Special Small Cap Value Fund
Fund overview
Pursuing alpha with a CPA-based approach
The Allspring Special Small Cap Value Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by using a disciplined, consistent valuation process that evaluates each stock’s upside reward relative to its downside risk.

Accounting expertise and processes guide decision-making.

Key differentiators

  • Employs rigorous qualitative research and a risk-aware portfolio construction process to allow security selection to determine the portfolio's outcome
  • Seeks to own companies that possess the following three criteria: a durable asset base, flexible balance sheet, and strong and sustainable free cash flow
  • Invests when target company’s price has relatively meaningful upside potential versus downside risk

Q4 Recap and Q1 Outlook

Bryant VanCronkhite, senior portfolio manager and co-head of the Special Global Equity team, discusses an eventful Q4 and what to watch in Q1.

Transcript

Bryant VanCronkhite: Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to telling you a few big things about what happened last year and what's happening this year, but stick with me to the end. I have a really big topic I think no one is talking about, but it's going to drive markets in 2026 and beyond that's super important to understand.

Bryant: In the new year, I'm looking for change in a lot of things: my diet, my habits, and even the stock market. And personal resolutions are like the stock market sometimes. Sometimes things change and sometimes they stay the same. I think 2026 is going to have a little bit of both for us when it comes to the market narrative that dictates the direction of the market and the underlying currents that determine alpha. But first, let's talk about what will not change in 2026: the AI (artificial intelligence) revolution. It will continue to dominate the market narrative. That's not going away like the extra 10 pounds I put on this winter season. However, underneath the AI narrative will be chapters that will give us twists and turns. We're going to move from a cognitive buildout, which is creating the brains of AI, to a kinetic buildout, taking AI into the physical world. I think this is a cross-country journey from the East Coast to the West Coast. The entire journey is on the same path in the same direction with the same end place, but the scenery is going to change as we move along the highway. That AI scenery is going to change as well, and investors need to change their portfolio along the way. I see three phases of AI in 2026: number one, extension; two, implementation; and three, realization. Extension into broader participation in more than just a handful of semi companies, but we get into TPU (tensor processing unit) players, memory, networking, and more. Implementation is about taking AI and bringing it to our fingertips. We need upgraded devices, handsets, cars, and appliances. And three, realization. How do we get the economic benefit of the buildout to show up in our productivity as individuals and companies? And how does that change company financial profiles along the way? We want to own companies in each of these three phases, and that will lead to a broadening in the market. So, don't get stuck thinking AI continues to drive the headlines without changing the companies you own along the way.

Bryant: I think small caps might see the biggest change. We all know how low quality the small-cap market was in 2025 with non-earners and low ROIC (return on invested capital) companies leading the way. It's quite common off a bear market bottom, which we saw in April 2025. The first phase, though, usually only lasts six months. And right on schedule, October 15 marked the date when low quality stopped dominating. It does not mean that it's reversed, but Q4 is the first sign of change and that should accelerate as we get further into 2026. Non-earners should fall back in quality and higher ROIC should regain leadership. This will change the character of small caps in 2026 and could lead to a significant rotation.

Bryant: I think what people are missing is that we have the mother of all replacement upgrade cycles right ahead of us. Think about the power of a single cycle on the market. Now, a smartphone cycle can be huge and impacts a lot of industries. But add to that an auto cycle, a real estate cycle, a networking cycle. Individual cycles individually are important, but you put them all together and it can be massive. That's what I think we might have in 2026, especially in the second half. The economy is already in good shape. The Fed (Federal Reserve) is easing, fiscal policy is accommodating, and AI demand will require us to upgrade. And as that happens, think about the potential because of AI to not have to add labor to the economy to achieve it. That could be significant margin increases and, thus, stock price increases for the companies that can achieve this. This is the bull case, but it's not a dream. It's an achievable New Year’s resolution. As this plays out, I like semiconductors, networking, hardware, chemicals, machinery, transports, and metal stocks. This is broad and it's big. Along the way, pullbacks could test our resolve, but the destination will always be the same. As the scenery changes, be sure to change your portfolio along with it.

