What if you had copied Dodge & Cox?
Dodge & Cox committee
The verdict
Copying Dodge & Cox's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $23,726, 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 +13.7% a year against +14.3% for the S&P 500, 0.6 points a year behind. Its worst fall was 40.6%, from Feb 19, 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 Dodge & Cox$23,726
- S&P 500$24,576
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$24,336
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $24,336, so following every move cost $610.
- $10,000 copied
- $23,726
- +137.3%, +13.7% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,576
- +145.8%, +14.3% a year
- No trading
- $24,336
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −40.6%
- Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020
- Trades
- 180
- 115 buys, 65 sales over 28 filings; about 36% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 285%
- RTX+$813
Held since Aug 2020, the stock up 252%
- WFCWells Fargo+$711
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 111%
- GOOGAlphabet+$699
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 281%
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 297%
- GEGeneral Electric+$652
Held from Aug 2022 to May 2026, the stock up 477%
The moves that cost the most
Held since Feb 2020, the stock down 77%
- FISVFiserv−$302
Held since May 2021, the stock down 44%
- AVTRAvantor−$238
Held from Feb 2024 to May 2026, the stock down 68%
Held since Feb 2023, the stock down 53%
- CMCSAComcast−$158
Held since Feb 2020, the stock down 30%
Held from Nov 2024 to Feb 2026, the stock down 33%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | +5.2% | +12.8% | −7.6 |
| 2021 | +34.5% | +28.7% | +5.8 |
| 2022 | −4.1% | −18.2% | +14.1 |
| 2023 | +18.0% | +26.2% | −8.2 |
| 2024 | +16.6% | +24.9% | −8.3 |
| 2025 | +14.7% | +17.7% | −3.0 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | +10.8% | +11.5% | −0.7 |
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.