MD Sass Concentrated Value Strategy Exits Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Thesis Gap

MD Sass Concentrated Value Strategy Exits Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Thesis Gap

Mon, August 31, 2026 at 5:59 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• ^GSPC -0.50%
• ICE -1.98%

MD Sass, a boutique asset management firm, published its second-quarter investor update for its flagship, the "MD Sass Concentrated Value Strategy." The letter can be downloaded here. In the first half of 2026, AI infrastructure stocks led the market, with the Russell 1000 Value increasing by 16.3%, outpacing the S&P 500 (10.2%) and Russell 1000 Growth (5.3%). This growth was fueled by semiconductor, memory, and hardware companies benefiting from AI development, even though they are considered cyclical. These sectors, representing only 7.7% of the Russell 1000 Value at the start of the year, contributed nearly 70% of its returns. The portfolio gained 10.0% in the second quarter, net of fees, compared to 13.9% for the Russell 1000 Value Index. Year-to-date, the strategy returned 6.6%, net of fees, versus 16.3% for the Index. The portfolio faced challenges due to limited exposure to companies with the greatest upside from AI infrastructure investments. It also lacked exposure to the Energy sector, which returned about 20% in the first half amid geopolitical tensions with Iran that increased commodity prices, affecting performance. The firm recognizes the importance of adapting its strategies while maintaining core investment principles as it explores future opportunities in emerging technological themes. Also, check the fund's top five holdings to see its best picks in 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, MD Sass Concentrated Value Strategy highlighted Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a US-based financial services company that provides technology, data, and market infrastructure to financial institutions, corporations, and government entities. On August 28, 2026, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) closed at $162.33 per share. Over the past month, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) returned 6.94%, while its shares have declined 8.08% in the last 52 weeks. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has a market capitalization of $91.13 billion, and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $121.79 to $177.00.

MD Sass Concentrated Value Strategy stated the following regarding Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"We believe Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.'s (NYSE:ICE) underperformance in Q2 resulted primarily from higher interest rates weighing on enthusiasm for its rate sensitive Mortgage Technology business and heightened concerns about the rise of perpetual futures and their potential impact on ICE's futures exchange business. We decided to exit the position because our thesis on the Mortgage Technology business has not played out as expected. One tenet of our investment thesis was that combining Black Knight with ICE's Mortgage Technology platform would lead to market share gains and significant margin expansion. However, results over several quarters do not suggest that ICE has achieved material share gains, and customer consolidation has produced mixed results for its overall market position. With the Mortgage Technology thesis impaired, we believe there are more compelling investment opportunities elsewhere."

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 89 hedge fund portfolios held Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) at the end of the second quarter, which was 86 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In a previous article, we discussed Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) and noted that Maddison Fund added the stock to its portfolio during Q2 2026. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.