What if you had copied Gardner Russo & Quinn?
Tom Russo
The verdict
Copying Gardner Russo & Quinn's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $19,233, less than the S&P 500 did.
The S&P 500 turned the same $10,000 into $24,589 over the same days. The copy returned +10.2% a year against +14.3% for the S&P 500, 4.1 points a year behind. Its worst fall was 32.4%, from Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020. The S&P 500's worst fall over the test was 33.7%.
Copied Feb 12, 2020 to Nov 9, 2026 · SEC 13F filings and daily closes
What $10,000 became
- Copying Gardner Russo & Quinn$19,233
- S&P 500$24,589
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$18,671
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $18,671, so following every move earned $562 more.
- $10,000 copied
- $19,233
- +92.3%, +10.2% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,589
- +145.9%, +14.3% a year
- No trading
- $18,671
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −32.4%
- Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020
- Trades
- 153
- 101 buys, 52 sales over 27 filings; about 20% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
- GOOGAlphabet+$2,169
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 282%
- BRK.ABerkshire Hathaway+$1,700
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 150%
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 206%
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 221%
- MAMastercard+$1,104
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 104%
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 153%
The moves that cost the most
Held since Feb 2020, the stock down 46%
- BABAAlibaba−$253
Held from May 2021 to Nov 2022, the stock down 66%
- WFCWells Fargo−$201
Held from Feb 2020 to Nov 2025
- CABOCable One−$146
Held from Feb 2021 to Aug 2024, the stock down 81%
- BF.ABrown-Forman−$100
Held since Feb 2020, the stock down 46%
Held since Feb 2024, the stock down 10%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | +4.6% | +12.9% | −8.3 |
| 2021 | +20.8% | +28.7% | −7.9 |
| 2022 | −11.8% | −18.2% | +6.4 |
| 2023 | +17.1% | +26.2% | −9.1 |
| 2024 | +12.3% | +24.9% | −12.6 |
| 2025 | +22.4% | +17.7% | +4.7 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | +7.1% | +11.5% | −4.4 |
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.