Loading insights library...
Curated Multi-Media Intelligence
Institutional Insights Library
A curated library of professional podcasts, investment blogs, and primary source insights from sophisticated institutional managers.
A curated library of professional podcasts, investment blogs, and primary source insights from sophisticated institutional managers.
There aren’t many funds left that write like they mean it. Rowan Street Capital does. Alex Kopel’s latest Q3 2025 letter isn’t some self-congratulatory exercise in benchmark-beating — it’s an unapologetically honest reflection on what long-term investing actually looks like when you’re doing it right.
And they are. Rowan’s compounded at 54% annually over the past three years — more than double the S&P 500. But the returns aren’t the headline. The story is how they got there: by ignoring everyone else.
Read Rowan's letter here
In the third quarter of 2025, Rowan Street Capital was essentially flat (+0.22%), but year-to-date returns hit +20.4% net, outpacing the S&P 500’s +14.8%. Not bad for a fund that refuses to own the crowd favorites of the moment—unless those favorites happen to be visionary megalomaniacs building humanoid robots.
Over the past three years, Rowan Street has compounded at +54.2% annually (net) for a +266% cumulative return, more than doubling the S&P’s performance. That’s the kind of number that makes allocators squint at their spreadsheets and wonder what kind of caffeine-fueled magic these guys are drinking.
The answer is boring in the best way: discipline, patience, and a total disinterest in quarterly noise. When the market panics, they press “buy.” When the world celebrates mediocrity, they trim. It’s a philosophy straight out of Buffett, channeled through Substack.
In 2022, everyone hated tech. Sentiment was radioactive, multiples were melting, and “long-duration” became a dirty phrase. Rowan Street leaned in—buying Meta, Shopify, Netflix, Spotify, and anything else the market threw into the clearance bin.
Now, three years later, those calls have aged like fine whiskey. Meta alone has compounded at over , Shopify at , Netflix at , and the fund itself is printing 20%+ compound returns.
Join institutional and professional investors receiving our weekly analysis of hedge fund letters, market trends, and high-conviction ideas.
Zero Spam • High Alpha • Unsubscribe Anytime
When they say “conviction,” they mean it. Their idea of portfolio diversification is seven names and a dream.
Here’s the current roster of “owner-operators and capital compounding freaks”:
Meta Platforms (META): The original faith trade. Owned since 2018, still compounding >20% annually.
Shopify (SHOP): Rowan’s 2025 MVP, up big on operating leverage and a ChatGPT-powered merchant toolkit.
Tesla (TSLA): The new kid—and the reason Spotify got benched.
Spotify (SPOT): Still a 7.8% position, but demoted from superstar to reliable role player.
Topicus (TOI): A European Constellation Software spinout quietly rolling up niche verticals.
Netflix (NFLX): From 2022 disaster to ad-supported resurrection.
Dino Polska (DNP): A Polish grocery chain compounding 30% early on.
Adyen (ADYEY): The 2023 panic buy that turned into a 44% annualized rebound.
The Trade Desk (TTD): Currently in the penalty box, down 50%, but still loved for old times’ sake.
Collectively, this lineup is less “diversified portfolio” and more “private club of serial compounders.” Each one a founder-led business, high ROIC, fat margins, and zero interest in being fashionable.
The scoreboard says it all.
| Year | Fund Net Return | S&P 500 TR | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +32.4% | +28.7% | Long tech, right call |
| 2022 | +7.9% | -18.1% | Contrarian year |
| 2023 | +54.1% | +24.2% | Sentiment rebound |
| 2024 | +38.2% | +26.3% | Momentum meets patience |
| 2025 YTD (Q3)** | +20.4% | +14.8% | Tesla joins the team |
Source: Fund letters, Bloomberg. Net of fees.
This quarter’s headline wasn’t performance—it was philosophy. Rowan Street sold down most of its long-held Spotify position and rotated that capital into Tesla.
That’s not a tech-to-tech trade; it’s a mindset upgrade—from “streaming subscriptions” to “autonomous robot fleets.”
They’ve owned Spotify for seven years. Great company, solid moat, founder-led. But as they put it, “Spotify is a very good business. Tesla is a truly great one.”
That’s investor-speak for: “Daniel Ek’s playlist algorithms can’t compete with humanoid robots and gigacasting factories.”
Tesla now makes up about 12% of the portfolio, bought around $235 per share, up ~75% since entry. Spotify remains a 7.8% position—a respectable demotion.
Rowan Street’s Tesla analysis reads like a white paper on industrial religion. The fund lays out five moats:
Manufacturing scale: The gigafactory is the product. Tesla’s vertical integration makes Toyota look artisanal.
Data flywheel: Six million cars feeding neural networks 24/7. Competitors are testing in parking lots; Tesla’s training on planet Earth.
Distribution moat: No dealers, direct relationships, and a Supercharger network that’s slowly turning into the electric toll booth of the world.
Brand emotion: Tesla is a cult and a status symbol. People tattoo the logo on their calves.
Platform optionality: Robotaxis, Optimus humanoid robots, energy grids, and whatever else Musk dreams up between meme posts.
Rowan’s take: “Most great companies have one moat. Tesla is building at least five—all reinforcing each other.”
That’s the kind of sentence that makes both engineers and portfolio managers nod in terrified agreement.
If you’ve followed Rowan Street long enough, you know their playbook: find mispriced greatness, ignore headlines, and let time do its thing.
They built positions in Meta during its 2022 meltdown, bought Adyen after a 50% crash, and now they’re doubling down on Elon when sentiment’s messy. Their mantra could be summarized as: “Be greedy when Twitter is angry.”
This isn’t a fund chasing catalysts—it’s a slow-motion bet on human brilliance.
The letter’s closing sections read like a therapy session for long-term investors. Alex and Joe don’t care about gathering assets; they care about gathering believers.
“Our goal,” they write, “has never been to attract the most investors—only the right ones.”
In a world addicted to liquidity, they’re selling illiquidity—patience, alignment, trust. The real alpha isn’t in their models; it’s in their temperament.
They remind partners that compounding requires time, and time requires faith. The kind of faith that holds Meta at 80% drawdowns, or buys Tesla while the CEO tweets about alien memes.
Rowan Street’s Q3 letter is a masterclass in conviction-driven investing. No macro guessing, no hedging with jargon—just relentless focus on great businesses led by great capital allocators.
In 2025, that approach looks almost rebellious. The market’s still obsessed with AI themes and “new paradigms,” while Rowan quietly compounds capital the old-fashioned way: by owning the future early, and holding it longer than anyone else.
It’s easy to mock the idealism, but the results speak louder. Over three years, +266% isn’t luck—it’s patience monetized.
They’re not chasing the next trend. They’re building a portfolio you could bury in a time capsule and dig up in 2035—probably worth double again.