In a year where beating the market has proven challenging, a select group of stock fund managers have found winning strategies. They shared where they see opportunities ahead with Barron’s.
With the S&P 500 (SP500) (SPY) up 16% in 2025, only 31% of active U.S. stock funds managed to beat comparable index funds over the past 12 months, down from 44% a year earlier, according to Morningstar. Yet several funds have defied the odds by looking beyond the dominant tech sector, Barron’s reported.
Alger Focus Equity (ALGRX) stands out with a remarkable 40% return this year and 20% annualized returns over the past decade — ranking in the top 2% of large growth funds. Managers Patrick Kelly and Ankur Crawford are bullish on AppLovin (APP), the mobile gaming ad company whose stock has nearly doubled in 2025. They also favor Western Digital (WDC), up 255% this year, and QXO (QXO), led by billionaire Brad Jacobs with plans to create a $50B building-products distributor by 2035.
The Tanaka Growth Fund (TGFRX) has surged nearly 50% this year despite managing just $31M in assets. Manager Graham Tanaka is betting big on Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), a biotech company whose new ovarian cancer treatment awaits FDA review in 2026. He’s also invested in United States Antimony (UAMY), which recently secured $245M in Pentagon contracts.
Meanwhile, Fidelity Large Cap Stock (FLCSX) returned 25% this year by avoiding the tech chase. Portfolio manager Matthew Fruhan is emphasizing industrials and financials, including Boeing (BA) and Wells Fargo (WFC). On Wells Fargo, Fruhan sees potential for the bank’s financial profile to eventually match leaders like JPMorgan Chase, especially as megabanks leverage AI to build competitive advantages.