Performance

Average annual returns

Average annual returns

(as of 12/31/2025)
5/7/1993
1M
3M
YTD
1Y
3Y
5Y
10Y
Inception
Fund
0.83
1.41
-2.70
-2.70
7.44
6.59
8.44
10.39
Russell 2000® Value Index
0.18
3.26
12.59
12.59
11.73
8.88
9.27
-
Lipper Small-Cap Core Funds
0.09
1.65
6.99
6.99
11.17
7.59
9.13
-
Expenses (as of 8/1/2025)
Gross Expense Ratio
0.82 %
Net Expense Ratio
0.82 %

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.

Calendar year

Calendar year

(as of 12/31/2025)
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
Fund
-2.70
6.96
19.16
-13.52
28.27
1.57
28.61
-13.35
11.52
29.46
Benchmark
12.59
8.05
14.65
-14.48
28.27
4.63
22.39
-12.86
7.84
31.74
Morningstar
6.89
8.88
16.86
-10.16
31.57
4.02
21.43
-15.46
8.54
25.99
Growth of $10,000

Growth of a $10,000 investment

(as of 12/31/2025)

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 12/31/2025)
3 Year 5 Year 10 Year
Alpha -2.24 -1.08 0.14
Beta 0.84 0.86 0.88
Excess Return -4.30 -2.29 -0.83
Information Ratio -0.65 -0.38 -0.16
Sharpe Ratio 0.14 0.18 0.32
R2 0.90 0.92 0.95
Tracking Error 6.61 5.99 5.09
Standard Deviation 17.59 18.21 19.22
Upside Market Capture Ratio 68.60 71.76 68.54
Downside Market Capture Ratio 88.71 93.29 96.70
Morningstar ratings and rankings

Morningstar ratings and rankings

(as of 12/31/2025)
Overall
Small Value (Out of 462 funds)
Three Year
85th percentile (390 out of 462)
Five Year
88th percentile (391 out of 439)
Ten Year
66th percentile (225 out of 362)

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 data
YTD high $38.77 1/15/2026
YTD low $36.18 1/1/2026
52-week high $41.43 1/21/2025
52-week low $33.00 4/8/2025
2025 high $41.43 1/21/2025
2025 low $33.00 4/8/2025
Best quarterly return 28.29% 12/31/2020
Worst quarterly return -33.57% 3/31/2020
Best calendar year 29.46% 12/31/2016
Worst calendar year -13.52% 12/31/2022

Distribution summary
Dividends Annually
Capital gains Annually

Distribution history

Distribution history Type Per share amount Reinvestment price
2025-12-22 Dividend $0.42315 $36.92
2025-12-21 Dividend $- $36.92
2025-12-20 Dividend $- $36.92
2025-12-15 Long-term capital gain $2.4388 $37.43
2025-12-15 Short-term capital gain $0.1786 $37.43
2024-12-20 Dividend $0.54005 $40.31
2024-12-12 Long-term capital gain $2.91594 $43.10
2024-12-12 Short-term capital gain $0.64968 $43.10
2023-12-15 Dividend $0.52344 $40.47
2023-12-11 Long-term capital gain $0.45039 $39.32
2023-12-11 Short-term capital gain $0.04136 $39.32
2022-12-15 Dividend $0.41491 $35.48
2022-12-09 Long-term capital gain $1.8432 $36.40
2022-12-09 Short-term capital gain $0.06345 $36.40
2021-12-16 Dividend $0.28656 $42.25
2021-12-09 Long-term capital gain $1.53975 $43.10
2021-12-09 Short-term capital gain $1.05666 $43.10
2020-12-16 Dividend $0.25357 $36.23
2020-12-09 Long-term capital gain $0.0106 $36.12
2019-12-17 Dividend $0.43869 $35.77
2019-12-10 Long-term capital gain $0.23959 $35.53
2019-12-10 Short-term capital gain $0.06785 $35.53
2018-12-14 Dividend $0.30289 $29.69
2018-12-10 Long-term capital gain $1.89906 $30.54
2018-12-10 Short-term capital gain $0.16361 $30.54
2017-12-15 Dividend $0.48952 $35.39
2017-12-13 Long-term capital gain $1.02931 $35.79
2017-12-13 Short-term capital gain $0.5084 $35.79
2016-12-14 Dividend $0.29985 $33.61
2016-12-09 Long-term capital gain $0.35578 $34.60
2016-12-09 Short-term capital gain $0.21227 $34.60
2015-12-16 Dividend $0.33014 $27.14
2015-12-11 Long-term capital gain $0.4196 $27.06
2014-12-16 Dividend $0.345 $27.32
2014-12-11 Long-term capital gain $4.05414 $28.24
2014-12-11 Short-term capital gain $1.1263 $28.24
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Composition

