Institutional ticker directory tracking stock mentions, long/short ideas, and high-conviction pitches extracted from quarterly hedge fund letters.
| Ticker | Company | Sector | Industry | Pitches | Stance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund / Manager | Thesis Excerpt | Stance | Period / Date | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Baron FinTech Fund Josh Saltman | “CME Group, Inc. operates the world's largest and most diversified derivatives marketplace. Shares fell due to a slowdown in trading activity, reflecting tough comparisons against last year's tariff-driven uncertainty as well as easing market volatility following the deescalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict. This cyclical softening was exacerbated by concerns about emerging competition from crypto-native perpetual futures markets, as well as uncertainty following the announcement that long-time CEO Terry Duffy will step down next year. We believe the sell-off is overdone and see minimal risk to CME's dominant institutional franchise. We continue to own the stock because we believe CME enjoys significant competitive advantages and should benefit from the growing adoption of exchange-traded derivatives and periodic spikes in market volatility.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 26, 2026 | View Pitch |
Baron Durable Advantage Fund Alex Umansky | “CME Group, Inc. operates the world's largest and most diversified derivatives marketplace. Shares fell 24.8% due to a slowdown in trading activity, reflecting tough comparisons against the prior year and easing market volatility following the onset of the U.S.-Iran war in March. This cyclical softening was exacerbated by concerns over emerging competition from crypto-native 'perpetual futures' and uncertainty triggered by the announcement that long-time CEO Terry Duffy will step down next year. We continue to own the stock because we believe that CME enjoys significant competitive advantages and should benefit from increasing adoption of exchange-traded derivatives and episodic volatility spikes.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 12, 2026 | View Pitch |
Horizon Kinetics Murray Stahl | “In mid-June, the CME filed a suit against the CFTC. It was triggered by the CFTC's May 29 approval of an application by Kalshi, the event or prediction market firm—think YES-NO wagers on sports, economic or political events—to list and trade a bitcoin perpetual in the U.S. as a futures contract. The CME asserted that the approval contravened various procedural and definitional rules, including that the current Chair of the CFTC is the only member of what is supposed to be a five-person commission, and especially around the definition of swaps. The CME has already introduced, earlier this year, 24/7 cryptocurrency futures and options. It is also just launched 24/7 mini Gold futures and plans to launch 24/7 Oil futures by the end of August. And also single-stock futures, which are another means for retail investors to use margin or leverage—using less capital to control a larger position. And prediction markets partnerships with FanDuel and FutureSports. The valuations of Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group haven't been this low in the 17 years since the Great Financial Crisis.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Aug 4, 2026 | View Pitch |
Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund (Unhedged) Cooper Investors Pty Limited | “CME Group (CME) was the main detractor to Real Asset returns this year. During the quarter, the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) granted approval to prediction market operato” | BULL | Q2 2026 Jul 31, 2026 | View Pitch |
Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund (Unhedged) Cooper Investors Pty Limited | “CME Group (CME) was the main detractor to Real Asset returns this year. During the quarter, the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) granted approval to predi...” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jul 31, 2026 | View Pitch |
Appalaches Capital, LLC Jake Keys | “Now, the disappointing relative showing this quarter can be attributed to waning investor sentiment in some of our largest holdings, namely AutoZone and CME Group. On the other end of the spectrum, CME Group's declining stock price can be attributed to fearful anticipation of competition. The CFTC approved the listing of perpetual futures for Bitcoin on Kalshi, a prediction markets platform. The general concern in the market is that 1) Kalshi is not a traditional competitor, 2) perpetual futures are a novel asset class not currently present in traditional finance, and 3) that this opens the door to obsolescence of the traditional futures market that CME dominates. While the first point is axiomatic, the second is debatable, and the third is not so poignant as a threat as many may expect. Perpetual futures are indeed a new product, being created in 2016, but they borrow their mechanics for settlement from traditional swap mechanisms. Swaps, like perpetual futures, require ongoing payments to a party in exchange for exposure to an underlying asset. Unlike swaps, whose payments are typically tied to floating rate benchmarks like SOFR, the payment between parties on a perpetual future is instead tied to a funding rate. The funding rate is in place to incentivize the price of the perpetual future to closely track the price of the underlying. When the perpetual