What if you had copied Lone Pine Capital?
Founded by Stephen Mandel
The verdict
Copying Lone Pine Capital's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $14,587, less 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 +5.8% a year against +14.4% for the S&P 500, 8.6 points a year behind. Its worst fall was 58.6%, from Oct 21, 2021 to Nov 3, 2022. 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 Lone Pine Capital$14,587
- S&P 500$24,639
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$15,718
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $15,718, so following every move cost $1,131.
- $10,000 copied
- $14,587
- +45.9%, +5.8% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,639
- +146.4%, +14.4% a year
- No trading
- $15,718
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −58.6%
- Oct 21, 2021 to Nov 3, 2022
- Trades
- 374
- 204 buys, 170 sales over 29 filings; about 101% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
- TSMTaiwan Semiconductor+$1,450
Held since May 2022, the stock up 352%
- APPAppLovin+$1,290
Held since May 2024, the stock up 393%
- MSFTMicrosoft+$809
Held from Feb 2020 to May 2026, the stock up 139%
- AMZNAmazon.com+$806
Held from Feb 2020 to May 2026, the stock up 146%
- METAMeta Platforms+$636
Held from Feb 2020 to Feb 2026, the stock up 73%
Held from Feb 2024 to May 2026, the stock up 136%
The moves that cost the most
- SNAP−$819
Held from Feb 2021 to Aug 2022, the stock down 80%
- MRNAModerna−$648
Held from Aug 2021 to Nov 2023, the stock down 84%
- NBISNebius−$620
Held since Aug 2026, the stock down 47%
Held from Nov 2021 to Nov 2024, the stock down 56%
- FTCHQFarfetch−$566
Held from Feb 2021 to Aug 2022, the stock down 85%
Held since Aug 2026, the stock down 49%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | +40.8% | +13.1% | +27.7 |
| 2021 | +3.6% | +28.7% | −25.2 |
| 2022 | −48.4% | −18.2% | −30.2 |
| 2023 | +38.2% | +26.2% | +12.0 |
| 2024 | +41.9% | +24.9% | +17.0 |
| 2025 | +21.7% | +17.7% | +4.0 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | −18.7% | +11.5% | −30.2 |
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.