Fund overview
Pursuing alpha with a CPA-minded approach
The Special Large Cap Value Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in large-cap companies using a disciplined, consistent process that focuses on valuation and stocks with high reward/risk ratios.

Accounting expertise and processes guide decision-making.  

 

​​​Key Differentiators 

 

  • Leverages​ a unique security selection process in the pursuit of compelling returns and a low-risk profile 
  • ​​Performs bottom-up research to find companies with durable competitive advantages, free cash flow generation, and balance sheet flexibility 
  • ​​Uses a disciplined valuation approach to find companies with favorable reward/risk profiles 

The Top 3 from Q3

Bryant VanCronkhite, senior portfolio manager and co-head of the Special Global Equity team, answers questions about three big themes from the third quarter: China’s stimulus, the Fed, and finding value in today’s unruly markets.

Transcript

Cameron Pickoski: What do investors need to know about what happened in the third quarter? I'm here in Menomonee Falls to spend the day with Bryant VanCronkhite, co-head of our Special Global Equity team, to find out. Hey, Bryant. Good to see you.

Bryant VanCronkhite: Hi, Cameron. Good to see you.

Cameron: Thanks for taking some time to talk to us about the third quarter today.

Bryant: Of course.

Cameron: I appreciate it. First, I wanted to talk about China. It seemed like just a few weeks ago, some investors were about ready to give up, but they just introduced their new stimulus package to help support their economy. And I just wanted to hear from you. What do you find interesting about that package and tell us what you think?

Bryant: Yeah, I think first we need to compare and contrast. We all have in our minds the 2008 package that supported the world economy in 2009 through 2011. That package back then was 4 trillion RMB (renminbi). This package is only a little over 1 trillion. So, much smaller package this time, but let's not forget the Chinese economy is much bigger today than it was in 2008, 2009, and 2010. So, we have a smaller package on a bigger economy. The impact is probably a little less. But what's in the package is also important to understand. So, one of the things they're doing is supporting housing. It's been said that 85% of the individual Chinese net worth is tied into housing. So, giving capital to local state-owned organizations to buy excess housing inventory will support home prices, which is a good thing for the balance sheet of the consumer. But interestingly enough, they're also putting capital into the hands of corporations to support stock buybacks and dividends and also into the hands of large equity investors to allow them to buy more stock, very directly and intentionally driving up the Chinese equity markets, which, again, supports balance sheets, given the growth in the brokerage accounts.

Cameron: Yeah, OK. And so, can we talk a little bit about what does that mean for the broader global economy? We know what it means for China. What does it mean for everyone else?

Bryant: I think we have hopes that the second largest economy in the world, which is China, will drive the rest of the world, right? That's kind of what happened in 2008 through 2011. That big package was all about construction and it drove materials and commodities prices, which is a global market, higher and it supported everybody. Copper was good. Aggregates was good. Steel was good. This is different. This looks very China-centric. It's consumer-centric. They want to stimulate the local economy, pushing people into restaurants, local consumption. I don't think we should expect, as U.S. investors, the benefit, the halo benefit of the past packages. We're going to look for it to support the Chinese economy, but I don't think we should extrapolate it in a big way to the U.S. like we did in 2008 through 2011.

Cameron: All right. So, history is not about to repeat itself.

Bryant: Not in my view. Not yet. They might come out with more, but not quite yet.

Cameron: All right. So, a few weeks ago, the Fed (Federal Reserve) just cut rates and I think everyone's really interested in hearing about what's been happening since then. Do you think there will be another cut? Just what do you think happens next?

Bryant: Yeah, the key that allowed the Fed to cut rates was the cooling of inflation coming back towards their target of 2% but also the balancing of the employment market. We saw unemployment rates rising, which gave them confidence that the market was back in balance, allowing them to cut 50 basis points (100 basis points equals 1%). Now, what's happened since then could be a little troubling, actually. The nonfarm payroll number we saw just recently was really high, meaning labor actually looks really strong, pushing unemployment rates down. In the event that continues to happen, it could cause the Fed to have concern around whether they acted too early, which would change the path of interest rates going forward.

Cameron: All right. And so, knowing that, what's at stake for the Fed over these next few meetings and the markets in general?

Bryant: Yeah, I think there's two critical pieces the Fed has to be thinking about right now. One is how do we avoid runaway inflation? If we see the job market begin to reheat and employment come out of balance, the labor will demand higher wages. And if they have higher wages, we're going to see more inflation. It's a self-fulfilling spiral. It's really dangerous for the Fed. They have to be very careful about the balance between labor right now offsetting inflation. But the second thing—maybe a bigger, higher level issue—is the credibility of the Fed is at stake, right? The ability for the Fed to control the economy, control markets only exists because people believe they can do it, because they're almost prescient in their abilities. If they lose that credibility and the market loses faith in them, what I think you'll see is a lot more volatility, both in equities and in interest rates, which ultimately becomes very challenging for investors to navigate over time.

