Maverick Capital’s main funds enjoyed strong results in May thanks to several of the firm’s largest long positions.
The long-short fund, Maverick Fund, gained more than 6 percent; Maverick Long climbed more than 7 percent; and Maverick Long Enhanced Fund rose more than 9 percent for the month. They are now up 9.2 percent, 7.8 percent, and 9.8 percent for the year, respectively, according to a hedge fund database.
Maverick Capital, headed by Tiger Cub Lee Ainslie III, is coming off two very good years. Maverick Fund jumped more than 25 percent in 2024 and 29 percent in 2023.
The hedge fund firm generally runs a more diversified portfolio than does the typical Tiger Cub. For example, at the end of the first quarter, it held positions in 235 different U.S.-listed stocks.
Its two largest positions accounted for a little more than 12 percent of assets, a smaller chunk than for most Cubs. But both of those positions — each a beaten-down Magnificent Seven stock — boosted Maverick in May.
No. 1 long Amazon rose more than 10 percent for the month, and No. 2 long Nvidia surged about 24 percent. In the first quarter, Maverick increased its stakes in Amazon and Nvidia by 11 percent and 34 percent, respectively.
Maverick was also helped in May by its large position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which climbed about 16 percent for the month. In the first quarter, Maverick raised its stake in the stock by more than 17 percent, making it the firm’s fourth-largest U.S. long.
Four of Maverick’s 12 largest longs were newly acquired in the first quarter. So far, they have enjoyed mixed success.
For example, Kenvue, the seventh-largest long and Maverick’s biggest new position, was essentially flat in May and still is in the second quarter. It is the former consumer health care division of Johnson & Johnson. On the other hand, Bank of America, Maverick’s tenth-largest long and another new position, surged more than 10 percent last month.
In the first quarter, Maverick sharply cut back on two previously prominent positions.
It reduced its stake in Microsoft, its third-largest long at year-end, by about one-third. At the end of March, it was the ninth-largest long. It also cut its stake in Philip Morris International, its fourth-largest long at year-end, by more than 27 percent. Even so, it is now the third-largest long.
And in the first quarter, Maverick fully liquidated sizable positions in two financial stocks: Wells Fargo and Visa. It had initiated its position in Wells Fargo in fourth-quarter 2024, immediately making it the firm’s ninth-largest long at the time.
