Investment advisory firm Ithaka Group released the “Ithaka US Growth Strategy” third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The market continued to rise, which began in late October 2023, and gained across multiple asset classes. However, the portfolio underperformed in this up-market, increasing 0.4% (gross of fees) compared to the R1000G, which increased by 3.2%. Stock selection drove the portfolio to underperform in the quarter, with a negligible tailwind from sector allocation. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Ithaka US Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is one of the largest alternative asset management firms specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The one-month return of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) was 12.70%, and its shares gained 74.68% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 30, 2024, Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) stock closed at $171.54 per share with a market capitalization of $211.006 billion.
Ithaka US Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is one of the world’s leading alternative asset management firms with total assets under management (“AUM”) now in excess of $1 trillion. Over the past few decades Blackstone has evolved into one of the financial service industry’s largest asset gatherers, managing money on behalf of pension funds, insurance companies, and individual investors. The company remains at the forefront of financial innovation, steadily broadening its product offering over time. Today, Blackstone invests clients’ capital across four business segments: (a) Real Estate, (b) Private Equity, (c) Hedge Fund Solutions, and (d) Credit & Insurance. The stock’s relative outperformance in the quarter was mainly due to investor expectations that the private markets are beginning to un-freeze, which should lead to a step up in deal crystallizations (sales) for the company.”
A portfolio manager confidently pointing to a graph of market indices on a wall display.
Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 58 hedge fund portfolios held Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) at the end of the second quarter which was 55 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) and shared Aristotle Capital Value Equity Strategy’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.