eli Lilly represents the fund's exposure to the GLP-1 obesity and diabetes treatment market, which continues to show exceptional growth. Mounjaro and Zepbound sales more than doubled year-over-year, with demand continuing to outpace supply. The fund sees this as a multi-decade growth opportunity with expanding indications and sustained competitive advantages. |
Obesity Diabetes Pharmaceuticals Growth Innovation | |
QualityThe company emphasizes investing in businesses with excellent economics, durable competitive advantages, and high-integrity management. This quality focus is evident in concentrated equity holdings and operating business acquisitions. |
Durable Advantages Management Quality Economic Moats Competitive Position | |
Surgical RoboticsInitiated position in Intuitive Surgical, which maintains a de facto monopoly in soft tissue robotic surgery globally. The company has become standard of care in many surgical modalities with large barriers to entry and continues to innovate with its next generation platform driving accelerating procedure growth. |
Da Vinci Monopoly Procedures Medical Devices | |
| 2025 Q3 |
AIAI has been integrated into RGA's research process through tools like NotebookLM, Gems in Gemini, and Claude Code. The firm views AI as a force multiplier for human judgment rather than a replacement, emphasizing the Kasparov Law principle. They believe the market narrative around AI displacement is swinging to unhelpful extremes, creating investment opportunities. |
Machine Learning Automation Software Productivity Innovation |
QualityThe company emphasizes investing in businesses with excellent economics, durable competitive advantages, and high-integrity management. This quality focus is evident in concentrated equity holdings and operating business acquisitions. |
Durable Advantages Management Quality Economic Moats Competitive Position | |
SemiconductorsRGA initiated a position in Lattice Semiconductor, viewing it as an under-appreciated AI winner with immediate gains and longer-term optionality. Lattice's focus on efficiency and advantages in low-power, small footprint FPGAs position it favorably for AI servers, particularly as the only Post-Quantum Cryptography secure chips on the market. |
FPGAs Security Efficiency AI Infrastructure Programmable | |
| 2025 Q2 |
Growth |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 9, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | BSX | Boston Scientific Corp. | Health Care | Medical Devices | Bull | NYSE | Cardio devices, Category leadership, FCF, Margins, Procedure adoption | Login |
| Oct 9, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | SNPS | Synopsys Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bull | NASDAQ | Eda, margin expansion, Pricing power, Secular tailwind, switching costs | Login |
| Oct 9, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | UBER | Uber Technologies Inc. | Information Technology | Ground Transportation | Bull | NYSE | advertising, network effects, Regulatory, Subscriptions, Take rate | Login |
| Jul 15, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | ORCL | Oracle Corporation | Information Technology | Systems Software | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | cloud infrastructure, Digital transformation, Enterprise software, Omega AI, recurring revenue | Login |
| Jul 15, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | IDXX | IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. | Health Care | Health Care Equipment | Bull | NASDAQ | Animal Health, diagnostics, recurring revenue, secular growth, Veterinary | Login |
| Jul 15, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | AAPL | Apple Inc. | Information Technology | Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals | Bear | NASDAQ | AI, consumer electronics, Smartphones, supply chain, tariffs | Login |
| Jul 15, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | UNH | UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | Health Care | Managed Health Care | Bear | New York Stock Exchange | managed care, margin compression, Medical costs, Regulation, Reimbursement | Login |
| Jan 12, 2026 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | LLY | Eli Lilly and Company | Health Care | Pharmaceuticals | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Glp1, growth, innovation, pharmaceuticals, Pricing | Login |
| Jan 12, 2026 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | ORCL | Oracle Corporation | Information Technology | Application Software | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | AI, backlog, cloud, Execution, valuation | Login |
| Jan 12, 2026 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | ISRG | Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | Health Care | Health Care Equipment | Bull | NASDAQ | innovation, Monopoly, Procedures, robotics, Surgery | Login |
| Jan 12, 2026 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | WDAY | Workday, Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bear | NASDAQ | Deceleration, HCM, Maturity, Reallocation, Software | Login |
| Jan 12, 2026 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | NFLX | Netflix, Inc. | Communication Services | Movies & Entertainment | Bear | NASDAQ | acquisition, leverage, Regulation, Risk, Streaming | Login |
| Oct 9, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | NVDA | NVIDIA Corp. | Information Technology | Semiconductors | Bull | NASDAQ | AI accelerators, Ecosystem moat, FCF, hyperscaler capex, Networking | Login |
| Oct 9, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | AVGO | Broadcom Inc. | Information Technology | Semiconductors | Bull | NASDAQ | custom silicon, diversification, margin expansion, Networking, Pricing power | Login |
