Missed NVIDIA, Polen's AUM Evaporated Nearly $50 Billion in Four Years

Odaily Planet Daily News Asset management firm Polen has become a textbook case of how missing out on a single big winner amid the AI boom can alter an institution's fate. In just four years, its assets under management have shrunk by 60%, decreasing by nearly $50 billion to approximately $33 billion.

Most of the company's six equity mutual funds employ a concentrated portfolio strategy, holding a small number of growth stocks. Its flagship product, the Polen Growth Fund, holds less than 30 stocks. This fund did not buy NVIDIA (NVDA.O), instead sticking with software stocks like Adobe (ADBE.O), Salesforce (CRM.N), and ServiceNow (NOW.N). In a June 2023 letter to clients discussing NVIDIA, Polen wrote: "We believe that nearly all of the upside opportunities we can currently see for the company have already been priced into the market." Since then, NVIDIA's stock price has surged nearly 400%.

Meanwhile, an index tracking cloud software companies fell by 3% over the same period. It wasn't until late 2025, after NVIDIA had already made countless investors substantial profits, that Polen finally changed its stance. The firm admitted its previous pessimistic view on AI chips was a misjudgment and began purchasing related stocks. (Jin Shi)