future is cheaper than the spot price, those long the contract are paid the funding rate, and conversely, when the contract is more expensive than the spot price, those long the contract must pay the funding rate to those who are short. This funding rate can increase in times of significant changes in spot prices, which increases the cost to hedge when it matters most. I do not see a world in which perpetual futures are favored over highly predictable, established, and liquid futures contracts for institutions and commercial users. Considering that 85-90% of CMEs volumes are from institutional clients, I do not think that the underlying business is overly threatened. We had a similar opportunity for our initial purchase of CME when BGC Group launched its FMX Futures Exchange. Today, FMX handles less than 1% of the total volume that CME does—showing just how intense a barrier to entry liquidity is and how ingrained market standards are.” | NEUTRAL | Q2 2026 Jun 30, 2026 | View Pitch |
Magellan Global Opportunities Fund No. 1 Alan Pullen | “CME Group is the world's leading derivatives marketplace and serves as a core defensive holding within the Magellan Global Fund. CME operates a diversified exchange business across major asset classes – including interest rates, equities, foreign exchange, and commodities – providing a natural hedge during periods of market volatility. Derivative exchanges are among the highest-quality businesses due to their near-monopoly positions in key contracts and proprietary benchmarks, supported by liquidity-driven network effects and clearing advantages. CME delivered record results in 2024 and the first half of 2025, with operating margins reaching 68%, benefiting from heightened geopolitical tensions and macro uncertainty. Structural growth is driven by product innovation, retail participation, and international expansion, while attempts by competitors such as FMX have failed to gain traction. Magellan views CME's dominant position and resilience through market cycles as a key long-term compounder. BSD Analysis: CME is a volatility-capturing machine with a dominant position in futures and options across rates, commodities, and FX. The business prints cash in calm markets — and even more in turbulent ones. Secular drivers like electronification, hedging demand, and global participation continue to support growth. With wide moats, strong margins, and a defensive profile, CME remains a core financial-infrastructure compounder.” | BULL | Q3 2025 Sep 30, 2025 | View Pitch |
Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund (Unhedged) Cooper Investors Pty Limited | “CME is the largest global derivatives exchange, a “royalty” on risk management and speculation that charges per-contract fees across diversified asset classes. With ~68% operating margins and powerful network effects (“liquidity begets liquidity”), it holds ~90%+ share across key product sets and benefits when volatility rises. Attempts to challenge its dominance (ELX, FMX) have seen little traction due to superior liquidity and clearing scale. Management has focused on product innovation over acquisitions, widening the moat as secular participation grows. BSD Analysis: CME's oligopolistic structure, minimal capital needs, and volatility upside support mid-teens TSR: 7% volume CAGR, pricing, and a ~4% dividend yield. Cross-margining advantages and new products (e.g., crypto, minis) extend the runway; regulatory and competitive risks appear manageable given entrenched liquidity.” | BULL | Q3 2025 Sep 30, 2025 | View Pitch |
Stenham Asset Management Kevin Arenson, Akshay Krishnan & Tim Beck | “CME Group is described as the world's “risk bookmaker,” benefiting from powerful network effects and near-monopoly positions in key futures contracts. The exchange's vertically integrated execution and clearing model reinforces liquidity and lowers transaction costs, creating a winner-takes-all dynamic. CME is particularly well positioned to benefit from long-term growth in U.S. government debt markets, which should drive sustained increases in interest rate futures trading volumes. Additionally, improved retail brokerage technology and smaller contract sizes are expanding access for a new class of pro-retail traders. Historically, CME has performed exceptionally well during periods of heightened volatility, positioning it as both a structural compounder and a hedge in uncertain markets. BSD Analysis: CME Group is an unassailable, high-margin financial exchange oligopolist whose stock is a conviction bet on the structural dominance of its derivatives marketplace. The core moat is its near-monopoly on high-volume futures and options contracts (interest rates, currencies, energy), creating an unbreakable network effect where liquidity attracts liquidity. The financial model is structurally superior, maintaining a colossal pre-tax profit margin of 76.5% in the last quarter. Despite uninspiring revenue growth in the short term, the company's operating discipline is evident as expenses have consistently grown slower than revenue, driving accelerating earnings growth. CME is a defensive compounder whose fortress balance sheet (low 0.1x debt-to-equity) and essential role in global financial plumbing justify its premium valuation.” | BULL | Q2 2025 Jul 17, 2025 | View Pitch |
Each excerpt above is the manager's commentary on this ticker specifically. The full letter has the rest of their portfolio thinking, risk discussion, and broader institutional context.
