What if you had copied Southeastern Asset Management?
Mason Hawkins
The verdict
Copying Southeastern Asset Management's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $20,300, 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 +11.1% a year against +14.4% for the S&P 500, 3.2 points a year behind. Its worst fall was 39.4%, from Feb 20, 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 Southeastern Asset Management$20,301
- S&P 500$24,639
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$31,600
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $31,600, so following every move cost $11,299.
- $10,000 copied
- $20,300
- +103.0%, +11.1% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,639
- +146.4%, +14.4% a year
- No trading
- $31,600
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −39.4%
- Feb 20, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020
- Trades
- 155
- 101 buys, 54 sales over 27 filings; about 58% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
- CNXCnx Resources+$3,076
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 472%
- FDXFedEx+$1,467
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 182%
- HHyatt Hotels+$1,012
Held since May 2020, the stock up 251%
- SNSharkninja+$848
Held since Nov 2023, the stock up 434%
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 361%
- ACMRAcm Research+$672
Held since Aug 2025, the stock up 99%
The moves that cost the most
- LUMNLumen Technologies−$2,675
Held from May 2021 to Aug 2023, the stock down 87%
Held from Feb 2020 to Nov 2025, the stock down 63%
- PPLIPeople−$588
Held since Nov 2021, the stock down 61%
- WESTWestrock Coffee−$336
Held from Nov 2022 to Nov 2025, the stock down 69%
- ACIAlbertsons Cos−$316
Held since Nov 2024, the stock down 26%
- DDSDillards−$262
Held from Feb 2020 to Aug 2020, the stock down 56%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | +32.5% | +13.1% | +19.4 |
| 2021 | +18.5% | +28.7% | −10.2 |
| 2022 | −18.9% | −18.2% | −0.8 |
| 2023 | +18.2% | +26.2% | −8.0 |
| 2024 | +16.5% | +24.9% | −8.4 |
| 2025 | +7.7% | +17.7% | −10.0 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | +7.5% | +11.5% | −4.0 |
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.