| Oct 9, 2025 | Fund Letters | Dan Davidowitz | INTU | Intuit Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bull | NASDAQ | ARPU, Ecosystem, Fintech attach, Pricing power, SMB software | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| AAPL | Apple Inc. represents 1.6% of company owned with cost basis of $6,255 million and market value of $61,962 million, providing $280 million in 2025 dividends. |
| ABT | Exact Sciences, which was acquired for a significant premium by Abbot Laboratories in November |
| AMZN | One company we own that we think has unique positioning to benefit from both the infrastructure and application layers is Amazon. Amazon's logistical prowess is one of the foremost moats in business today and it can and will be enhanced with AI. The company will do this in multiple ways, with better orchestration of its logistics assets and underlying cargo, as well as the buildout of more capable, sophisticated and robust robotics. Amazon is singularly well positioned to dominate the coordination layer, with AI's help, across its entire logistics network. |
| GOOGL | In the third quarter, Google, Kairos Power, and the Tennessee Valley Authority announced a major collaboration centered on a novel power purchase agreement. Google followed this announcement with another significant step forward. On October 27, Google and NextEra Energy announced plans to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center. |
| ISRG | ISRG shares appreciated in the fourth quarter after the company delivered strong Q3 results highlighting continued procedure growth and accelerating system placements. Procedure volumes rose in the mid-teens globally, with notable strength in general surgery and urology, while recurring instrument and accessory revenue grew faster than expectations. Management also reported that the early rollout of its next-generation robotic platform was tracking ahead of schedule, with utilization metrics trending positively across beta sites. |
| LLY | Eli Lilly shares were a top performer in 4Q25 after delivering strong Q3 2025 earnings in October. Revenue rose 54% year-over-year to $17.6 billion, and adjusted EPS of $7.02 beat consensus of $6.02. Growth was driven by its GLP-1 franchises, Mounjaro and Zepbound, where sales more than doubled year-over-year, alongside strength in other therapeutic areas. Management raised full-year guidance for both revenue and earnings, reinforcing investor confidence in the company's growth outlook. |
| META | On January 9, Meta Platforms unveiled a new agreement with Vistra—the largest generator of competitive electricity in the United States—as well as with TerraPower and Oklo. The announcement builds on Meta's agreement last year with Constellation Energy and positions the company to become one of the largest corporate purchasers of nuclear-generated electricity in the United States. |
| MSFT | MSFT was a detractor in 4Q25 following its fiscal first-quarter 2026 earnings report released on October 29. While results were better than expected operationally, investor reaction was driven by guidance and capital expenditure intensity rather than headline performance. Revenue grew 17% year-over-year, exceeding consensus expectations, and Azure revenue increased 39% year-over-year, also ahead of estimates. However, management guided to a sequential deceleration in Azure growth in fiscal Q2, signaling some moderation after a period of exceptional demand. |
| NFLX | NFLX was the portfolio's largest detractor in 4Q25 following investor concerns around near-term subscriber growth and rising content spending. While revenue grew approximately 10% year-over-year, management guided to slower net subscriber additions in North America and Europe after recent price increases, and margins were pressured by elevated investment in live sports and international content. |
| NOW | In the case of ServiceNow, the stock weakened following reports of a potential large acquisition while the company has also been challenged by bearish sentiment across the software as a service or SAAS segment. |
| ORCL | Investor enthusiasm for Oracle's stock in calendar year 2025 was initially driven by several multi-billion-dollar contracts it signed with leading AI companies, including OpenAI and Meta. However, in Q4 sentiment for ORCL's growth prospects shifted to skepticism, as investors began to scrutinize the return profile of the substantial capital investments required to support the approximately $500 billion of contracts signed by Oracle. Given the widening range of potential outcomes associated with Oracle's elevated capital needs, we reduced our position in ORCL during Q4. |
| SHOP | Shopify Inc. is a cloud-based software provider for multi-channel commerce. Shares rose 8.3% in the fourth quarter, finishing 2025 up 51.1% on strong financial results that outperformed Street expectations. The company is demonstrating rapid growth at scale with gross merchandise value (GMV) and revenues each growing over 30% year-on-year. |
| WDAY | Finally, we have exited our relatively small position in Workday. The company's growth has decelerated the past few quarters and the Financials segment of the business (~25% of sales) is growing slower than we believe it should be. This is a company we may revisit at a later date but, for now, feel that we have better opportunities in other areas of the portfolio. |
| ZTS | ZTS: $6B authorized August 2024; $1.5B used as of September 2025 |
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Bought | Shares Bought | % Change | Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Recent Buys Data | |||||
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Sold | Shares Sold | % Change | Weight % | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Recent Sells Data | ||||||
| Industry | Prev Quarter % | Current Quarter % | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| No industry data available | |||
