Hibbert’s hedge fund approach is seen as a markedly cautious one, with investors even saying it has at times held back gains. The fund was European-focused in the first few years before boosting exposure to U.S. listed firms. He uses little leverage and typically holds between 150 and 200 long and short bets, a departure from the classic manager approach of concentrated, directional bets.
The strategy has led to annualized outperformance of 10% against the MSCI World Index since its launch—both on long and short bets, according to calculations by one of his investors. And Hibbert has surprised clients with his attention to detail on such a large number of stocks. One investor who has met with him several times said even questions about his smallest position will prompt a specific investing thesis, with Hibbert rattling off historical figures and details about the company.
As well as Facebook and Alphabet, payments company Mastercard Inc., Microsoft Corp., French luxury group LVMH and animal health company Zoetis Inc. were among Hibbert’s top 10 holdings at the end of August, according to the investor document seen by Bloomberg.
Potentially most important to investors is Hibbert’s track record during periods of stress. His small bets spread across many stocks helps ensure limited damage should they go wrong and resilience in challenging market conditions—a key reason why investors pay top fees to hedge funds.
They have reason to be satisfied. During the S&P 500’s worst ten months over the past decade, Hibbert underperformed just once and made money during half of them.
—With assistance from Silla Brush, Erik Schatzker, Annie Massa, Dinesh Nair and Tom Maloney.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.