Madison Investments, an investment advisor, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for the “Madison Mid Cap Fund”. The Madison Mid Cap Fund (Class I) declined 4.28% in the quarter, compared to the Russell Midcap Index’s 1.29% return. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The first quarter saw a market shift from tech stocks to companies in the physical economy driven by a better economic outlook and AI disruption fears. This transition favored the ‘HALO trade’ (Heavy Assets, Low Obsolescence), benefiting resilient businesses. In March, geopolitical conflicts and rising commodity prices heightened inflation concerns, leading to strong performance in Energy and Materials sectors, while Utilities also gained. This trend posed challenges for the Madison Mid Cap Fund due to its limited exposure to these sectors. In this environment, the fund identifies opportunities in high-quality, underappreciated businesses and is actively investing in them. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into its key selections for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Madison Mid Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO). Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) is a leading insurance brokerage firm that operates through Retail and Specialty Distribution segments. On June 29, 2026, Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) closed at $63.96 per share, reflecting a market capitalization of $21.67 billion. Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) posted a one-month return of 13.02%, while its shares lost 41.28% over the past 52 weeks.
Madison Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“The bottom five detractors for the quarter were Gartner, Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO), ServiceTitan, Thor Industries, and Medpace Holdings. Brown & Brown shares were down as organic growth slowed across the insurance broker industry at the same time investors worried about the potential for AI to replace brokers and allow carriers to sell directly to customers. We added to current holdings Brown & Brown. Brown & Brown was down on AI concerns, which we believe provided an opportunity to add.”
Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 41 hedge fund portfolios held Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 42 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) and shared a bullish thesis on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
