Is Aon’s (AON) Growth Story Starting to Slow?

Is Aon’s (AON) Growth Story Starting to Slow?

Fri, August 14, 2026 at 5:16 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• AON -0.43%

Polen Capital Management Llc released its "Polen Focus Growth Strategy" Q2 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Polen Focus Growth returned 6.33% (net of fees) in the second quarter of 2026, significantly underperforming the Russell 1000 Growth Index's 16.74% gain, as the market rally remained narrowly focused on AI infrastructure and semiconductor stocks. During the quarter, Polen Capital repositioned the portfolio toward companies benefiting from structural growth in AI infrastructure, power demand, and aerospace. Looking ahead, the managers remain confident in the long-term earnings potential of the portfolio but acknowledge that changing market dynamics and the rising opportunity cost of patience require a more nimble approach. They remain focused on competitively advantaged businesses with durable growth prospects, while selectively participating in AI infrastructure, commercial aerospace, and power infrastructure opportunities where supply constraints and long-term demand could support sustained earnings growth. In addition, please check the Fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Polen Focus Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Aon plc (NYSE:AON). Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a professional services firm providing risk management, insurance brokerage, and human capital consulting solutions to organizations worldwide. The one-month return of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) was -2.76% while its shares traded between $304.59 and $382.34 over the last 52 weeks. On August 13, 2026, Aon plc (NYSE:AON) stock closed at approximately $352.36 per share, with a market capitalization of about $75.75 billion.

Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Aon plc (NYSE:AON) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

We sold our position in Aon (NYSE:AON) In our view, Aon is a high-quality business and continues to execute well. However, our research shows that the property and casualty insurance market is beginning to soften, which may make future organic growth more difficult to come by. Insurance brokers can be attractive businesses, but when the underlying pricing environment deteriorates, growth can become more challenging and investor expectations can reset. Given the stronger business momentum we see in our new aerospace and power infrastructure investments, we believe redeploying capital from Aon was the right decision.

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. As per our database, 65 hedge fund portfolios held Aon plc (NYSE:AON) at the end of the first quarter, which was 70 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. 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 thebest short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Aon plc (NYSE:AON) and shared the list of pet care stocks to buy for consistent recurring revenue. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.