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Quarter	Letter Date	Fund Name	QTD	YTD	Tickers	Themes	Quick Take

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Ithaka US Growth Strategy 2024 Q3 Investor Letter | Buyside Digest

Back to Fund Profile (Ithaka US Growth Strategy)

Primary Source Intelligence • Q3 2024 Letter Analysis

Ithaka US Growth Strategy Quarterly Analysis

Buyside Digest is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Ithaka US Growth Strategy. This analysis is provided for institutional research purposes only and is not investment advice.

Fund Returns

Annualized+16.5%

Digest Analysis

Quick Take

"Ithaka's concentrated growth portfolio underperformed in Q3 due to stock selection, particularly semiconductor and consumer discretionary holdings. f."

Executive Summary

Ithaka's concentrated growth strategy underperformed in Q3 2024, rising 0.4% gross versus the Russell 1000 Growth's 3.2% gain, entirely due to stock selection challenges. The 31-position portfolio demonstrated modest breadth with 16 stocks outperforming. Key contributors included ServiceNow, which benefited from strong AI product demand and earnings beats, Mastercard, which gained on global credit growth, and Blackstone, which rose on private market unfreezing expectations. Major detractors were DexCom, which cut guidance due to US market share losses, e.l.f. Beauty, which disappointed with tepid forward guidance despite earnings beats, and ASML, which suffered from geopolitical restrictions on China sales. The managers initiated Palantir while eliminating Align Technologies and Snowflake. Despite macro uncertainties including Fed policy decisions, election volatility, and inflation concerns, the team maintains their fully invested approach, focusing on owning high-quality growth companies rather than making macro predictions. They take investment cues from portfolio companies' management teams during quarterly calls.

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Institutional Meta Strategy

Meta Strategy Gauges

Algorithmic conviction, macroeconomic posture, and risk appetite signals extracted from this quarterly letter with qualitative explanations.

Signal Matrix

Market Conviction

68%

CautiousHigh

Moderate (68%)

The fund runs a concentrated 31-position portfolio with named holdings and specific position sizing commentary. Management provides detailed thesis explanations for major contributors and detractors, demonstrates willingness to make portfolio changes (adding PLTR, eliminating ALGN and SNOW), and maintains full investment despite uncertainties. However, the diversified nature across 31 names and hedged language around macro factors prevents a higher score.

Growth Outlook

25%

BearishBullish

Bearish (25%)

The manager expresses cautious optimism about markets, noting strong YTD performance but acknowledging significant risks including election uncertainty, Fed policy challenges, and potential recession. The tone is constructive but measured, with recognition of both opportunities and headwinds.

Risk Appetite

50%

DefensiveAggressive

Balanced (50%)

The portfolio remains fully invested with a concentrated approach, maintaining 31 positions and adding a new name (Palantir) while eliminating two others. This suggests a balanced risk appetite - not defensive but not aggressively adding leverage either.

Capital Deployment

5%

De-riskingDeploying

De-risking (5%)

The manager initiated one new position (Palantir) and eliminated two positions (Align Technologies and Snowflake), representing capital rotation rather than net deployment. No cash level changes are mentioned, and the portfolio remains fully invested at existing levels, indicating minimal net capital movement.

Forward Guidance

25%

CautiousExpansionary

Cautious (25%)

The manager explicitly states they will stay fully invested and focused on their mission despite macro uncertainties. However, they acknowledge significant headwinds and express no urgency to deploy additional capital, suggesting a cautious but committed stance.

Language Signal

0%

BearishBullish

Bearish (0%)

The language is balanced between opportunity and risk discussions. Positive language around AI demand, credit growth, and great growth stories is offset by extensive risk discussions around inflation, recession, election volatility, and geopolitical tensions.

Perceived Risk

72%

Low RiskElevated

Elevated Risk (72%)

The manager identifies multiple specific macro risks including Fed policy errors, election volatility, inflation re-acceleration, potential recession, and geopolitical tensions affecting semiconductors. Significant discussion is devoted to these risks with detailed analysis of their potential impacts, indicating high perceived environmental risk.

Opportunity Density

45%

ScarceAbundant

Selective (45%)

The manager sees selective opportunities, evidenced by adding one new position while eliminating two others. They note 90% of holdings beat top-line expectations and 81% beat bottom-line expectations, suggesting reasonable company-level opportunities, but express caution about the broader environment requiring selectivity.

Time Horizon

75%

Short-TermLong-Term

Decade+ (75%)

The strategy explicitly focuses on long-term wealth creation and owning great growth stories, with management stating they stay fully invested despite short-term macro uncertainties. The concentrated approach and willingness to hold through volatility suggests a multi-year investment horizon, though specific timeframes are not detailed.