Investment Process

The investment team seeks to invest in high-quality, undervalued businesses that offer the potential for superior risk/reward outcomes. The investment universe is generally non-US equities with market caps below $5 billion.

Undervaluation

  • Determine the intrinsic value of the business
  • Invest at a significant discount to intrinsic value

Business Quality

  • Strong free cash flow
  • High/improving returns on capital
  • Strong competitive positions

Financial Strength

  • Strong balance sheets reduce potential for capital risk
  • Provides management ability to build value

Shareholder-Oriented Management

  • History of building shareholder value

In-depth Investment Process

 

Investment Results (%)

As of 30 November 2024 QTD YTD 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr Inception
Advisor Class: ARDBX -0.62 8.98 18.70 10.15
MSCI All Country World ex USA Small Cap Index -5.65 5.61 12.31 6.91
As of 30 September 2024 QTD YTD 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr Inception
Advisor Class: ARDBX 2.61 9.67 22.75 11.19
MSCI All Country World ex USA Small Cap Index 8.90 11.93 23.25 10.08

Calendar Year Returns (%)

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Advisor Class: ARDBX 20.56
MSCI All Country World ex USA Small Cap Index 15.66
Returns for periods less than one year are not annualized. 

Past performance does not guarantee and is not a reliable indicator of future results. Investment returns and principal values 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 that shown. 

Expense Ratio

  Gross Net
Annual Report 30 September 2024 1.44% 1.40%
Prospectus 30 September 2023 1.78% 1.43%

Expense Ratio Disclosure

Net expenses reflect a contractual expense limitation agreement in effect through 31 Jan 2026. See prospectus for further details. Annual Report Figures: Excludes Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses as described in the prospectus. Net expenses also reflect a voluntary waiver of expenses related to proxy voting during the year. See the Annual Report for further details. 

Top 10 Holdings
(% of total portfolio as of 30 November 2024)
Glenveagh Properties PLC (Consumer Discretionary) 9.6
M&C Saatchi PLC (Communication Services) 9.3
Zuken Inc (Information Technology) 6.1
Alten SA (Information Technology) 3.9
Despegar.com Corp (Consumer Discretionary) 3.8
Sato Holdings Corp (Industrials) 3.7
Signify NV (Industrials) 3.1
Steadfast Group Ltd (Financials) 2.9
AlzChem Group AG (Materials) 2.9
Kansai Paint Co Ltd (Materials) 2.8
Total 48.0%
View Full Holdings Historical Holdings
Portfolio Statistics
(as of 30 November 2024)
Median Market Cap (Billions) $0.5
Weighted Avg. Market Cap (Billions) $1.3
Weighted Harmonic Avg. P/E (FY1) 12.9X
Weighted Harmonic Avg. P/E (FY2) 11.5X
Weighted Avg. Net Debt/Capital -0.6%
Weighted Avg. EV/EBITDA 7.8X
Weighted Avg. ROA 4.9%
Active Share 99.4%
Annual Turnover 15.5%
Number of Securities 35
Number of Countries 19
Cash (% of total portfolio) 15.2%

Region Allocation
(% of portfolio securities as of 30 November 2024)

Top 10 Countries
(% of portfolio securities as of 30 November 2024)
United Kingdom 27.3
Japan 14.9
Ireland 11.3
France 6.1
Germany 5.5
Netherlands 4.9
Argentina 4.5
Australia 3.5
United States 3.3
Switzerland 2.9

Sector Diversification
(% of portfolio securities as of 30 November 2024)