Cameron: All right. So, obviously the Fed a big topic in Q3 and will continue to be so in Q4.

Bryant: All eyes on the Fed.

Cameron: Always. So, Bryant, let's take a second to talk about what you do best: looking for undervalued companies. What's changed pre- and post-COVID when it comes to company analysis? What's different now?

Bryant: Yeah, I think that's a great question because there's a lot of obvious things that have changed from pre-COVID to post-COVID. There's a lot of important subtle things that have changed. And one of the things I see happening at the corporate level is the change in what dominates decisions. And it used to be that technological advances and outsourcing of supply chains really helped companies reduce the need for labor. It helped companies see margin expansion. But post-COVID, the supply and demand of labor has gone in a different direction. And you see labor reasserting their authority, reasserting their muscle. And you see it best in some of the union activity. We're seeing a lot of different companies in the retail space, the quick service space, employees want to join unions. And you're seeing a lot of unions assert their authority through strikes, whether it's in the aerospace industry or in the screenwriters industry. But nonetheless, they’re asserting their authority. And you're seeing massive changes in wages, which ultimately accrue to margins. Companies will have to change whether they invest in labor and cut back on R&D, cut back on advertising. It could impact long-term growth rates. But even the intangibles are changing, right? The desire to have white collar workers working from home, as an example. It has an impact on efficiencies and it has an impact on culture and things you might not see necessarily until the next generation has their turn to drive company cultures forward. And it has an impact on competitive advantages of asset bases. So, it's a subtle change but a meaningful one. And you'll start to see it first in the margins, but long term, you'll probably see it start to impact growth rates and companies’ competitive positionings.

Cameron: Yeah, absolutely. Well, we've covered a lot today. In your opinion, what do investors really need to take away from this?

Bryant: I think there's a lot to worry about right now if you’re an investor. From a macro level, you have the Fed and interest rate policy. You have employment issues to be concerned about, China's stimulus and what will they do, and then, the U.S. election. There's a lot of macro noise that can get in the way of good security selection. But at the corporate level, things are changing, right? The post-COVID world is different than the pre-COVID world, whether it's talking about labor, supply chains, technology advancements. These all matter, too. And so, what we want to do is get through the noise and think about what do companies truly control and how do they control their destiny? And they do it, in my opinion, through one way only, which is how do they use their capital? Measure the balance sheet flexibility, engage companies, and try to figure out what are they going to do? Make acquisitions, grow organically, buy back stock, pay higher dividends? These are the choices they control and they will drive compounding returns over time. And if you do that correctly, you can fight through all the noise. These businesses can fight that noise for you. It allows us as investors to sleep well at night. So, my advice is be balanced, don't be brave, focus on the controllable, and build well-rounded portfolios around that.

Cameron: So, cut through the noise. Focus on the controllable.

Bryant: Well said.

Cameron: All right. Well, that was our Q3 market recap with Bryant VanCronkhite. Thanks so much for joining us.

Bryant: It’s my pleasure.

Performance

Average annual returns

Average annual returns

(as of 10/31/2024)
8/1/2006
1M
3M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
Inception
Fund
-1.18
2.67
18.55
33.34
8.73
11.35
10.00
9.37
Russell 1000® Value Index
-1.10
2.96
15.40
30.98
6.85
10.14
8.87
7.82
Lipper Large-Cap Value Funds
-1.01
2.60
15.88
30.33
7.77
11.29
9.53
-
Expenses (as of 12/1/2024)
Gross Expense Ratio
0.74 %
Net Expense Ratio
0.40 %

One-month, three-month and year-to-date returns are not annualized.

Figures quoted represent past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and do not reflect taxes that a shareholder may pay on an investment in a fund. Investment return, principal value, and yields of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted and assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. 

Net asset value (NAV) is the value of one share of the fund excluding any sales charges.

R6 Class shares are sold without a front-end sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge.

Please keep in mind that high double-digit returns were primarily achieved during favorable market conditions. You should not expect that such favorable returns can be consistently achieved. A fund's performance, especially for short time periods, should not be the sole factor in making your investment decision.

The manager has contractually committed, through 11/30/2025, to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to cap the fund's total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers at 0.4%. Brokerage commissions, stamp duty fees, interest, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses (if any), and extraordinary expenses are excluded from the expense cap. Prior to or after the commitment expiration date, the cap may be increased or the commitment to maintain the cap may be terminated only with the approval of the Board of Trustees. Without this cap, the fund's returns would have been lower. The expense ratio paid by an investor is the net expense ratio (the total annual fund operating expenses after fee waivers) as stated in the prospectus.

