Polen Capital’s AI bet against Nvidia leaves flagship growth fund down nearly 86% to under US$2 billion

Florida-based asset manager Polen Capital steered clear of Nvidia during the AI boom and instead concentrated on software names such as Adobe and Salesforce, helping drive its flagship growth fund’s assets from about US$14 billion to under US$2 billion, a drop of nearly 86%. Over the same period, Nvidia shares rose nearly 400% while the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index fell 3%. The episode highlights a widening split between AI hardware winners and parts of the software sector, prompting investors to re-examine how traditional software valuations fit within the AI theme.