Portfolio statistics

Portfolio statistics

(as of 12/31/2025)
Fund Benchmark
Number of Holdings 118 1426
Median Market Cap 2.75 0.80
Dividend Yield 1.81 2.04
P/E (1-year EPS forecast) 12.70 18.58
P/B Ratio 1.66 1.42
EPS Growth 9.50 10.63
Return on Equity 10.07 2.47
Portfolio Turnover 25.25 -

Equity style box

(as of 12/31/2025) Overview chart

Placement within the Morningstar Fixed Income 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 12/31/2025)
Security
Fund
Franklin Electric Co., Inc.
3.63%
UMB Financial Corporation
3.53%
Innospec Inc.
3.33%
J & J Snack Foods Corp.
2.93%
Mueller Industries, Inc.
2.52%
Eagle Materials Inc.
2.41%
Stewart Information Services Corporation
2.32%
UFP Industries, Inc.
2.22%
Hancock Whitney Corporation
2.20%
SouthState Bank Corporation
2.20%
View All Holdings
Top 10 represents 27.29% of market value
Sector allocation

Sector allocation

(as of 12/31/2025)
Type
Fund
Benchmark
Other
 1.16% -
Cash & equivalents
 0.00% -
Communication services
 0.47% 3.22%
Consumer discretionary
 7.58% 9.90%
Consumer staples
 6.10% 1.61%
Energy
 4.01% 6.96%
Financials
 21.95% 26.36%
Health care
 6.89% 11.02%
Industrials
 24.42% 12.60%
Information technology
 10.06% 7.67%
Materials
 16.27% 5.39%
Real estate
 0.47% 9.52%
Utilities
 0.64% 5.74%

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, Administrator, Institutional, R6 Quarterly Download
Regulatory Document Details Date
Annual Long Form Financial Statements R6, Institutional, Administrator, A 3/31/2025 Download
Annual Report R6 3/31/2025 Download
Full Prospectus R6, Institutional, Administrator, A 8/1/2025 Download
Quarterly Holdings A, Administrator, Institutional, R6 6/30/2025 Download
Quarterly Holdings A, Administrator, Institutional, R6 12/31/2024 Download
Semi-annual Long Form Financial Statements R6, Institutional, Administrator, A 9/30/2025 Download
Semi-annual Report R6 9/30/2025 Download
Statement of Additional Information A, Administrator, Institutional, R6 8/1/2025 Download
Summary Prospectus R6, Institutional, Administrator, A 8/1/2025 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.

View Team
James

James Tringas

Co-Head of Special Global Equity
Bryant

Bryant VanCronkhite

Co-Head of Special Global Equity
Brian

Brian Martin

Portfolio Manager

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. Smaller company stocks tend to be more volatile and less liquid than those of larger companies. 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

 

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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.