Marex Group plc (MRX) is in the Counter Cyclical Basket of Night Watch Investment Management

Night Watch Investment Management, an investment management firm, released its second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund LP appreciated by 23.31% net of fees, and YTD, its performance stood at 20.71%. The portfolio demonstrated resilience in the quarter, despite volatility in March and April. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, Night Watch Investment Management highlighted stocks such as Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX). Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX) provides a financial services platform to clients in the energy, commodities, and financial markets. The one-month return of Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX) was -8.29%, and its shares gained 102.50% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 3, 2025, Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX) stock closed at $38.92 per share, with a market capitalization of $2.832 billion.

Night Watch Investment Management stated the following regarding Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX) in its Q2 2025 investor letter:

“Since inception of the fund in January 2024, we have always sought to allocate to several counter-cyclical companies. The idea is that even in the event of a recession, part of our portfolio would still perform well. Currently, our countercyclical basket is predominantly made up of Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX), a company we first acquired in May of 2024 at $19, versus $39 today.

MRX is a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM). They are the company you call if you want to trade oil futures on a major futures exchange such as ICE or CME. Over the years, trading volumes in such futures have grown rapidly as financial players have joined the industrials (e.g., an oil producer) in the trading of such products. Meanwhile, the number of FCMs has halved since 2002, as banks chose to exit due to stringent capital requirements and small players can’t bear the increasing compliance costs.

But what really makes Marex attractive today is the fact that they outperform during periods of high volatility. When oil prices skyrocket due to an Israel-Iran conflict, volumes go up. When FX moves rapidly, they trade more FX futures. As a market maker in those commodities, spreads open up which helps their profitability. Finally, to manage counterparty risk, MRX might call on their clients to post more margin, on which they then earn interest income. For that reason, MRX is a great stock to own during moments of market panic. We added aggressively during the sell-off in April.”

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Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 22 hedge fund portfolios held Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX) at the end of the first quarter, which was 26 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Marex Group plc (NASDAQ:MRX) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.

In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. While we acknowledge the potential of MRX as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.