This Fund Averaged 23% Returns Over 7 Years — And They’re Still Betting on These 5 Stocks

What If the Smartest Move Is… Doing Nothing?

Markets feel like a migraine lately: Tariff headlines. Trade war flashbacks. Government chaos.

The S&P is wobbling. Retail sentiment is shot. And most managers are shuffling their portfolios like they’re playing 52-card pickup.

But not Bender Roberts & Associates. They’ve been outperforming for nearly a decade, and their latest portfolio says one thing loud and clear:

Who Are Bender Roberts & Associates?

They’re not famous. They’re not flashy. They don’t chase heat — they compound.

📍 Based in the U.S.

📊 Quietly managing money with a focus on quality growth

🧾 Known through their 13F filings — and their performance speaks louder than PR ever could

Over the past 7 years, if you’d copied their top 5 holdings (with portfolio weights), you’d have beat the S&P easily.

Note: Based on hypothetical replication of 13F top 5 with manager weights.

2025: First Real Bruise

As of mid-April, Bender Roberts is down –19% YTD.

Why?

• Their biggest positions like Apple and Nvidia are getting hammered.

• Uncertainty around tariffs and global trade hits tech harder than most.

• The fund hasn’t rotated out. They’ve trimmed a bit — but no drastic moves.

And that’s kind of the point. When the wind shifts, you don’t rebuild the boat — you hold the rudder steady.

Their Latest Portfolio (as of 2025/03/31)

Let’s take a look at their current Top 10 holdings:

They reduced Nvidia. Slightly trimmed Amazon. But Apple, MELI, and Vertex all went up.

That’s not rotation. That’s reinforcement.

You already know Apple, Nvidia, Amazon. Let’s talk about the three under-the-radar names they’re still quietly betting big on 👇

🧠 Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)

• Maker of the da Vinci robotic surgery system

• Massive moat in robotic-assisted procedures

• Recurring revenue from instruments + services

• Aging population = long-term volume growth

• Operating margins >30%, strong free cash flow

Bender Roberts has held this for years. This quarter? They increased their position.

Quiet compounding. High predictability. Low hype.

🌎 MercadoLibre (MELI)

• Dominant e-commerce + fintech player in LATAM

• Vertical integration: marketplace, logistics, payments (Mercado Pago)

• Massive growth runway in under-digitized markets

• Surprisingly profitable (yes, even in Brazil)

Up +1.2% in their portfolio this quarter. They’re leaning in — while most U.S. investors are sleeping on it.

🔬 Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)

• Monopoly in cystic fibrosis treatments

• Strong balance sheet, huge R&D pipeline

• Expanding into sickle cell, diabetes, and pain management

• Cash-rich, low dilution, high ROIC

They bumped this up +0.7% last quarter — their biggest increase outside Apple and MELI.

The Takeaway

Bender Roberts isn’t bulletproof. But their playbook is clear:

• Pick winners

• Size up slowly

• Don’t flinch when the market freaks out

2025 has been rough. But the same was true in 2020. And 2018. And 2015.

Would you bet against that?

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