GreensKeeper Asset Management, a prominent investment management firm, recently unveiled its first quarter 2025 investor letter, providing insight into the firms performance and market outlook. Investors can access the detailed letter through a downloadable link. The beginning of 2025 has proven challenging for the markets, characterized by significant volatility across major indices.

During the first quarter, the Value Fund, managed by GreensKeeper, achieved a modest gain of +3.0% net of fees and expenses. In comparison, the broader market indices encountered a turbulent period, with the S&P/TSX returning +1.5%, the S&P 500 declining by -4.2%, and the Nasdaq experiencing a steep drop of -10.2%. This downward trend was exacerbated when President Trump announced a "Liberation Day" tariff on April 2, 2025, which contributed to a dramatic market decline of nearly 10% within a week.

In light of these fluctuations, GreensKeeper highlighted its top five stock holdings in the letter, among which Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) garnered particular attention. Intercontinental Exchange is recognized for its comprehensive market infrastructure, data services, and innovative technology solutions tailored for financial institutions, corporations, and government agencies. Notably, the one-month return for Intercontinental Exchange stood at -7.29%, although its shares have appreciated by an impressive 17.48% over the last year. As of April 9, 2025, Intercontinental Exchange's stock closed at $156.81 per share, boasting a market capitalization of approximately $90.087 billion.

In the investor letter, GreensKeeper expressed optimism about Intercontinental Exchange, stating: Rounding out our top 5 performers in Q1 were Elevance Health (ELV) +17.9% and Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) +15.8%. As mentioned in the last Scorecard, we believe the sell-off in ELV over the past year has been overdone, and the stock is trading at a significant discount to our estimate of its intrinsic value. The recent rebound reflects a partial correction of that mispricing. ICE continues to perform well as a significant portion of its earnings is driven by transaction volume on its exchanges and increasing demand for financial data, both of which generally increase when panic-induced volatility hits the markets.

Interestingly, despite the positive assessment, Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. is not included among the firms list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to their data, 91 hedge fund portfolios held shares of Intercontinental Exchange at the end of Q4 2024, a slight increase from 84 in Q3 2024. While GreensKeeper acknowledges the potential of Intercontinental Exchange as a viable investment, they assert that their conviction leans towards artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, which they believe present greater opportunities for higher returns in a shorter time frame. The letter hints at the availability of a report detailing promising AI stocks, particularly one trading for less than five times its earnings.