Oakmark Funds, advised by Harris Associates, released its “Oakmark Global Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund’s investor class returned 4.39% in the quarter compared to a -1.79% return for the MSCI World Index (net). The fund generated a 9.10% return since its inception compared to the index’s 6.21% return over the same period. The largest contributors at the sector level were financials and health care, while the largest detractors were communication services and materials. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Oakmark Global Fund highlighted stocks such as Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG). Headquartered in London, the United Kingdom, Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) offers a range of banking and financial products and services. The one-month return of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) was 0.27%, and its shares gained 51.00% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On April 16, 2025, Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) stock closed at $3.76 per share with a market capitalization of $56.42 billion.

Oakmark Global Fund stated the following regarding Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

"Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) was the top contributor during the quarter. The U.K.-headquartered diversified bank’s stock price rose throughout the quarter as it posted fiscal-year 2024 results where net-interest income modestly outperformed consensus expectations. In addition, Lloyds issued fiscal-year 2025 and 2026 guidance forecasting robust net-interest mar gin expansion and announced a 1.7 billion GBP (Great Britain Pound) share buyback. We continue to monitor the Motor Vehicle provision following the onerous appellate court ruling and are optimistic about a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court. In our view, the bank has a strong management team and a balance sheet with high levels of capital, liquidity and reserves which can help it unlock further value."

An aerial shot of a business district with the company's headquarters towering above its competitors.

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 11 hedge fund portfolios held Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 10 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

We covered Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) in another article, where we shared the list of top performing European stocks so far in 2025. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 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.