| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 12.8% | 1.3% | 10.2% |
| 2025 |
|---|
| 10.2% |
The BNY Mellon Appreciation Fund underperformed the S&P 500 in Q4 2025, returning 1.33% versus 2.66% for the index. The quarter was marked by strong corporate earnings driving market gains despite growing risks including potential AI bubble concerns, rising unemployment, and trade policy uncertainty. Technology companies reported robust revenue growth and pledged increased capital expenditures, with over $1 trillion in AI-related partnerships announced. However, investors became more discerning of AI investments, evidenced by muted response to strong NVIDIA earnings. Consumer bifurcation intensified with higher-income consumers spending broadly while lower-income consumers traded down. The Fed cut rates twice by 25 basis points each, bringing the federal funds rate to 3.50-3.75%. U.S.-China trade relations showed signs of thawing with de-escalatory moves and approval of scaled-down AI chip sales. The fund maintains its investment philosophy of focusing on industry-leading businesses capable of consistent earnings growth through business cycles, remaining confident despite unprecedented uncertainty and volatility from global policy transformations.
Focus on industry-leading businesses that can consistently grow earnings through various business cycles, maintaining investment discipline during periods of political and economic transformation.
The Fund maintains confidence in industry-leading businesses and believes long-term value is driven by companies that can consistently grow earnings through various business cycles. The investment philosophy remains consistent during periods of political and economic transformation.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 18 2026 | 2025 Q4 | AAPL, AMZN, ASML, BA.L, ETN, GOOGL, INTU, ISRG, LLY, MC.PA, META, MSFT, NOW, NVDA, TSM, V | AI, consumer, earnings, Fed policy, large cap, technology, Trade Policy, volatility | - | Technology companies reported strong revenue and earnings growth with pledged increases in capital expenditures as computing demand outstrips supply. Over $1 trillion in partnerships between… |
| Oct 21 2025 | 2025 Q3 | - | AI, Large Caps, tariffs, technology, Trade |
MSFT NVDA ASML NA TSM INTU |
The fund underperformed the S&P 500 as mega-cap AI and tech stocks drove market gains. AI infrastructure spending and resilient earnings offset tariff pressures, with… |
| Jul 15 2025 | 2025 Q2 | - | AI investment, earnings, global leaders, growth, volatility | - | The letter emphasizes long-term growth investing in dominant global franchises across technology and industrial sectors. Despite tariff-driven volatility, strong earnings growth and AI investment underpin… |
| Mar 31 2025 | 2025 Q1 | - | - | - | - |
| Dec 31 2024 | 2024 Q4 | - | - | - | - |
| Jun 30 2024 | 2024 Q2 | - | - | - | - |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 |
AIAI has become a dominant theme across major equity indices, with Nvidia leading the S&P 500, ASML dominating MSCI EAFE, and TSMC leading emerging markets. The fund benefited from AI-related dynamics, particularly through Samsung's memory products experiencing substantial price increases due to DRAM shortages driven by AI demand. |
Semiconductors Memory DRAM Technology Nvidia |
Data CentersComfort Systems USA benefited from robust demand for data centers and AI-related infrastructure, with the company reporting stronger-than-expected revenue driven by this demand. |
Infrastructure Technology Construction AI Revenue | |
Trade DownDollar General delivered strong same-store sales and margin improvement as customers traded down from grocery and pharmacy channels. This trade-down behavior provided a tailwind to margins that are expected to persist into 2026. |
Discount Retail Consumer Margins Traffic | |
Trade PolicyTariff headwinds are set to peak in 4Q25 with most tariffs having been paused and only starting to have economic effect at the end of 3Q25. US tariff collections have spiked to an annualized run rate of over US $300 billion which could effectively add up to 2.0 percent of GDP fiscal drag on the consumer. |
Inflation Growth Policy | |
| 2025 Q3 |
AIAI has become a dominant theme across major equity indices, with Nvidia leading the S&P 500, ASML dominating MSCI EAFE, and TSMC leading emerging markets. The fund benefited from AI-related dynamics, particularly through Samsung's memory products experiencing substantial price increases due to DRAM shortages driven by AI demand. |
