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 Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT). Established in 1979, Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) is a research and advisory company that provides business and technology insights to help businesses make informed decisions. On June 16, 2026, Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) closed at $142.24 per share. One-month return of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) was -10.24%, and its shares lost 64.38% over the past 52 weeks. Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion.
SGA Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“During the quarter we made the decision to exit our position in Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) after another disappointing quarter and several interactions with management which led us to conclude that the company’s priorities and actions did not align with the strategic direction we had advocated for. Over the past year growth decelerated, which we ascribed largely to political and macroeconomic factors such as efforts by DOGE and tariff-related disruptions. However, the company has continued to miss targets for Contract Value since, and we have become increasingly concerned about market saturation. In our engagements with the company and its Board we advocated for the company moving away from its strategic focus on Contract Value, including changing management compensation metrics, towards a focus on free-cash-flow. Such a shift could, in our view, lead to a meaningful increase in shareholder value through a focus on margin improvement and higher profit and free-cash flow growth. The company’s earnings guidance during the quarter indicated no shift toward balanced growth and profitability targets as advocated by us but instead reinforced their reinvestment in pursuit of unrealistic growth targets. Given the disappointing financial results and no change in the company’s strategic priorities, we decided to exit the stock. We have since removed the company from our Qualified Company List.”
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. As per our database, 36 hedge fund portfolios held Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) at the end of the first quarter, which was 50 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) 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 GARTNER, INC. (NYSE:IT) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT) and shared Madison Large Cap Fund’s views 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.
