[SOURCE_CITY] – October 31, 2026 -- BlackBird Financial LP returned 62.2% in 2025, more than triple the S&P 500's 17.9% gain, without holding a single AI-related stock, according to the fund.
Fund avoids AI consensus under CIO Judah Spinner
Founder and Chief Investment Officer Judah Spinner kept the fund out of artificial intelligence names even as investors broadly concluded early in 2025 that AI companies deserved premium valuations. He did not dispute AI's transformative potential. His objection was to the assumption that transformative technology automatically delivers superior investor returns.
Spinner has cited railroads, automobiles and aviation in his annual client letters as technologies that changed civilization while disappointing the investors who funded them. His view is that valuations detach from reality when expectations outrun fundamentals, and the resulting corrections can be severe.
Portfolio of fewer than ten positions targets overlooked sectors
BlackBird Financial concentrated capital in building materials distribution, offshore support vessels, retail, fashion and entertainment. The fund typically holds fewer than ten positions. It describes these sectors as overlooked by a technology-focused market, with strong fundamentals, structural tailwinds and valuations offering a margin of safety.
Tidewater and Builders FirstSource anchor the strategy
Tidewater, an offshore support vessel operator, was selected on structural underinvestment in the global fleet. Spinner identified this supply-side constraint through historical research into the offshore services industry.
Builders FirstSource, a building materials distributor, gave the fund exposure to housing market dynamics at a valuation the fund says reflected excessive pessimism. In both cases, the thesis rested on durable structural change rather than hopes for a cyclical recovery, according to the fund.
Spinner credits process over single-year results
Spinner acknowledges that factors beyond an investor's control can influence any single year's results. He points instead to the repeatability of a process built on exhaustive research and concentrated conviction.