What if you had copied Baupost Group?
Seth Klarman
The verdict
Copying Baupost Group's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $15,791, less than the S&P 500 did.
The S&P 500 turned the same $10,000 into $24,576 over the same days. The copy returned +7.0% a year against +14.3% for the S&P 500, 7.3 points a year behind. Its worst fall was 44.6%, from Feb 14, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020. The S&P 500's worst fall over the test was 33.7%.
Copied Feb 14, 2020 to Nov 9, 2026 · SEC 13F filings and daily closes
What $10,000 became
- Copying Baupost Group$15,791
- S&P 500$24,576
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$26,121
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $26,121, so following every move cost $10,329.
- $10,000 copied
- $15,791
- +57.9%, +7.0% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,576
- +145.8%, +14.3% a year
- No trading
- $26,121
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −44.6%
- Feb 14, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020
- Trades
- 179
- 101 buys, 78 sales over 27 filings; about 81% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
- GOOGAlphabet+$1,783
Held since May 2020, the stock up 322%
- EBAY+$1,214
Held from Feb 2020 to Feb 2022, the stock up 56%
Held from Aug 2022 to Feb 2024, the stock up 252%
Held since May 2024, the stock up 75%
- CRH+$624
Held from Nov 2023 to May 2026, the stock up 80%
- AMZNAmazon.com+$443
Held since Aug 2022, the stock up 7%
The moves that cost the most
- VSATViasat−$1,723
Held from Feb 2020 to Nov 2025, the stock down 41%
- INTCIntel−$1,018
Held from Feb 2021 to Nov 2022, the stock down 48%
- CLVTClarivate−$271
Held from Nov 2023 to Aug 2025, the stock down 40%
Held from Feb 2020 to Nov 2020, the stock down 70%
- NUVBNuvation Bio−$196
Held from May 2021 to May 2023, the stock down 86%
- EXPEagle Materials−$160
Held since May 2024, the stock down 30%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | −9.4% | +12.8% | −22.2 |
| 2021 | +25.8% | +28.7% | −2.9 |
| 2022 | −27.4% | −18.2% | −9.2 |
| 2023 | +28.1% | +26.2% | +1.9 |
| 2024 | +10.8% | +24.9% | −14.1 |
| 2025 | +20.5% | +17.7% | +2.8 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | +11.6% | +11.5% | +0.1 |
A historical test on paper, before costs and taxes. It trades at the close of the first trading day after each filing comes out, up to 45 days after the quarter, and skips delisted companies, which flatters it.