Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen International Growth Strategy” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The strategy rose 15.23% (net of fees) in the fourth quarter compared to a 9.75% return for the MSCI ACWI (ex-USA) index. Investor sentiment hit its lowest point in October, paving the way for a strong rally in the final months of the year. Quarterly portfolio performance was driven by share price appreciation in the information technology, healthcare, and consumer discretionary sectors. For the full year, the strategy appreciated 27.73% (net of fees) compared to a 15.62% return for the index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Polen International Growth Strategy featured stocks like Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) in its Q4 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) provides a cloud-based commerce platform. On March 5, 2024, Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) stock closed at $73.47 per share. One-month return of Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) was -13.74%, and its shares gained 68.12% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) has a market capitalization of $94.57 billion.
Polen International Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) was the best-performing holding in the Portfolio during 2023, with a 125% total return. The company continued its strong performance last quarter with impressive Q3-23 results that demonstrated continued share gains in North American e-commerce. Additionally, the company’s decision last year to sell its fulfillment business, as well as more rational expense management, has led to significant margin expansion with Q3-23 operating margins at 16%, up 1900bps from a year ago. Even accounting for potential valuation compression in the future, we believe Shopify is at least a mid-teens compounder from a return perspective, and we remain excited about the future prospects of the business.”
A modern computer with a digital shopping mall membership fee showing on the screen.
Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) was held by 68 hedge fund portfolios, down from 69 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) in another article and shared the list of best future stocks for the long term. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 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.
