Brown Advisory, an investment management company, released its “Brown Advisory Global Leaders Strategy” for the second quarter of 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Brown Advisory’s Global Leaders Strategy delivered a net return of 4.6% in the second quarter of 2026, underperforming its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Net Index, which returned 14.9%. The relative weakness was driven mainly by underexposure to semiconductors and technology hardware, while software, cloud services, and financial holdings also weighed on performance. The strategy benefited from holdings in areas tied to AI infrastructure, with semiconductor exposure and AI-related investments gaining from strong demand. Looking ahead, Brown Advisory sees an attractive environment for active stock-picking, with its ready-to-buy list at its highest level since the COVID-19 period and an estimated 12%-13% average five-year base-case IRR, while maintaining a focus on quality, valuation discipline, and long-term cash-flow generation. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Brown Advisory Global Leaders Strategy Fund highlighted stocks like Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK). Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) develops design and engineering software used by professionals across architecture, construction, manufacturing, and media industries. The one-month return of Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) was 17.37% while its shares traded between $185.50 and $329.09 over the last 52 weeks. On August 7, 2026, Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) stock closed at approximately $242.47 per share, with a market capitalization of about $52.59 billion.
Brown Advisory Global Leaders Strategy Fund stated the following regarding Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:
We exited Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) in June. Since our first-quarter drawdown review, we have continued our research and discussions around substitution risk for Autodesk, with a particular focus on the potential impact of world models replacing large parts of the 3D creation stack. At the same time, we have seen physical-AI startups, such as Jeff Bezos’ Prometheus, investing heavily in developing engineering-grade physical models. (Prometheus closed a successful funding round in June, valuing the company at a level broadly comparable to Autodesk’s market capitalization.) The competitive environment for Autodesk is intensifying. As we see substitution risk increasing and the range of outcomes for software companies widening, we have decided to allocate capital elsewhere, funding our initiations in Nvidia and Progressive Corporation.
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. As per our database, 67 hedge fund portfolios held Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) at the end of the first quarter, which was 81 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) 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 Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) and shared Night View Capital’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.
