What if you had copied Starboard Value?
Jeff Smith
The verdict
Copying Starboard Value's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $19,228, 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 +10.2% a year against +14.4% for the S&P 500, 4.1 points a year behind. Its worst fall was 34.5%, 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 Starboard Value$19,229
- S&P 500$24,639
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$19,176
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $19,176, so following every move earned $52 more.
- $10,000 copied
- $19,228
- +92.3%, +10.2% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,639
- +146.4%, +14.4% a year
- No trading
- $19,176
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −34.5%
- Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020
- Trades
- 129
- 74 buys, 55 sales over 28 filings; about 71% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
- GDDYGodaddy+$2,531
Held from Feb 2022 to May 2025, the stock up 120%
- VRTVertiv+$1,593
Held from Feb 2023 to May 2024, the stock up 506%
- WIXWix.com+$1,148
Held from Nov 2022 to May 2025, the stock up 100%
- ACMAecom+$1,054
Held from Feb 2020 to Nov 2024, the stock up 132%
- GENGen Digital+$866
Held from Feb 2020 to Aug 2026, the stock up 54%
- ONOn Semiconductor+$737
Held from Feb 2021 to Aug 2023, the stock up 136%
The moves that cost the most
- FTREFortrea−$813
Held from Feb 2024 to Nov 2025, the stock down 72%
- HUMHumana−$485
Held from May 2022 to Feb 2025, the stock down 40%
- BLMNBloomin' Brands−$480
Held since Nov 2023, the stock down 53%
- GDOTGreen Dot−$420
Held from May 2020 to Nov 2025, the stock down 71%
Held from May 2021 to Nov 2022, the stock down 64%
- EHTHEhealth−$396
Held from May 2021 to Feb 2023, the stock down 84%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | +17.1% | +13.1% | +4.0 |
| 2021 | +18.8% | +28.7% | −10.0 |
| 2022 | −14.9% | −18.2% | +3.2 |
| 2023 | +29.3% | +26.2% | +3.1 |
| 2024 | +15.0% | +24.9% | −9.9 |
| 2025 | +1.0% | +17.7% | −16.7 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | +8.3% | +11.5% | −3.2 |
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.