Parnassus Investments, an investment management company, released the “Parnassus Core Equity Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, U.S. stocks rose, closing up a robust 2024. The Fund (Investor Shares) surged 0.28% (net of fees) in the quarter underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s 2.41% return. For the year, the fund returned 18.52% (net of fees) compared to S&P 500 Index’s 25.02%. Stocks soared after the U.S. presidential election as investors awaited the incoming administration’s business-friendly policies. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Parnassus Core Equity Fund emphasized stocks such as CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME). Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts. The one-month return of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was 3.46%, and its shares gained 17.43% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 11, 2025, CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) stock closed at $260.43 per share with a market capitalization of $93.85 billion.
Parnassus Core Equity Fund stated the following regarding CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME), a leading global derivatives marketplace, advanced for the year but trailed the broader market’s gains. Elevated market volatility drove higher trading volumes across asset classes, boosting revenues. However, concerns around competition and decelerating earnings growth weighed on the stock’s valuation. In Financials, we sold CME Group, an operator of futures and derivatives exchanges that faces slowing growth and rising competition. CME Group, a leading operator of futures and derivatives exchanges globally, faces slowing growth and rising competition. We reallocated our investment from CME to Eli Lilly in order to take advantage of the pharmaceutical maker’s greater growth potential.”
A businessman in the foreground shaking hands with a colleague in a trading floor.
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 73 hedge fund portfolios held CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 63 in the previous quarter. CME Group Inc.’s (NASDAQ:CME) 2024 revenue increased 10% from 2023 to $6.1 billion. While we acknowledge the potential of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) and shared the list of long-term stock picks of billionaire George Soros. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.