Polen Capital
Polen Focus Growth
US Mega-cap Growth
Dec 2024 → Sep 2026
Our archive holds 9 letters from this strategy, behind 20 investment theses and positions in 28 companies. Every quote below is copied verbatim from the letter it came from.
9 letters in 3 years · follow all of Polen Capital for every strategy.
Performance
as of Sep 30, 2026 · net of fees · USD
- YTD−8.1%index +6.3%
- 1Y−9.5%index +7.5%
- 3Y · /yr+8.3%index +24.3%
- 5Y · /yr+0.1%index +13.7%
- 10Y · /yr+11.6%index +18.2%
- Inception · /yr+12.8%index +12.0%
Index: Russell 1000 Growth
| YTD | 1Y | 3Yper year | 5Yper year | 10Yper year | Since inceptionper year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polen Focus Growth | −8.1% | −9.5% | +8.3% | +0.1% | +11.6% | +12.8% |
| Russell 1000 Growth | +6.3% | +7.5% | +24.3% | +13.7% | +18.2% | +12.0% |
Since inception: Inception^ (1-1-1989)
Disclaimer
These figures are copied from the manager’s latest letter, as of Sep 30, 2026. They were extracted automatically, have not been verified by HF Best Ideas and may contain errors. They cover a single share class, in the currency and fee basis stated above; other share classes and your own returns will differ. This is not investment advice, nor an offer to buy or sell any fund. Past performance does not predict future returns.
Read full disclosures →What it bought and sold
Additionally, we acquired a new position in Quanta Services , North America’s largest specialty infrastructure contractor, mostly focused on the electric power grid in North America.
Lastly, we trimmed our position in Starbucks to help fund the purchase of ASML.
As mentioned earlier , we added to our Meta position following the launch of Meta Muse, its personal AI agent.
Lastly, we also acquired a new position in Seagate Technology , one of only two major suppliers in the hard disk drive market.
We also sold our position in Rollins .
In terms of existing positions, we added to EMCOR Group using proceeds from the Rollins sale.
In Q3 2026, we initiated new positions in Adyen , ASML , Quanta Services , and Seagate Technology , while selling MSCI and Rollins .
During the quarter, we exited our position in MSCI to help fund the addition to Meta Platforms.
We also trimmed Shopify following strong share price performance and used the proceeds to help fund the purchase of Adyen.
At the same time, we trimmed Eli Lilly to right size the position to a more typical weight and help fund the purchase of Seagate Technology.
We also initiated a new position in ASML , which we view as a uniquely advantaged provider of advanced lithography equipment used in leading - edge semiconductor manufacturing.
We initiated a new position in Lam Research for the Portfolio, recognizing the company as a critical supplier of etch and deposition equipment used by semiconductor manufacturers to remove and deposit materials on silicon wafers.
We also added to our holdings in CoStar Group , Shopify and Service Now , while trimming our exposure to Amazon .
We also sold Adobe , Intuit and Paycom to redeploy the capital to our highest conviction software names like ServiceNow , Shopify and CoStar Group .
We also sold Adobe , Intuit and Paycom to redeploy the capital to our highest conviction software names like ServiceNow , Shopify and CoStar Group .
We also sold Boston Scientific over concerns around increasing competition in its electrophysiology business, which is key to the company's long - term growth profile.
We also sold Adobe , Intuit and Paycom to redeploy the capital to our highest conviction software names like ServiceNow , Shopify and CoStar Group .
We added to our position here during the quarter (highlighted below).
We initiated a new position in Rollins , the leading U.S. pest control provider, which has delivered strong long - term compounding through consistent organic growth and disciplined acquisitions.
We also added to our holdings in CoStar Group , Shopify and Service Now , while trimming our exposure to Amazon .
At the same time, we exited our position in Abbott Laboratories during the quarter, following a prior reduction after the company announced its acquisition of Exact Sciences.
While we remain mindful of elevated data center capex and the uncertainty around its ultimate return without a comparable cloud business, we are encouraged by Meta’s strong execution in monetizing AI across its platforms.
Also held
Its investment theses
- NVIDIASep 2026NVIDIA is viewed as a highly competitively advantaged AI infrastructure company with exceptional growth and further product-cycle upside.
- AdyenSep 2026Adyen is a global payments platform with strong technology and enterprise relationships that should keep taking share from fragmented legacy providers.
- ASMLSep 2026ASML is a uniquely advantaged lithography leader whose EUV tools are critical to advanced chip scaling and whose services add recurring revenue.
- Quanta ServicesSep 2026Quanta Services is a grid-modernization and infrastructure beneficiary with multi-year project visibility and strong growth support.
- Seagate TechnologySep 2026Seagate Technology benefits from growing storage demand, constrained supply, and attractive economics versus SSDs, supporting visibility and pricing power.
- Meta PlatformsSep 2026Meta Platforms has a powerful distribution advantage and new AI monetization avenues beyond its core advertising business.
- ShopifySep 2026Shopify still benefits from agentic commerce tailwinds and remains complementary to emerging AI-driven shopping experiences.
- Lam ResearchMar 2026Lam Research is a semiconductor equipment supplier with high switching costs, stable share, margin expansion, and AI-driven demand visibility.
- ServiceNowMar 2026ServiceNow is a mission-critical workflow software company with sticky customers, proprietary AI tools, and strong long-term growth potential.
- RollinsMar 2026Rollins is a leading pest control company with recurring demand, strong retention, scale advantages, and long-term compounding potential.