The curated database of hedge funds that publish investor letters. Research by geography, strategy, and schools of thought.
| # | Fund | Strategy | Style | Geography | AUM | Latest Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The 1290 Avantis U.S. Large Cap Growth Fund aims to deliver strong performance by investing in large-capitalization U.S. growth equities, specifically focusing on those with higher book-to-market ratios and robust profitability characteristics. During the second quarter of 2026, the overall U.S. stock market experienced robust gains, recovering from a weak first quarter. Growth equities outperformed their value-style counterparts across all capitalization categories, with small-cap growth stocks leading the overall market. Despite this favorable absolute market environment, the Fund underperformed its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index. This relative underperformance was primarily driven by the Fund's systematic focus on valuation metrics. The Fund maintained an overweight position in companies with higher book-to-market and profitability metrics, which detracted from performance because companies with the weakest valuation and profitability characteristics led the market rebound.
Investing in large-cap US growth equities with strong profitability and attractive valuation characteristics to generate superior long-term returns.
The investment manager expects solid economic growth to persist, fueled by capital spending, supportive housing legislation, reshoring of manufacturing, and increased research and development. Rather than a market sell-off, they anticipate that the current environment of extreme mega-cap crowding will resolve through a continued market broadening where under-owned small- and micro-cap companies participate positively.
As of Jul 25, 2026
Managed by Equitable Investment Management Group, LLC and sub-advised by American Century Investments through its Avantis Investors division. The fund underwent repositioning on November 29, 2023, transitioning from its previous structure as a fund-of-funds to its current systematic equity strategy.
The fund seeks long-term growth of capital through systematic factor-based investing in large capitalization U.S. growth companies. Avantis emphasizes securities of companies with more attractive profitability and valuation characteristics to enhance expected returns and reduce exposure to lower-performing securities. The strategy targets companies identified by relatively high book-to-price ratios or membership in the Russell 1000® Growth Index, utilizing a disciplined approach to identify companies expected to deliver above-average returns within the large-cap growth universe.
Lead Portfolio Manager
Eduardo Repetto
Managing Partner
Neutral / Balanced
Market Conviction
Although the fund has high conviction in the small-cap asset class, the letter contains broad sector-level and macro discussions without naming, sizing, or pitching specific individual stock positions, indicating a highly diversified, low-concentration strategy.
Growth Outlook
The fund is highly optimistic about the forward environment, expecting resilient economic growth, solid employment levels, and a continuation of the market's broadening trend rather than a corrective sell-off.
Risk Appetite
The fund exhibits a strong risk-on bias, maintaining active positioning in highly cyclical sectors like technology, industrials, and micro-cap equities, while avoiding defensive cash hoardings.
Capital Deployment
The manager indicates selective portfolio adjustments such as increasing energy exposure and shifting semiconductor and software allocations, but does not provide explicit metrics regarding overall cash levels or net deployment.
Forward Guidance
The manager outlines clear sector biases and intentions (e.g. increasing energy and grid infrastructure exposure) but presents actions in a largely retrospective tone for the quarter, rather than declaring precise, aggressive future buy/sell signals.
Language Signal
The text contains a significant density of bullish terms such as 'very attractive,' 'strong turnaround,' 'robust growth,' and 'accelerating growth,' with only brief mentions of risks or macroeconomic headwinds.
Perceived Risk
While risks such as geopolitical conflicts, Fed policy, and consumer price inflation are acknowledged, they are framed as manageable headwinds that are secondary to the robust, structural US economic expansion.
Opportunity Density
The manager emphasizes that small- and micro-cap stock valuations are highly attractive and neglected, presenting an abundant opportunity set across multiple sub-sectors, including AI infrastructure, smart defense, and domestic reshoring.
Time Horizon
The investment thesis focuses on multi-year secular trends such as the artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout, structural reshoring of manufacturing, and the legislative benefits of multi-year federal acts.
Top Conviction Themes
Key Catalysts
Every insight in this database connects to the original source. Read the actual thesis, see the actual concerns, and make your own call.
Buyside Digest has no business relationship, partnership, agency, sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation with 1290 Avantis U.S. Large Cap Growth Fund or any other manager whose content appears on the Service, except where expressly stated. We do not receive Manager Content directly from managers in most cases; content is collected from publicly available sources. Managers have not necessarily reviewed, approved, authorized, or endorsed our display of their content, our editorial commentary, our metadata extraction, or our classifications. Use of a manager’s name is for accurate attribution and identification purposes only, under principles of nominative fair use.
Buyside Digest does not independently verify the regulatory status, registrations, licensing, qualifications, credentials, or professional standing of managers whose content appears on the Service. We do not represent that managers are properly registered with applicable regulatory bodies, that their content complies with applicable securities laws, or that their performance representations are accurate. Inclusion of a manager in our database is based on the publicly available nature of their content, not on our verification of their regulatory status or content compliance. Users are responsible for conducting their own due diligence on any manager.
Performance data, returns, assets under management (“AUM”), and similar figures displayed on this page are sourced from publicly available manager communications (including investor letters), public filings, or other third-party sources. Buyside Digest does not independently verify performance figures, calculate returns, or audit manager-reported data. Such figures: May be selectively reported by the manager; May use non-standard calculation methodologies; May not reflect fees, expenses, taxes, or other costs; May be inconsistent across reporting periods; May be outdated. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance figures should not be relied upon for investment decisions without independent verification. Users should request audited performance data directly from the manager and conduct their own due diligence.
