Here’s Why ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy Decided to Sell Accenture (ACN)

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy” third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Equities continued their upward journey in the third quarter with the S&P 500 Index surging 8.1% and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rising 11.2% to record highs. Investor optimism was driven by favorable tariff results, the One Big Beautiful Bill in July, expected interest rate cuts, and strong corporate earnings, particularly in technology and the Magnificent Seven. The benchmark Russell 1000 Growth Index rose 10.5% for the quarter. The strategy delivered solid absolute performance in the quarter but underperformed the benchmark. Underexposure to perceived AI winners and holding several names deemed by investors to be AI losers led to the underperformance. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its third-quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN). Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is a professional services company that provides management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. The one-month return of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) was -3.78%, and its shares lost 32.28% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 3, 2025, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) stock closed at $245.32 per share, with a market capitalization of $152.589 billion.

ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:

“We exited positions in Workday and Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), lowering our exposure to application software providers given decelerating fundamental growth and growing risks around AI. The sale of Accenture, a global professional services company helping clients build digital infrastructure, was driven by growing concerns that growth in Accenture’s consulting business from AI is being offset by a still muted aggregate tech spending environment and demand in the outsourcing business

Accenture’s (ACN) Oversold Status May Offer a Smart Entry Point for Dividend Investors

Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 65 hedge fund portfolios held Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) at the end of the second quarter, compared to 69 in the previous quarter. In the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) reported revenues of $17.6 billion, reflecting a 7% increase in U.S. dollars and 4.5% in local currency. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) 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 Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) and shared the list of cheap AI stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2025 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.