Billionaire Lee Ainslie's Maverick Capital soared in March despite the struggles of his Tiger Cub peers

• Maverick Capital returned 20% in March, sources told Insider, and is up 36% for the year.
• The fund is outpacing its fellow Tiger Cubs, such as Lone Pine, Coatue, and Tiger Global, this year.
• Maverick is losing its top stock picker, Andrew Warford, who is going to run his own family office.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

After the Reddit-fueled GameStop saga that ensnared funds such as Melvin Capital and D1 Capital, Maverick Capital’s founder, Lee Ainslie, told investors that his $9 billion fund was poised to take advantage of the trading landscape.

Two months later, it’s clear Ainslie wasn’t bluffing.

Maverick is dominating 2021 so far, returning 20% in March alone to fuel a 36% gain for the first quarter, sources told Insider.

The firm did not immediately return request for comment.

It’s unclear what moves Maverick made following January’s market volatility. Regulatory filings from February for the firm’s portfolio show that Facebook, DuPont, and Microsoft were the manager’s largest holdings to start the year, and each of those companies have seen their stocks rise, with Microsoft’s 17% jump since the New Year leading the way.

Maverick’s fifth-biggest holding, manufacturing equipment-maker Applied Materials, has increased by more than 50% since 2021’s start.

The impressive March performance comes after Insider reported in February that the firm’s top stock picker, Andrew Warford, would be leaving the firm to run his own family office. Warford, a longtime Maverick employee, became a managing partner in 2013 and still owns part of the firm.

Fellow Tiger Cubs — funds founded by people who worked under legendary Tiger Management head Julian Robertson — did not enjoy March nearly as much as Maverick and Ainslie. Lone Pine, Coatue, and Tiger Global all lost money last month. 

Sources told Insider that Tiger Global lost 5.3% last month and is up 0.8% for the year through March. The Chase Coleman-led fund declined to comment. Melvin Capital also fell in March after chipping away its GameStop-caused losses in February. 

The average hedge fund, according to Hedge Fund Research, was up 1% in March and just over 6% for the first quarter.

The biggest Tiger Cub blow-up last month was from a family office, not a hedge fund. Former Tiger Asia founder Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital lost tens of billions in a matter of days thanks to highly leveraged derivatives trades that went sideways.

Archegos’ collapse led to big losses at banks like Credit Suisse and Nomura, and could be the impetus for the Securities and Exchange Commission to add more transparency to derivatives markets. 

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