What if you had copied Whale Rock Capital?
Alex Sacerdote
The verdict
Copying Whale Rock Capital's 13F filings from Feb 2020 would have turned $10,000 into $33,219, 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 +19.5% a year against +14.4% for the S&P 500, 5.2 points a year ahead. Its worst fall was 59.2%, from Feb 12, 2021 to Nov 9, 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 Whale Rock Capital$33,219
- S&P 500$24,639
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded$29,464
If you had bought their first portfolio and never traded, you would have ended at $29,464, so following every move earned $3,755 more.
- $10,000 copied
- $33,219
- +232.2%, +19.5% a year
- In the S&P 500
- $24,639
- +146.4%, +14.4% a year
- No trading
- $29,464
- Bought their first portfolio and never traded
- Worst fall
- −59.2%
- Feb 12, 2021 to Nov 9, 2022
- Trades
- 519
- 277 buys, 242 sales over 28 filings; about 121% of the copy traded a year
The moves that made the most
- CLSCelestica+$4,361
Held since Aug 2024, the stock up 298%
- NVDANVIDIA+$3,068
Held since May 2020, the stock up 1,126%
- APPAppLovin+$2,583
Held since May 2024, the stock up 393%
- METAMeta Platforms+$1,694
Held since Feb 2020, the stock up 415%
- BEBloom Energy+$1,453
Held since Aug 2024, the stock up 1,612%
- FROGJfrog+$1,431
Held since Nov 2020, the stock up 144%
The moves that cost the most
- ALABAstera Labs−$857
Held since Aug 2026, the stock down 32%
- RBLXRoblox−$583
Held from Aug 2021 to Aug 2026, the stock down 30%
- MKSIMks−$531
Held since May 2026, the stock down 28%
- DASHDoordash−$486
Held from Feb 2021 to Aug 2022, the stock down 63%
- MNDYMonday.com−$414
Held from Nov 2021 to Nov 2025, the stock down 68%
- VIAVViavi Solutions−$400
Held since May 2026, the stock down 36%
Year by year
| Year | Copy | S&P 500 | Gap, pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020from Feb 2020 | +92.1% | +13.1% | +79.0 |
| 2021 | −4.0% | +28.7% | −32.7 |
| 2022 | −48.2% | −18.2% | −30.1 |
| 2023 | +72.1% | +26.2% | +45.9 |
| 2024 | +44.5% | +24.9% | +19.6 |
| 2025 | +48.8% | +17.7% | +31.1 |
| 2026to Nov 2026 | −5.9% | +11.5% | −17.4 |
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.