Sustainable Growth Advisers (SGA), an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for its “Global Growth Strategy.” A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The SGA Global Growth Portfolio returned -13.6% (Gross) and -13.8% (Net) compared to the MSCI ACWI return of -3.2% and the MSCI ACWI Growth return of -7.7%. AI disruption narratives significantly affected markets in the first two months of the quarter, leading to declines in software, information services, payments, and insurance brokers. In March, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East caused a spike in oil prices, contributing to market volatility and prompting investors to adopt a more cautious stance. The firm believes prioritizing high-quality businesses with strong balance sheets, durable cash flows, and diversified end markets provides resilience against short-term geopolitical shocks. In addition, you can check the Strategy’s top 5 holdings for its best picks for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, SGA Global Growth Strategy highlighted UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH). UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is a multinational health benefits company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. On June 16, 2026, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) stock closed at $407.65 per share. One-month return of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was 6.35%, and its shares gained 32.70% over the past 52 weeks. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) has a market capitalization of $370.205 billion.
SGA Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Our position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was based on our view that the company would deliver durable growth due to its ability to manage the rising healthcare costs given its scale advantages. We viewed the business as having strong pricing power given its vertical integration with Optum, which gave them good tools to manage medical costs, as well as the ability to raise premiums annually. The privatization of government-funded senior health plans, Medicare Advantage, provided a growth opportunity. Over 2025 the stock suffered due to execution missteps which were exacerbated by government payment cuts to Medicare Advantage programs which were initiated under the Biden administration. Despite these issues we held on to the position under the expectation that they would be able to re-price their health insurance policies in the following year, and that execution would improve with the return of Stephen Hemsley as CEO. We had also thought that a change in administration would be beneficial for the company given Republican’s historical support of Medicare privatization. However, when the CMS released their preliminary rate for 2027 this quarter of just 0.1%, we, and the market, were disappointed. While the final rate has since been revised higher to 2.5%, this is still below the mid-single digit rate expectations and cost inflation trends. Additionally, in the latest communication, while the company was able to re-price most of its insurance businesses, the greater than expected membership losses as well as the slower profitability improvement at Optum were disappointing, indicating a more mature Medicare Advantage market and increased competition. Given these developments we decided to exit the position and re-allocate the capital into higher conviction growth opportunities. The company has since been removed from the Qualified Company List.”
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is in 14th position on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 130 hedge fund portfolios held UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 145 in the previous quarter. In Q1 2026, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) reported revenues of nearly $111.7 billion, representing a 2% increase from Q1 2025. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) 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 UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED (NYSE:UNH) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) and shared the list of stocks Jim Cramer discussed. 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.
