Polen Focused Growth

The wide moat long-only growth investor out of Boca Raton, FL

In this article, we will learn about Polen Focused Growth Strategy, a long-only mutual fund that specializes in wide moat growth investing.

We will dive into the investment team and their process, the characteristics they look for in an investment, their portfolio management philosophy, and a case study on how a compounder can be misunderstood during periods of controversy.

Let’s dive in.

Polen Capital

Polen Capital is a growth public equity investment firm founded in New York in 1979 by David Polen. Its marquee product, the Focused Growth Fund, which manages $80 billion at peak and is the topic of discussion in this article, was launched in 1989.

In 2002, the firm moved its headquarters to Boca Raton, Florida, for cost-of-living reasons.

The firm has expanded its offerings over the years to include:

• Focused Growth: Large-cap growth, based in Boca Raton, FL.

• Small Company: Small-cap growth, based in Boston, MA.

• Emerging Market: Emerging market growth, based in London and Hong Kong.

• Credit: Through the acquisition of DDJ Capital Management in 2021., a high-yield credit investment firm, based in Waltham, MA.