Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its fourth-quarter investor letter for “Polen 5Perspectives Small Growth Strategy”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Polen 5Perspectives Small Growth Composite Portfolio returned -1.3% gross and -1.5% net of fees in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to a 1.2% return of the Russell 2000 Growth Index. Following double-digit returns in 2Q and 3Q, small caps concluded the year with a 1.2% return in 4Q. Biotech stood out as a major performer during the quarter, expanding beyond the AI theme. The small-cap asset class has gained attention due to declining interest rates and improving earnings growth, but the firm is most excited about its structural tailwinds, including the rapid pace of innovation and the opportunity it presents for disciplined investors. Over the fourth quarter, the Strategy nearly doubled its Biotech exposure due to opportunities presented by rising interest rates, M&A, and AI tailwinds. The name of the Strategy changed from Polen U.S. Small Cap Growth to Polen 5Perspectives Small Growth, to emphasize the significance of the 5 viewpoints framework and the influence of perspective in investing. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Polen 5Perspectives Small Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN). Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) is an education management company that provides online education. On February 23, 2026, Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) stock closed at $80.89 per share. One-month return of Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) was 11.68%, and its shares lost 39.14% over the past 52 weeks. Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) has a market capitalization of $3.548 billion.
Polen 5Perspectives Small Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) is an education technology company that provides online education to K-12 students through virtual public schools and learning programs. The stock sold off more than 50% on earnings due to a failed platform upgrade that resulted in major student enrollment losses, poor customer experience, and high withdrawal rates. Given the seasonality inherent in their business model (fall enrollment is the main driver of fiscal year results), investors quickly moved on with the lack of an imminent catalyst until next fall. We eliminated our position during the quarter.”
Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 43 hedge fund portfolios held Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 39 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) 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 Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Stride, Inc. (NYSE:LRN) and shared a bullish thesis on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.
