Most money managers bungled Apple stock in 2014, missing out on huge gains

Following a disappointing 2013, most professional investors decided to pass on Apple this year, and as a result missed out on one of 2014's biggest success stories on Wall Street.

Money managers who missed out on Apple's gains this year were highlighted as one of the worst blunders in finance in 2014 by Bloomberg. Shares of Apple rose four times more than the Standard & Poor's 500 Index this year, but professional investors who stayed on the sidelines are now behind on benchmark indexes by the most in almost a decade.

Institutional investors opted to stay out of AAPL stock in 2014 after the company trailed the market in 2013 by its greatest level this century. Investors predicted the trend would continue this year, and that Apple's growth would stagnate.

Instead, Apple saw significant growth throughout the year of the iPhone platform internationally. The company then followed up with strong Mac sales, a blockbuster launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and the heavily hyped unveiling of the Apple Watch.

Bloomberg noted that among the 278 funds benchmarked to the S&P 500 and with at least $500 million in assets, only a fifth hold shares more than their representations in the index.

Shares of Apple have been on the upswing since late April, when the company beat estimates with $10.2 billion in profits on sales of 43.7 million iPhones. Then the company blew away expectations in October, earning $8.5 billion in profit on sales of 39 million iPhones and 5.5 million Macs.

Following Apple's blockbuster September quarter, Wall Street analysts began revising their estimates higher, helping push shares of AAPL to new all-time highs this fall. Investors have been looking to buy in to the company ahead of the conclusion of its December quarter, which is expected to set new records for iPhone sales in the face of overwhelming demand.