Calendar year

Calendar year

(as of 12/31/2023)
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
Fund
14.13
-6.21
24.27
1.48
33.10
-4.61
16.25
7.71
-0.30
10.42
Benchmark
11.46
-7.54
25.16
2.80
26.54
-8.27
13.66
17.34
-3.83
13.45
Morningstar
22.32
-16.96
26.07
15.83
28.78
-6.27
20.44
10.37
-1.07
10.96
Growth of $10,000

Growth of a $10,000 investment

(as of 10/31/2024)

This chart shows the value of a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the fund over the specified time period up to 10 years or since its inception (for funds lacking 10-year records). The result is compared with benchmarks, which may include a broad-based market index and a peer group average or index. Market indexes do not include expenses, which are deducted from fund returns as well as mutual fund averages and indexes.

Does not include sales charges and assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. If sales charges were included, returns would be lower.

Performance and volatility metrics

Performance and volatility metrics

(as of 10/31/2024)
3 Year 5 Year 10 Year
Alpha 1.91 1.47 12.74
Beta 0.98 0.96 0.97
Excess Return 1.89 1.21 1.13
Information Ratio 0.52 0.35 0.36
Sharpe Ratio 0.30 0.50 0.54
R2 0.95 0.97 0.96
Tracking Error 3.65 3.45 3.11
Standard Deviation 16.38 17.88 15.31
Upside Market Capture Ratio 101.23 99.71 103.51
Downside Market Capture Ratio 94.69 96.81 98.23
Morningstar ratings and rankings

Morningstar ratings and rankings

(as of 10/31/2024)
Overall
Large Value (Out of 1084 funds)
Three Year
29th percentile (274 out of 1084)
Five Year
38th percentile (376 out of 1022)
Ten Year
22nd percentile (138 out of 796)

The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted-average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five- and ten-year (if applicable) ratings.

Morningstar rankings represent a fund's total return rank relative to all funds that have the same category. The percentile ranking is based on the fund's total return percentile rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. The highest (most favorable) percentile rank is 1% and the lowest (least favorable) percentile rank is 100%. Morningstar rankings do not include the effect of sales charges. The absolute ranking is based on the fund’s total return rank relative to all funds that have the same category for the same time period. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Prices and distributions

Historical prices

YTD high $14.92 12/1/2024
YTD low $11.86 1/17/2024
52-week high $14.92 12/1/2024
52-week low $11.66 12/11/2023
2023 high $12.05 12/28/2023
2023 low $10.34 3/19/2023
Best quarterly return 15.84% 12/31/2022
Worst quarterly return -25.59% 3/31/2020
Best annual return 33.10% 12/31/2019
Worst annual return -6.21% 12/31/2022

Distribution summary

Dividends Annually
Capital gains Annually

Distribution history

Distribution history Type Per share amount Re investment price
2023-12-15 Dividend $0.14145 $11.81
2023-12-11 Long-term capital gain $0.25365 $11.66
2022-12-15 Dividend $0.14795 $10.92
2022-12-09 Long-term capital gain $0.74341 $11.06
2022-12-09 Short-term capital gain $0.19856 $11.06
2021-12-16 Dividend $0.15199 $12.53
2021-12-09 Long-term capital gain $2.51286 $12.72
2021-12-09 Short-term capital gain $0.18949 $12.72
2020-12-16 Dividend $0.19422 $12.44
2019-12-17 Dividend $0.15267 $12.47
2019-12-10 Long-term capital gain $1.22576 $12.38
2019-12-10 Short-term capital gain $0.01561 $12.38
2018-12-14 Dividend $0.31404 $11.02
2018-12-10 Long-term capital gain $0.83509 $11.54
2017-12-15 Dividend $0.11836 $12.11
2017-12-13 Long-term capital gain $0.99549 $12.22
2016-12-14 Dividend $0.19079 $11.53
2016-12-09 Long-term capital gain $0.80868 $11.76
2015-12-16 Dividend $0.16521 $11.76
2015-12-11 Long-term capital gain $1.32056 $11.58
2014-12-16 Dividend $0.24159 $12.58
2014-12-11 Long-term capital gain $0.95314 $13.18
2014-12-11 Short-term capital gain $0.03692 $13.18
2013-12-16 Dividend $0.11449 $12.54
2013-12-09 Long-term capital gain $0.44627 $12.77
2013-12-09 Short-term capital gain $0.01238 $12.77
2012-12-13 Dividend $0.15475 $10.34
2012-12-07 Long-term capital gain $0.6336 $10.48
2012-12-07 Short-term capital gain $0.0046 $10.48
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Composition

Portfolio statistics

Portfolio statistics

(as of 10/31/2024)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Holdings 47 871
Median Market Cap 90.37 13.91
Dividend Yield 1.70 2.07
P/E (1-year EPS forecast) 15.13 16.90
P/B Ratio 2.28 2.78
EPS Growth 12.70 10.04
Return on Equity 18.20 17.18
Portfolio Turnover 34.64 -

Equity Style Box

(as of 10/31/2024) Overview chart

Placement within the Morningstar Equity Style Box is based on two variables: relative median market capitalization and relative price valuations (price/book and price/earnings) of the fund’s portfolio holdings. These numbers are drawn from the fund’s portfolio holdings figures most recently entered into Morningstar’s database and the corresponding market conditions. The Ownership Zone is represented by a shaded area surrounding the centroid. This zone encompasses 75% of a portfolio’s holdings on an asset-weighted basis and is designed to be a visual measure of how wide-ranging the portfolio is.

