What if you had copied Fundsmith?
Terry Smith
The verdict
Copying Fundsmith's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $18,733, 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 +9.8% a year against +14.3% for the S&P 500, 4.5 points a year behind. Its worst fall was 33.4%, from Sep 3, 2021 to Oct 14, 2022. 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 Fundsmith$18,733
- S&P 500$24,576
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$17,485
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $17,485, so following every move earned $1,248 more.
- $10,000 copied
- $18,733
- +87.3%, +9.8% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,576
- +145.8%, +14.3% a year
- No trading
- $17,485
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −33.4%
- Sep 3, 2021 to Oct 14, 2022
- Trades
- 123
- 82 buys, 41 sales over 27 filings; about 32% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
- MSFTMicrosoft+$1,627
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 212%
- METAMeta Platforms+$1,228
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 202%
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 204%
- GOOGLAlphabet+$893
Held since Feb 2022, the stock up 113%
- WATWaters+$714
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 122%
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 167%
The moves that cost the most
Held from Feb 2020 to Nov 2023, the stock down 39%
- ZTSZoetis−$275
Held from Feb 2021 to Aug 2026, the stock down 53%
- BF.BBrown-Forman−$249
Held from Feb 2020 to Aug 2025, the stock down 53%
- NKENike−$236
Held from May 2020 to May 2026, the stock down 47%
- PYPLPayPal−$217
Held from Feb 2020 to Feb 2023, the stock down 37%
- GEVGE Vernova−$144
Held since Aug 2026, the stock down 23%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | +24.2% | +12.8% | +11.4 |
| 2021 | +22.3% | +28.7% | −6.4 |
| 2022 | −24.8% | −18.2% | −6.7 |
| 2023 | +16.8% | +26.2% | −9.4 |
| 2024 | +15.8% | +24.9% | −9.1 |
| 2025 | +9.2% | +17.7% | −8.5 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | +11.1% | +11.5% | −0.4 |
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.