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Bell Asset Management, an investment management company, released its Q4 2024 “Bell Global Equities Fund” investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. A depreciating Australian Dollar boosted returns for local investors, concluding another successful year for equity investors. The MSCI World ex-Australia Index rose 2.6% over December, while the Bell Global Equities Fund (Platform Class) returned 2.8%, outpacing the Index by 0.2%. Annually, absolute returns were strong, with the Fund (Platform Class) appreciating by 21.7%, though it lagged the MSCI World ex-Australia Index, which increased by 31.2%. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to find out its best picks for 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Bell Global Equities Fund emphasized stocks such as The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL). The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) is a global manufacturer of skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The one-month return of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was -12.96%, and its shares lost 51.21% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 26, 2025, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) stock closed at $72.97 per share with a market capitalization of $26.248 billion.
Bell Global Equities Fund stated the following regarding The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
"In terms of exits, we sold our small position in prestige beauty company, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL). This decision was based on a deterioration in several aspects of the investment case, including eroding profitability, limited visibility on important growth drivers such as China and Travel Retail, and a loss of confidence in management following a series of earnings disappointments and recent leadership changes at both the CEO and CFO levels. We took advantage of the 25%+ bounce from recent lows to exit the name and rotate the capital into other higher conviction ideas."
A photograph of a customer testing out different products in the skincare aisle at a store.
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 45 hedge fund portfolios held The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 49 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) 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.