CME Group (CME) Serves as a Volatility Shield

Alpha Wealth Funds, LLC, an investment management company, released its Q1 2025 letter for the “Insiders Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund lost 7.14% in the quarter, tied to a 6.75% fall in March due to the War in Iran. This compares to the S&P 500’s -4.33% return for the same period. The losses are mainly unrealized, and the firm is evaluating its long-term thesis and risk-adjusted opportunities. The Fund considers the current situation as unfavorable. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.

In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Alpha Wealth Insiders Fund highlighted CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME). CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) is a leading financial derivative marketplace operator specializing in futures and options products. On May 20, 2026, CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) closed at $290.12 per share. One-month return of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was 1.63%, and its shares gained 2.88% over the past 52 weeks. CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) has a market capitalization of $105.13 billion.

Alpha Wealth Insiders Fund stated the following regarding CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:

“Business: CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) is the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace. It operates several of the most prominent exchanges globally, providing a platform for market participants to manage risk and capture opportunities across virtually every major asset class.

Insider Buying/Selling: Director Shepard continue to buy shares, most recently 1470 at $297.38 on 3-26-26 .

Recent News: CME Group has already released preliminary volume data for the first quarter, which suggests a significant revenue beat is possible. Continued tensions and a specific “Iran-Strait of Hormuz deadline” set by the Trump administration have kept energy and metals markets in a state of high activity. WTI Crude prices near $110/barrel drove energy contracts to a record single-day high of 8.3 million in early March. Interest Rate Uncertainty: As the CME FedWatch Tool shows markets pricing out Fed rate cuts, interest rate futures reached a record ADV of 5.7 million contracts internationally.

Our Thesis: This is a near monopoly and one of the few ways to play hedging volatility in an uncertain world. We’ve owned it off and on for years. It has a place in our long term portfolio as well as our trading account.”

CME Group (CME) Gets Buy Rating From Erste Group; Argus Research Moves to Hold

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 74 hedge fund portfolios held CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 77 in the previous quarter. CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) reported record revenue of $1.9 billion in Q1 2026, up $238 million or 14% from Q1 2025. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) 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 CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) and shared Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund’s insights 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.

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