Henry Ellenbogen
WATCHDurable Capital Partners
Elite growth stock picker (Morningstar Manager of the Year) running a concentrated $10.6B portfolio of durable growth compounders -- strong on quality and long-term thinking, but growth-oriented approach with higher risk tolerance than ours.
Long-Term Compounders / Family Office Style
Score Breakdown
Investment Philosophy & Portfolio Style
Philosophy
Ellenbogen is a growth-at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) investor with a focus on identifying 'durable growth' companies -- businesses with strong competitive advantages, large addressable markets, and the ability to sustain above-average growth for extended periods. His key principles: (1) Invest in companies with structural growth drivers that can compound for 5-10+ years; (2) Focus on the intersection of technology and large traditional industries being disrupted (fintech, e-commerce, cloud, digital health); (3) Identify companies with network effects, high switching costs, and data advantages that create durable competitive moats; (4) Invest early in the growth cycle -- he is willing to invest in private companies pre-IPO and hold through the transition to public markets (crossover investing); (5) Hold through volatility -- he has spoken about the importance of having a long-term orientation and not being shaken out by quarterly earnings misses; (6) Quality management teams with missionary (not mercenary) leadership. He cares deeply about the founder/CEO quality and alignment with shareholders. His approach is growth-oriented but disciplined -- he is not a 'growth at any price' investor. He thinks about downside scenarios and wants businesses that can weather economic storms.
Portfolio Style
Concentrated growth portfolio. Durable Capital's 13F shows approximately 40 positions, but the top 10 represent about 81% of the portfolio -- extremely top-heavy. The fund invests across public and private markets (crossover structure). Key sectors: technology, internet, consumer technology, fintech, and healthcare technology. The portfolio likely includes significant private market positions (SpaceX, Stripe, and other late-stage private companies) that do not appear on the 13F. Public positions tend to be in high-quality growth compounders -- think Shopify, ServiceNow, Snowflake, CrowdStrike, and similar companies that benefit from digital transformation and cloud adoption. Ellenbogen's style is distinctly growth-oriented: he seeks companies with 20%+ revenue growth, expanding margins, and large TAMs. He is willing to pay premium valuations for the best businesses but focuses on the quality and duration of growth rather than current multiples alone.
Background
Henry Ellenbogen is the founder and CIO of Durable Capital Partners LP, an investment firm he founded in 2019 with offices in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Before founding Durable Capital, Ellenbogen spent 17 years at T. Rowe Price, where he became one of the most successful growth fund managers in the industry. He managed the T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund from 2010 to 2019, a $20B+ small/mid-cap growth fund with a storied history dating back to 1960. Under Ellenbogen, the New Horizons Fund significantly outperformed its benchmark and peers. He also co-managed or had influence over the T. Rowe Price Global Technology Fund. Ellenbogen is known for his ability to identify high-growth companies early -- both in public and private markets -- and hold them through multiple stages of compounding. At T. Rowe Price, he was an early investor in companies like Twitter, Square, Grubhub, and numerous others before they went public or when they were still small-cap. He attended Harvard University (BA) and Harvard Business School (MBA). He left T. Rowe Price in 2019 to start Durable Capital because he wanted more flexibility to invest across public and private markets without the constraints of mutual fund regulations. Durable Capital manages approximately $10.6 billion as of Q4 2025.
Track Record
Strong track record across two decades. At T. Rowe Price, the New Horizons Fund under Ellenbogen significantly outperformed the Russell 2000 Growth Index and peer group from 2010-2019, generating estimated annualized returns in the mid-to-high teens. He was recognized as Morningstar's Fund Manager of the Year for domestic equity in 2019, which is one of the most prestigious awards in the mutual fund industry. At Durable Capital Partners (2019-present), performance has been more volatile: 2020 was likely very strong (growth stocks rallied), 2021 was likely positive, 2022 was almost certainly difficult (growth stocks sold off sharply), 2023 was likely a strong recovery, and Q4 2025 showed -5.72% (reflecting broader growth stock weakness). The fund's growth from startup to $10.6B in AUM in approximately 5 years suggests strong performance -- though some of this is inflows from T. Rowe Price era relationships. His private market investments (SpaceX, Stripe if held, etc.) have likely been significant contributors. Overall, Ellenbogen is one of the best growth stock pickers of his generation.
Notable Holdings
Public (estimated based on 13F patterns and Ellenbogen's historical preferences): likely includes positions in companies like Shopify, ServiceNow, CrowdStrike, Snowflake, Datadog, MongoDB, HubSpot, Uber, DoorDash, and other high-quality growth compounders. Private: likely includes stakes in SpaceX, Stripe, and other late-stage private companies that T. Rowe Price and Durable have historically been active in. His portfolio reflects a strong tilt toward digital economy winners -- cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, e-commerce platforms, and fintech.
Transparency & Integrity
Transparency(Score: 5/10)
Moderate transparency. Durable Capital files 13F reports quarterly, providing visibility into public equity holdings. However, the fund's private market investments (potentially a significant portion of AUM) are not disclosed through 13Fs. Ellenbogen gives occasional interviews and has spoken at investment conferences, but he is not a prolific public communicator. He does not publish investor letters publicly. His prior track record at T. Rowe Price is well-documented through Morningstar and other public mutual fund data. Overall, the public portfolio is followable through 13F filings, but the full picture (including privates and performance) requires investor access.
Integrity(Score: 8/10)
High integrity. Ellenbogen built his reputation through nearly two decades of consistent, legitimate outperformance at T. Rowe Price -- a well-respected, investor-aligned firm. He left T. Rowe Price on good terms to pursue his own vision, which is a positive signal (no acrimony, no burned bridges). His Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year award reflects peer and industry recognition of both skill and ethical standing. He has not been involved in any scandals, fraud, or regulatory issues. The structure of Durable Capital (private fund with significant personal investment) suggests alignment of interests. He is known for being deeply analytical, intellectually honest, and genuinely focused on identifying great businesses rather than promoting himself or extracting fees.
Relevance to Us
Moderate relevance. Ellenbogen's strengths that align with our approach: (1) Long-term holding orientation -- he thinks in 5-10+ year time horizons; (2) Focus on durable competitive moats; (3) Concentration -- top 10 is 81% of portfolio; (4) Quality management emphasis; (5) Technology exposure positions him well for the AGI era. Key divergences: (1) He is a growth investor, not a value investor -- he does not focus on downside protection, floor prices, or margin of safety in the same way we do; (2) His portfolio is growth-heavy and can suffer significantly in risk-off environments (Q4 2025 was -5.72%); (3) Private market positions are inaccessible and opaque to us; (4) His companies tend to be high-valuation, high-growth businesses that may not fit our 'little chance of losing money' criterion. He is worth following as a source of ideas in technology and growth compounders, and his 13F is useful for identifying the best growth businesses, but his risk tolerance is higher than ours.