stocksbrew

What if you had copied Elliott Investment Management?

Paul Singer

The verdict

Copying Elliott Investment Management's 13F filings from May 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $77,883, more than the S&P 500 did.

The S&P 500 turned the same $10,000 into $27,960 over the same days. The copy returned +37.3% a year against +17.2% for the S&P 500, 20 points a year ahead. Its worst fall was 23.6%, from Jun 7, 2022 to Jul 5, 2022. The S&P 500's worst fall over the test was 24.5%.

Copied May 18, 2020 to Nov 9, 2026 · SEC 13F filings and daily closes

What $10,000 became

Closes to Nov 9, 2026
  • Copying Elliott Investment Management$77,883
  • S&P 500$27,960
  • Bought their first portfolio and never traded$77,216
May 18, 2020 to Nov 9, 2026

If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $77,216, so following every move earned $666 more.

$10,000 copied
$77,883
+678.8%, +37.3% a year
In the S&P 500
$27,960
+179.6%, +17.2% a year
No trading
$77,216
Bought their first portfolio and never traded
Worst fall
−23.6%
Jun 7, 2022 to Jul 5, 2022
Trades
163
90 buys, 73 sales over 29 filings; about 65% of the copy traded a year

The moves that made the most

The moves that cost the most

  • UNITUniti−$1,209

    Held since Nov 2025, the stock down 30%

  • Held from Feb 2024 to Aug 2025, the stock down 35%

  • Held since May 2024, the stock down 66%

  • PYPLPayPal−$195

    Held from Aug 2022 to Aug 2023, the stock down 42%

  • BILL−$175

    Held from Nov 2025 to May 2026, the stock down 22%

  • Held since Aug 2023, the stock down 13%

Year by year

YearCopyS&P 500Gap, pts
2020from May 2020+50.8%+28.4%+22.4
2021+44.5%+28.7%+15.7
2022+41.0%−18.2%+59.2
2023+20.9%+26.2%−5.3
2024+10.8%+24.9%−14.1
2025+48.5%+17.7%+30.8
2026to Nov 2026+27.4%+11.5%+16.0

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.

After hours

That's a wrap.

17hrs04min09sec

Market opens Friday, Nov 13 at 9:30 AM ET