Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Hedged Equity Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The direction of interest rates, inflation, and the outcome of the US election all had a significant impact on the markets throughout the quarter. In the quarter, the fund appreciated 0.07% (net), trailing its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, which returned 2.41%, and its secondary benchmark, the CBOE S&P 500 Buy/Write Index’s 5.79% return. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Meridian Hedged Equity Fund emphasized stocks such as Visa Inc. (NYSE:V). Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a payment technology company. The one-month return of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) was -5.30%, and its shares gained 16.98% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 11, 2025, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) stock closed at $332.14 per share with a market capitalization of $640.701 billion.
Meridian Hedged Equity Fund stated the following regarding Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is the world’s largest retail electronic payments network. We hold Visa in the portfolio because of its formidable competitive moat, built on network effects spanning billions of cards and millions of merchants globally. The company continues to benefit from the secular shift toward electronic payments while expanding its portfolio to include high-growth adjacent offerings. While U.S. market penetration is mature, international markets—particularly in emerging economies, where cash usage remains prevalent— offer significant growth opportunities. Visa’s operating model demonstrates strong leverage, with incremental revenue efficiently flowing to the bottom line. This quarter, Visa outperformed expectations across key metrics, with payment volumes and transaction growth proving resilient despite macro uncertainties. Looking ahead, we anticipate continued momentum into fiscal 2025, driven by the ongoing transition to digital payments, international expansion, and the scaling of newer business lines.”
A close-up of a credit card being swiped on a payment terminal, reflecting the company’s payments technology.
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is in 6th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 181 hedge fund portfolios held Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 165 in the previous quarter. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) had a strong start to fiscal year 2025 with $9.5 billion in net revenue, up 10% year-over-year, and a 14% increase in EPS. While we acknowledge the potential of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) 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 Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and shared the list of best low risk stocks to buy in 2025. 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.