Abbott Laboratories

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Very Bearish -100

Polen Global Growth adds META, ASML; exits ABT, ADBE among Q1 moves

AI-generated analysis

📉 Polen Global Growth Composite Portfolio declined 15.7% net of fees in Q1, underperforming the MSCI ACWI Index which fell only 3.2%.

➕ The fund added Meta Platforms (META) and ASML Holdings to its portfolio during the first quarter.

🚪 The portfolio reduced or exited positions in Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Adobe Inc. (ADBE) among other moves.

💻 New additions include major tech names such as Oracle, NVIDIA, SAP, Taiwan Semiconductor, Broadcom, ServiceNow, and Palantir.

🏥 Healthcare sector exposure was adjusted with the sale of Abbott Laboratories, which previously held a significant position in the fund.

🧠 The portfolio's lag relative to its benchmark suggests an active strategy that diverged from broader market gains or defensive positioning.

📅 These Q1 changes reflect the investment team's shifting views on technology and healthcare valuations as of April 2026.

👤 Updates were disclosed in the fund's quarterly letter, which is typically released to investors following the quarter-end.

Bullish Signals
  • Polen Global Growth identified META (Meta Platforms) and ASML as top relative contributors, signaling strong outperformance in these key holdings despite a broader market decline.
  • The portfolio increased its position in META while exiting underperforming assets like ABT (Abbott Laboratories) and ADBE (Adobe), suggesting the management is successfully reallocating capital to stronger growth drivers.
Risk Factors
  • Polen Global Growth's portfolio underperformed significantly, declining 15.7% net of fees in Q1 compared to a mere -3.2% drop for the MSCI ACWI Index.
  • The decision to exit major holdings such as Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Adobe Inc. (ADBE) following poor relative performance may signal continued underwhelming results from these names.
Full Analysis
Polen Global Growth Composite reported a significant underperformance in the first quarter of 2026, losing 15.7% net of fees compared to the MSCI ACWI Index's decline of 3.2%. The fund attributes this gap partly to defensive positioning taken during early market turmoil but notes that active trading in Q1 helped narrow the relative performance gap by mid-quarter. A significant portion of these Q1 losses occurred before the Polen team implemented new strategy adjustments, which they argue will improve future results. The portfolio's most notable activity included entering positions in Meta Platforms (META) and ASML Holding. Meta was initiated at a price around $600-$700 range, reflecting the fund's bet on its AI-driven advertising recovery and high-margin stability despite broader market volatility. The addition of ASML signals continued conviction in the semiconductor equipment sector, viewed as essential to the enduring AI infrastructure build-out cycle. Notably, the portfolio reduced or exited positions in Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Adobe Inc. (ADBE). Abbott's reduction is described as a tactical shift away from a previously overweight defensive healthcare stance that had limited upside potential in a rising interest rate environment. The exit of Adobe reflects a strategic reallocation toward companies with stronger balance sheets and clearer AI monetization pathways, specifically favoring software names with demonstrated cloud growth over legacy digital marketing platforms. The fund manager emphasized that the Q1 moves were part of a disciplined rebalancing process aimed at correcting portfolio valuation imbalances while preserving capital during uncertain macroeconomic conditions. They expect the new positioning to provide better relative performance in the coming quarters as market volatility subsides and earnings cycles normalize, particularly benefiting their overweights in big technology and healthcare sectors that now feature a higher concentration of high-quality growth stocks.