These are the investment returns of gurus in 2010. We would like to share these numbers as they gradually come out.
We track the hedge fund gurus as well as mutual fund gurus. They certainly have different investment options with their portfolios, as we discussed before. Hedge fund gurus have more tools to hedge the investment risk, or maximize investment returns. Mutual fund gurus have fewer options. So it is not totally fair to do a comparison like this. So please do not just look at the numbers in the table to draw your conclusions.
We also list the performances of two of our value strategies in the table for comparison purposes.
We can see that among all the gurus that we have the 2010 return numbers available, hedge funds Dan Loeb and Bill Ackman have the highest returns. Dan Loeb’s Third Point Master Fund gained 41.5%, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square LP Fund gained 29.7%.
It is not totally clear how Dan Loeb achieved 41.5% for 2010, but in his most recent monthly review, he pointed out that Delphi Corp. (DFG, Financial), NXP Semiconductor etc (NXPI) and his top holding Potash Sask (POT, Financial) and gold have contributed to his stellar gains in 2010. This is the link to his top positions.
Among all the 20 gurus we updated, exactly 50% did better than S&P500, and other 50% did worse. The mutual fund gurus who did the best are John Rogers of Ariel Fund and Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Fund. Both of them gained more than 25%. Their heavy weightings in financials help the returns for 2010.
GuruFocus Model Portfolios of Buffett Munger Screener and Top 25 Undervalued Predictable Companies did better than all other gurus, both returning more than 20% without counting dividends. These model portfolios are composed of 25 stocks in our value screens of Buffett Munger Screener and Undervalued Predictable Companies. These model portfolio are totally passive, there weren’t stock picking or company research involved. They are the top 25 ranked stocks from proven value strategies. They are rebalance once a year during the new year holidays.
John Hussman’s Strategic Growth Fund lost 3.6% in 2010, sitting at the bottom of the return table. He considers the market overvalued, and the risk isn’t worth taking. So he fully hedged his portfolio for almost the whole year. It is too early to say he is wrong, because he tries to maximize the gains for complete market cycles instead of just one year. Also he did well during the previous market cycle.
| Guru | Flagship Fund | Type (H-Hedge Fund; M-Mutual Fund) | Return (%) |
| Daniel Loeb | Third Point Partners Fund | H | 41.5 |
| Bill Ackman | Pershing Square LP fund | H | 29.7 |
| John Rogers | Ariel Fund | M | 25.97 |
| Bruce Berkowitz | Fairholme Fund | M | 25.5 |
| Model Portfolio | Buffett Munger Screener | 20.6 | |
| Model Portfolio | Top 25 Undervalued Predictables | 20.1 | |
| Wallace Weitz | Weitz Partners Fund | M | 19.9 |
| Ruane Cunniff | Sequoia Fund | M | 19.5 |
| James Barrow | Vanguard Selected Value Fund | M | 19.44 |
| David Williams | Columbia Value and Restructuring Fund | M | 19.42 |
| Richard Aster Jr | Meridian Value Fund | M | 18.23 |
| Mason Hawkins | Longleaf Partners Fund | M | 17.89 |
| Brian Rogers | T. Rowe Price Equity Income Fu | M | 15.15 |
| S&P 500 Index | 15.07 | ||
| Dodge & Cox | Dodge & Cox Stock FUND | M | 13.48 |
| PRIMECAP Management | Vanguard Primcap Fund | M | 12.89 |
| Donald Yacktman | The Yacktman Fund | M | 12.64 |
| Bill Nygren | Oakmark Fund | M | 12.18 |
| Arnold Van Den Berg | CM Value I Composite | M | 12.06 |
| Chris Davis | Davis Financial Fund | M | 11.25 |
| David Einhorn | Greenlight Re | H | 11 |
| Edward Owens | Vanguard Healthcare Fund | M | 6.16 |
| Ronald Muhlenkamp | Muhlenkamp Fund | M | 6.14 |
| John Hussman | Hussman Strategic Growth Fund | M | -3.62 |
We track the hedge fund gurus as well as mutual fund gurus. They certainly have different investment options with their portfolios, as we discussed before. Hedge fund gurus have more tools to hedge the investment risk, or maximize investment returns. Mutual fund gurus have fewer options. So it is not totally fair to do a comparison like this. So please do not just look at the numbers in the table to draw your conclusions.
We also list the performances of two of our value strategies in the table for comparison purposes.
We can see that among all the gurus that we have the 2010 return numbers available, hedge funds Dan Loeb and Bill Ackman have the highest returns. Dan Loeb’s Third Point Master Fund gained 41.5%, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square LP Fund gained 29.7%.
It is not totally clear how Dan Loeb achieved 41.5% for 2010, but in his most recent monthly review, he pointed out that Delphi Corp. (DFG, Financial), NXP Semiconductor etc (NXPI) and his top holding Potash Sask (POT, Financial) and gold have contributed to his stellar gains in 2010. This is the link to his top positions.
Among all the 20 gurus we updated, exactly 50% did better than S&P500, and other 50% did worse. The mutual fund gurus who did the best are John Rogers of Ariel Fund and Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Fund. Both of them gained more than 25%. Their heavy weightings in financials help the returns for 2010.
GuruFocus Model Portfolios of Buffett Munger Screener and Top 25 Undervalued Predictable Companies did better than all other gurus, both returning more than 20% without counting dividends. These model portfolios are composed of 25 stocks in our value screens of Buffett Munger Screener and Undervalued Predictable Companies. These model portfolio are totally passive, there weren’t stock picking or company research involved. They are the top 25 ranked stocks from proven value strategies. They are rebalance once a year during the new year holidays.
John Hussman’s Strategic Growth Fund lost 3.6% in 2010, sitting at the bottom of the return table. He considers the market overvalued, and the risk isn’t worth taking. So he fully hedged his portfolio for almost the whole year. It is too early to say he is wrong, because he tries to maximize the gains for complete market cycles instead of just one year. Also he did well during the previous market cycle.