The investment team leverages high degrees of experience and knowledge within a disciplined investment process. Learn more about the Team.
  • N. David Samra
  • Managing Director
  • 32Years Investment
    Experience
  • Beini Zhou, CFA
  • Co-Portfolio Manager
  • 19Years Investment
    Experience
  • Anand Vasagiri
  • Co-Portfolio Manager
  • 19Years Investment
    Experience
  • Taking Risks with Risk Management: A Tragedy of Errors
  • View PDF
  • Celebrating Three Years at the Firm: Beini Zhou and Anand Vasagiri
  • Watch Now
  • The Wall Street Transcript—Small Cap Fund Managers Travel the Globe, Kick the Tires
  • View PDF
Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk. The value of portfolio securities selected by the investment team may rise or fall in response to company, market, economic, political, regulatory or other news, at times greater than the market or benchmark index. A portfolio’s environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations may limit the investment opportunities available and, as a result, the portfolio may forgo certain investment opportunities and underperform portfolios that do not consider ESG factors. International investments involve special risks, including currency fluctuation, lower liquidity, different accounting methods and economic and political systems, and higher transaction costs. These risks typically are greater in emerging and less developed markets, including frontier markets. Such risks include new and rapidly changing political and economic structures, which may cause instability; underdeveloped securities markets; and higher likelihood of high levels of inflation, deflation or currency devaluations. Securities of small- and medium-sized companies tend to have a shorter history of operations, be more volatile and less liquid and may have underperformed securities of large companies during some periods. Value securities may underperform other asset types during a given period. These risks are discussed in the prospectus. Please read it carefully before you invest or send money. 

Performance Source: Artisan Partners/MSCI. Data & Statistics Sources: Artisan Partners/MSCI/GICS. Annual turnover is reported as of the Fund’s fiscal year end. Sector exposure percentages reflect sector designations as currently classified by GICS. Artisan Partners may exclude outlier data and certain securities which lack applicable attributes, such as private securities when calculating portfolio statistics. If information is unavailable for a particular security Artisan may use data from a related security to calculate portfolio statistics. For the purpose of determining the Fund's holdings, securities of the same issuer are aggregated to determine the weight in the Fund. Cash weighting includes cash and cash equivalents. Portfolio holdings are subject to change without notice and are not intended as recommendations of individual securities. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

Median is the data's midpoint value. Market Cap (USD) is the aggregate value of all of a company's outstanding equity securities. Weighted Average is the average of values weighted to the data set's composition. Weighted Harmonic Average is a calculation of weighted average commonly used for rates or ratios. Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) measures how expensive a stock is. Earnings figures used for FY1 and FY2 are estimates for the current and next unreported fiscal years. Net Debt/Capital reflects a company’s financial leverage as measured by its net debt (total debt minus cash & cash equivalents) divided by total capital. The aggregate calculation excludes companies classified by GICS as banks, consumer finance and capital markets to focus on nonfinancial liabilities. Enterprise Value to Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EV/EBITDA) is a measure of the intrinsic value of a business. EV is calculated as the market capitalization of the company plus its long-term debt. EBITDA is an approximate measure of a company's operating cash flow based on data from the company's income statement. It is calculated by looking at earnings before the deduction of interest expenses, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Return on Assets (ROA) is a profitability ratio that measures the amount of net income returned as a percentage of total assets. Active Share is defined as the percentage of a portfolio that differs from its benchmark index. Active Share can range from 0% for an index fund that perfectly mirrors its benchmark to 100% for a portfolio with no overlap with an index. Free Cash Flow is a measure of financial performance calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Return on Capital (ROC) is a measure of how effectively a company uses the money (borrowed or owned) invested in its operations. 

MSCI All Country World ex USA Small Cap Index measures the performance of small-cap companies in developed markets and emerging markets excluding the US. The index(es) are unmanaged; include net reinvested dividends; do not reflect fees or expenses; and are not available for direct investment. 

MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data contained herein. The MSCI data may not be further redistributed or used to create indices or financial products. This report is not approved or produced by MSCI. 

The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) is the exclusive intellectual property of MSCI Inc. (MSCI) and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC (S&P). Neither MSCI, S&P, their affiliates, nor any of their third party providers (“GICS Parties”) makes any representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to GICS or the results to be obtained by the use thereof, and expressly disclaim all warranties, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The GICS Parties shall not have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of such damages.