Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Select Equity Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund returned -0.4% compared to a 4.28% return for the S&P 500 Index and a -2.2% return for the Russell 1000 Value Index. Year-to-date the fund increased 10.4% compared to 15.3% and 6.6% return for the indexes. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
Artisan Select Equity Fund highlighted stocks like Aon plc (NYSE:AON), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Aon plc (NYSE:AON) offers a range of risk and human capital solutions. The one-month return of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was 11.01%, and its shares gained 2.56% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 16, 2024, Aon plc (NYSE:AON) stock closed at $332.05 per share with a market capitalization of $72.135 billion.
Artisan Select Equity Fund stated the following regarding Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we added a small investment in Aon plc (NYSE:AON) to the portfolio. Aon is a global leader in the insurance broking and consulting industry.
It’s the world’s second-largest insurance brokerage, which is an attractive industry that we know well. The industry is relatively consolidated and characterized by recurring revenue streams and steady growth. Over the years, we have owned all three of the major companies in this industry—Marsh & McLennan, Aon and Willis Towers Watson.
In the course of our careers, we have developed a deep appreciation for the insurance broking business. These businesses have a resilient business model with many underlying growth drivers. Commercial clients face many risks that they would prefer to mitigate with insurance and risk management strategies. Property and casualty risks, the cost of reinsurance, director and officer risks, and workers’ compensation are likely to keep growing as asset values and social inflation (i.e., litigation and lawsuit costs) are likely to keep rising. Climate and cyber risks must also be managed. Insurance brokers benefit from these trends as they are paid fees and commissions to help clients craft the appropriate blend of insurance coverage. The beauty of this business is that insurance carriers bear the risk of loss, not brokers like Aon…” (Click here to read the full text)
A group of multi-cultural professionals discussing the future of insurance services in a modern office.
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 54 hedge fund portfolios held Aon plc (NYSE:AON) at the end of the first quarter which was 51 in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, Aon plc (NYSE:AON) delivered exceptional results with a 6% rise in organic revenue. While we acknowledge the potential of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) 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 Aon plc (NYSE:AON) and shared Cooper Investors Global Equities Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 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.
