Growth stocks — and specifically large-cap tech stocks led by the FAANGs — have utterly crushed value stocks of late. It's been the dominant theme of the past five years. Even the first quarter of 2018, which saw Facebook engulfed in a privacy scandal, saw growth outperform value.

Sector Benchmark Qtr. Return Large-Cap Growth 1.58% Large-Cap Stocks -1.22% International MSCI EAFE Index -2.19% Utilities -3.30% Large-Cap Value -4.16% real estate Investment Trusts -9.16% Master Limited Partnerships Alerian MLP Index -11.22

Value stocks in general underperformed, and the cheapest of the cheap — master limited partnerships — got utterly obliterated.

So, is value investing dead?

Facing client redemptions, Robertson opted to shut down his fund altogether. His parting words to investors are telling.

The following is the Julian Robertson's final letter to his investors, dated March 30, 2000, written as he was in the process of shutting down Tiger Management: