Tiger Cubs Score Second Year of Gains on Soaring Tech Stocks

(Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds run by proteges of the late Julian Robertson reported a second consecutive year of double-digit gains as they continue to bounce back from a terrible 2022.

Soaring technology stocks helped Tiger Management descendant Lone Pine Capital notch a 36% gain last year, while Tiger Global Management gained 24%, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Coatue Management returned roughly 19%.

The biggest position for all three tech-focused stockpickers as of Sept. 30 — Meta Platforms Inc. — rallied 65% last year. Much of the S&P 500’s 23% gain came from just a few stocks, notably four tech companies — Nvidia Corp., Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Meta.

Based on early estimates, equity-focused hedge funds recorded their best performance in 11 years in 2024, according to PivotalPath. They returned 14.7% on average through November, making it the best-performing hedge fund strategy, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Still, some managed to impress even without as much exposure to the popular tech bets. The $3 billion Contour Asset Management rose 47.8% last year, helped by its short wagers, one investor who didn’t want to be identified said. Although it focuses on technology, media and telecommunications sectors, it didn’t hold Nvidia and Apple for much of the year, while it was reducing its stake in Amazon.

David Rosen’s $4 billion Rubric Capital surged 81.5%. Shares of Talen Energy Corp., Rubric’s largest holding as of Sept. 30, more than tripled in value last year as investors piled into power companies that will benefit from the growing demand for electricity from data centers. Rubric’s stake in Talen was worth about $2 billion at the end of the third quarter.

The stock portfolio at Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners rose 44.6% last year, one person said. Still, those investments only account for about 40% of the firm’s $21 billion in assets. The rest are venture capital wagers.

Representatives for the hedge funds declined to comment.

Stock-picking hedge funds are expected to be the most sought-after strategy for 2025, according to a yet-to-be released Bank of America survey. About 38% of investors said they plan to invest in equity long-short funds, while only 5% said they’ll decrease their exposure.