Maverick Capital’s main fund appears to have finally returned to its high-water mark, or at least is very close. The Tiger Cub headed by Lee Ainslie III declined to comment.
The flagship Maverick Fund gained 5.8 percent last month and is now up 14.7 percent for the year, according to a hedge fund database. It surged just over 29 percent last year after losing the same amount in 2022.
The firm’s long-only funds have fared even better this year. Maverick Long gained 5.7 percent in August and 21 percent for the year, and Maverick Long Enhanced rose 6.5 percent last month and is now up 20.6 percent this year, per the database.
The performance disparity between the long-short fund and the long-only funds suggests Maverick has lost some money on its shorts this year, which is not surprising given the stock market’s strong performance. On the long side, the hedge fund firm has been boosted by its largest positions, virtually all of which have significantly outperformed the market in general this year.
Which begs the question: Why aren’t Maverick’s funds up even more?
For instance, Coupang, the largest long position since the South Korean e-commerce giant went public in 2021, is up nearly 50 percent for the year. It now accounts for a little more than 11 percent of U.S. common stock long assets. Maverick nearly halved its stake in the second quarter and in the past two years has reduced the position by nearly two-thirds. Just two years ago, Coupang accounted for more than one-quarter of Maverick’s U.S. long stock portfolio. At about $24, the stock is still trading about 31 percent below its $35 IPO price.
Maverick’s three next-largest longs are members of the Magnificent Seven, accounting for a combined 15 percent of assets. They include Amazon, the second-largest long. In the second quarter, Maverick boosted that stake by 15 percent. The stock is up about 23 percent for the year through Tuesday. In the second quarter, Microsoft became the third-largest long after Maverick more than tripled its position. The stock is up nearly 16 percent for the year. And the shares of No. 4 long Nvidia, the chip giant, are up about 134 percent this year despite a recent decline.
Several of Maverick’s largest non-tech and non–internet-related stocks have also performed very well this year. Shares of Philip Morris International, Maverick’s fifth-largest long, are up 30 percent so far in 2024. No. 6 long Visa is up approximately 12 percent. And No. 7 long position Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate services company, is up about 34 percent for the year.