Holdings

Top 10 holdings

(as of 10/31/2024)
Security
Fund
Alphabet Inc. Class C
3.96%
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited
3.74%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B
3.60%
Citigroup Inc.
3.57%
CBRE Group, Inc. Class A
3.55%
AerCap Holdings NV
3.38%
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
3.15%
NextEra Energy, Inc.
3.02%
Bank of America Corp
2.98%
Labcorp Holdings Inc.
2.97%
Top 10 represents 33.91% of total net assets
Sector allocation

Sector allocation

(as of 10/31/2024)
Type
Fund
Benchmark
Financials
21.54% 22.00%
Industrials
16.68% 14.70%
Health care
13.66% 15.00%
Information technology
10.54% 9.01%
Consumer staples
8.80% 7.86%
Energy
6.72% 6.84%
Real estate
5.47% 4.81%
Consumer discretionary
5.32% 6.13%
Materials
4.17% 4.55%
Communication services
4.02% 4.31%
Utilities
3.07% 4.80%

Sector diversification is a breakdown of the fund's investments based on the S&P Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), a breakdown of market sectors used by Standard & Poor's. Sector weights are subject to change and may have changed since the date specified. Percent total may not add to 100% due to rounding.

Documents

Literature Details Frequency
Fact Sheet A, C, Administrator, R6, Institutional Quarterly Download
Regulatory Document Details Date
Annual Long Form Financial Statements R6, Institutional, Administrator, C, A 7/31/2024 Download
Annual Report R6 7/31/2024 Download
Full Prospectus R6 12/1/2024 Download
Quarterly Holdings A, C, Administrator, R6, Institutional 10/31/2023 Download
Quarterly Holdings A, C, Administrator, R6, Institutional 4/30/2023 Download
Semi-annual Report A, C, Administrator, R6, Institutional 1/31/2024 Download
Statement of Additional Information A, C, Administrator, R6, Institutional 12/1/2024 Download
Summary Prospectus R6 12/1/2024 Download
Our team
Meet the investment team

The team follows a fundamental approach of identifying companies with competitive advantages, sustainable free cash flow, and flexible balance sheets, helping deliver long-term capital appreciation.

Key risks

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Consult the fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

Contact Us

We look forward to helping you with your investment needs

 

  
The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or star rating, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% 3-year rating for 36–59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60–119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent 3-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Some of Morningstar’s proprietary calculations, including the Morningstar Rating™, are not customarily calculated based on adjusted historical returns. However, for new share classes/channels, Morningstar may calculate an extended-performance Morningstar Rating. The extended performance is calculated by adjusting the historical total returns of the oldest share class of a fund to reflect the fee structure of the younger share class/channel, attaching this data to the younger share class’s performance record, and then compounding the adjusted plus actual monthly returns into the extended-performance Morningstar risk-adjusted return for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year time periods. The Morningstar risk-adjusted returns are used to determine the extended-performance Morningstar Rating. The extended-performance Morningstar Rating for this fund does not affect the retail fund data published by Morningstar, as the bell curve distribution on which the ratings are based includes only funds with actual returns. The Overall Morningstar Rating for multi-share funds is based on actual performance only or extended performance only. Once the share class turns three years old, the Overall Morningstar Rating will be based on actual ratings only. The Overall Morningstar Rating for multi-share variable annuities is based on a weighted average of any ratings that are available.

While the inclusion of pre-inception data in the form of extended performance can provide valuable insight into the probable long-term behavior of newer share classes of a fund, investors should be aware that an adjusted historical return can provide only an approximation of that behavior. For example, the fee structures of a retail share class will vary from that of an institutional share class, as retail shares tend to have higher operating expenses and sales charges. These adjusted historical returns are not actual returns. The underlying investments in the share classes used to calculate the pre-performance string likely will vary from the underlying investments held in the fund after inception. Calculation methodologies used by Morningstar may differ from those applied by other entities, including the fund itself.

The manager has contractually committed to certain fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Without these reductions, the fund’s returns would have been lower and rankings may have been lower. These reductions may be discontinued.

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Performance for the fund or the class shown may reflect a predecessor fund's or class' performance and may be adjusted to reflect the fund's or class' expenses as applicable.