Semiconductors Memory DRAM Technology Nvidia |
Technology |
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Trade |
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| 2025 Q2 |
Growth |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 21, 2025 | Fund Letters | Alan R.Christensen | ASML NA | ASML Holding N.V. | Information Technology | Semiconductor Equipment | Bull | Euronext Stock Exchange | AI, backlog, Equipment, Euv, Margins, Monopoly, semiconductors | Login |
| Oct 21, 2025 | Fund Letters | Alan R.Christensen | TSM | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company | Information Technology | Semiconductors | Bull | NYSE | AI, Capacity, Foundry, growth, Margins, Pricing, semiconductors | Login |
| Oct 21, 2025 | Fund Letters | Alan R.Christensen | INTU | Intuit Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bear | NASDAQ | Automation, Deceleration, guidance, SMB, Software, valuation | Login |
| Oct 21, 2025 | Fund Letters | Alan R.Christensen | MSFT | Microsoft Corporation | Information Technology | System Software | Bull | NASDAQ | AI, buybacks, cloud, enterprise, growth, Margins, Software | Login |
| Oct 21, 2025 | Fund Letters | Alan R.Christensen | NVDA | NVIDIA Corporation | Information Technology | Semiconductors | Bull | NASDAQ | AI, datacenter, GPUs, growth, leadership, Margins, semiconductors | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| AAPL | The largest 10 companies, by market capitalization, had reached 40.7% of the S&P 500 by the end of 2025, up from roughly 30% at the end of 2021. At the top of this list are Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Broadcom (AVGO), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA). Apple: Market capitalization near $4 trillion. A double requires creating a company larger than the size of Walmart, JPMorgan, and Pfizer combined. |
| AMZN | We added to our holdings in Amazon.com Inc. |
| ASML | ASML is the largest constituent of the MSCI EAFE Index as the critical toolmaker in the AI ecosystem. |
| BA.L | defence contractors such as the UK's BAE, Italy's Leonardo, and France's Thales, which declined on the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Russia-Ukraine war |
| ETN | Eaton's shares pulled back in August following strong performance through July. Like many companies in the industrials complex, Eaton's results did not exceed very high investor expectations. Moving into 2026, we anticipate accelerated growth for the company that is tied to strong trends in data center, aerospace, and defense markets. |
| GOOGL | I'm willing to go bankrupt rather than lose this race. Larry Page, co-founder of Google |
| INTU | ServiceNow (NOW) and Intuit (INTU) exemplify this dynamic, advancing meaningful AI initiatives that enhance customer value and deepen competitive advantages. Intuit is deploying intelligent agents and conversational tools like 'Ask Anything' to simplify complex financial tasks across QuickBooks and TurboTax. |
| ISRG | We were pleased to see patience rewarded with a bounce back in various healthcare concerns such as Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX), which posted meaningful gains. |
| LLY | Healthcare added meaningfully through Eli Lilly following a deal the company did with the US administration to reduce the price of its GLP-1 drugs in exchange for tariff relief. |
| MC.PA | LVMH was supported by improving trends in Asia and the resilience of its leading brands after a period of weaker demand for luxury goods. |
| META | Meta was cited as a larger position that contributed little despite what I thought was positive operating progress, representing opportunity cost in the portfolio. |
| MSFT | OpenAI's well-documented 'circular' funding with its business partners (NVIDIA, Microsoft, among others) is additional cause for concern. |
| 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. |
| NVDA | Nvidia sits at the top of the S&P 500 as the designer in the AI ecosystem. |
| TSM | TSMC leads the MSCI Emerging Markets Index as the manufacturer in the AI ecosystem. |
| V | We added to our holdings in Visa Inc. |
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Bought | Shares Bought | % Change | Weight % |
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