What if you had copied Gotham Asset Management?
Joel Greenblatt
The verdict
Copying Gotham Asset Management's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $25,440, more than the S&P 500 did.
The S&P 500 turned the same $10,000 into $24,639 over the same days. The copy returned +14.9% a year against +14.4% for the S&P 500, 0.5 points a year ahead. Its worst fall was 30.6%, from Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020. The S&P 500's worst fall over the test was 33.7%.
Copied Feb 18, 2020 to Nov 9, 2026 · SEC 13F filings and daily closes
What $10,000 became
- Copying Gotham Asset Management$25,440
- S&P 500$24,639
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$22,023
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $22,023, so following every move earned $3,417 more.
- $10,000 copied
- $25,440
- +154.4%, +14.9% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,639
- +146.4%, +14.4% a year
- No trading
- $22,023
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −30.6%
- Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020
- Trades
- 790
- 420 buys, 370 sales over 27 filings; about 84% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
Held since May 2021, the stock up 97%
- GSPYGotham Enhanced 500 ETF+$1,201
Held since Nov 2021, the stock up 77%
- AAPLApple+$1,142
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 356%
- NVDANVIDIA+$934
Held since Nov 2020, the stock up 357%
- MSFTMicrosoft+$641
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 209%
- GOOGLAlphabet+$627
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 283%
The moves that cost the most
- GMGeneral Motors−$92
Held from Feb 2020 to Feb 2025, the stock down 49%
- BIIBBiogen−$83
Held from Feb 2020 to Nov 2020, the stock down 26%
Held from Feb 2020 to May 2025, the stock down 39%
- TROWT Rowe Price−$71
Held from Aug 2021 to May 2022, the stock down 40%
Held since Nov 2024, the stock down 34%
Held from Feb 2025 to May 2026, the stock down 43%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | +11.4% | +13.1% | −1.7 |
| 2021 | +28.6% | +28.7% | −0.1 |
| 2022 | −20.4% | −18.2% | −2.2 |
| 2023 | +28.9% | +26.2% | +2.8 |
| 2024 | +25.3% | +24.9% | +0.4 |
| 2025 | +22.0% | +17.7% | +4.3 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | +13.1% | +11.5% | +1.6 |
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.