Category Archives: Stars in the shadows

Small funds of exceptional merit

Harbor International Small Cap (HIISX / HNISX), September 2021

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

Harbor International Small Cap Fund pursues long-term growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of international small-cap stocks. They have three particular preferences:

  1. demonstrate traditional value metrics primarily on a price to book, price to earnings, and/or dividend yield basis;
  2. well-capitalized and transparent balance sheets and funding sources; and
  3. business models that are undervalued by the market.

Up to 15% of Continue reading

Appleseed Fund (APPLX), July 2021

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

The Appleseed Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. They do that through a portfolio that combines a global, all-cap portfolio of undervalued equities with other diversifying, and sometimes defensive, assets. Its investable universe centers on companies that have “sustainable competitive positions, solid financials, and capable, shareholder-friendly management teams.” The “other assets” in the fund might include bonds (though it currently does not), convertible securities, ETFs, commodities, REITs, and other real estate entities, currencies, and cryptocurrencies. Finally, they use Continue reading

Seven Canyons World Innovators Fund (WAGTX), October 2020

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

The fund invests primarily in non-US growth companies that they believe are innovators in their sectors or industries. Nominally the managers can invest in “domestic and foreign … companies of any size.” As a practical matter, they invest in international small-cap companies. That’s reflected in the first four words atop their homepage:

While retaining the flexibility of Continue reading

Osterweis Emerging Opportunity (OSTGX), September 2020

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

OSTGX pursues long-term capital appreciation. Their target universe is high quality, small- to mid-cap companies with the ability to generate rapid, sustainable revenue growth. The markers of quality include: (1) a distinct proprietary advantage; (2) a leading position in the industry; (3) potential for margin expansion; and (4) the presence of a strong management team. “Rapid revenue growth” translates to organic growth that averages 30% annually. It invests primarily in domestic companies; as of June 30, 2020, 11% of the portfolio is invested internationally though the prospectus permits up to 30%. As of June 30, 2020, just over 50% of the Fund’s assets were invested in securities within the health care and information technology sectors, slightly lower exposure than the Continue reading

FPA Queens Road Small Cap Value (formerly Queens Road Small Cap Value), (QRSVX), August 2020

By David Snowball

At the time of publication, this fund was named Queens Road Small Cap Value.

Objective and strategy

The fund seeks capital appreciation by investing in the stocks or preferred shares of U.S. small-cap companies. Small caps are companies whose stocks are, at the time of purchase, valued at under $5 billion. The manager pursues a sort of “quality value” strategy: he seeks high-quality firms (strong balance sheets and strong management teams) whose stocks are undervalued (based on estimates of intrinsic value using free cash flow and book value growth models.).

In general, the portfolio holds Continue reading

FPA Queens Road Value (formerly Queens Road Value), (QRVLX), July 2020

By David Snowball

At the time of publication, this fund was named Queens Road Value.

Objective and strategy

The fund seeks capital appreciation by investing in the stocks or preferred shares of U.S. companies. They look for companies with strong balance sheets and experienced management, and stocks selling at discounted price/earnings and price-to-cash flow ratios. It used to be called Queens Road Large Cap Value but changed its name to widen the range of allowable investments. Nonetheless, it continues to put Continue reading

KL Allocation Fund (GAVAX/GAVIX), June 2020

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

The fund is trying to grow capital, with the particular goal of beating the MSCI All Country World Index over the long term while maintaining an emphasis on capital preservation. The fund allocates assets between stocks (10-90%), fixed-income securities (10-90%), and cash depending on market conditions. The equity portion of the portfolio is invested in stocks of firms that they designate as “knowledge leaders.” Knowledge Leaders are a group of the world’s leading innovators with deep reservoirs of intangible capital. These companies often possess competitive advantages such as strong brand, proprietary knowledge, or a unique distribution mechanism. Knowledge Leaders are largely Continue reading

Bruce Fund (BRUFX), May 2020

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

The fund seeks long-term gains which it pursues through a primarily domestic stock and bond portfolio. The managers will invest as heavily in stocks as the market warrants, which might be 40% and it might be near 80%. The equity portfolio is not constrained by market capitalization but the managers prefer small cap stocks. The bond portfolio is primarily convertible and long-dated “zero coupon” corporate bonds. The managers might invest in distressed securities, both in the equity and fixed-income portfolios. They may be “a large cash position for a transitional period of time.” At the start of the Continue reading

YCG Enhanced Fund (YCGEX), March 2020

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

The YCG Enhanced Fund seeks to maximize long-term capital appreciation consistent with reasonable investment risk. The portfolio consists of an equity component and an options component. The equity component attempts to identify and invest in the world’s best companies, which they designated “global champions.” The central characteristic of such firms is that they’re among the very few with long-term pricing power; that is, the nature of their industry and business is that they can consistently dictate prices to their users in exchange for irreplaceable services. The equity component ranges from 15-50 names, mostly large cap, mostly domiciled in the US. The median market cap of $80 billion because “global champions” aren’t small. The managers may also write put options and covered call options on a substantial portion of the equity portfolio to generate additional income and heighten tax efficiency. They do not use options to generate leverage. Continue reading

FAM Dividend Focus (FAMEX) Prior to 2019, this was FAM Equity-Income, February 2020

By David Snowball

Objective and strategy

The strategy attempts to provide current income as well as long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in stocks that pay dividends. The managers think of themselves as value investors and attempt to answer the question, “if I could buy the whole company at these prices, would I?” That means calculating its “true business worth” and comparing that to the current stock market cap. They attempt to remain fully invested in stocks and convertibles. They tend to buy mid-caps, though their willingness to let winners run means that Continue reading