Longleaf Partners Funds Trust
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-CSR
CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
Investment Company Act file number: 811-4923
Longleaf Partners Funds Trust
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
c/o Southeastern Asset Management, Inc.
6410 Poplar Avenue, Suite 900
Memphis, TN 38119
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)
Andrew R. McCarroll, Esq.
Southeastern Asset Management, Inc.
6410 Poplar Ave., Suite 900
Memphis, TN 38119
(Name
and address of agent for service)
Registrants telephone number, including area code:
(901) 761-2474
Date of fiscal year end: December 31
Date of reporting period: June 30, 2023.
Item 1(a). Longleaf Partners Funds Semi-Annual Report at June 30, 2023.
Semi-Annual Report
June 30, 2023
Partners Fund
Small-Cap Fund
International Fund
Global Fund
One of
Southeastern's “Governing Principles” is that “we will communicate with our investment partners as candidly as possible,” because we believe Longleaf shareholders benefit from understanding our investment philosophy and
approach. Our views and opinions regarding the investment prospects of our portfolio holdings and Funds are “forward looking statements” which may or may not be accurate over the long term. While we believe we have a reasonable basis for
our appraisals, and we have confidence in our opinions, actual results may differ materially from those we anticipate. Information provided in this report should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any particular security.
You can identify forward looking statements by words like
“believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” or similar expressions when discussing prospects for particular portfolio holdings and/or one of the Funds. We cannot assure future results and achievements. You should not place
undue reliance on forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this report. We disclaim any obligation to update or alter any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Current
performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted herein. Past performance does not guarantee future results, fund prices fluctuate, and the value of an investment may be worth more or less than the purchase price. Call (800) 445-9469 or go to southeasternasset.com for current performance information and for the Prospectus and Summary Prospectus, both of which should be read carefully before investing to learn about fund investment
objectives, risks and expenses. This material must be accompanied or preceded by a prospectus. Please read it carefully before investing.
The price-to-value ratio (“P/V”) is a calculation
that compares the prices of the stocks in a portfolio to Southeastern's appraisals of their intrinsic values. P/V represents a single data point about a Fund, and should not be construed as something more. P/V does not guarantee future results, and
we caution investors not to give this calculation undue weight. P/V alone tells nothing about:
•
|
The quality of the
businesses we own or the managements that run them; |
•
|
The cash held in the
portfolio and when that cash will be invested; |
•
|
The range or distribution of
individual P/V's that comprise the average; and |
•
|
The
sources of and changes in the P/V. |
When all of the above information is considered, the P/V is a
useful tool to gauge the attractiveness of a Fund's potential opportunity. It does not, however, tell when that opportunity will be realized, nor does it guarantee that any particular company's price will ever reach its value. We remind our
shareholders who want to find a single silver bullet of information that investments are rarely that simple. To the extent an investor considers P/V in assessing a Fund's return opportunity, the limits of this tool should be considered along with
other factors relevant to each investor.
Unless
otherwise noted, performance returns of Fund positions combine the underlying stock and bond securities including the effect of trading activity during the period.
Risks
The Longleaf Partners Funds are subject to stock market risk,
meaning stocks in the Fund may fluctuate in response to developments at individual companies or due to general market and economic conditions. Also, because the Funds generally invest in 15 to 25 companies, share value could fluctuate more than if a
greater number of securities were held. Mid-cap stocks held by the Funds may be more volatile than those of larger companies. With respect to the Small-Cap Fund, smaller company stocks may be more volatile with fewer financial resources than those
of larger companies. With respect to the International and Global Funds, investing in non- U.S. securities may entail risk due to non-U.S. economic and political developments, exposure to non-U.S. currencies, and different accounting and financial
standards. These risks may be higher when investing in emerging markets. Diversification does not eliminate the risk of experiencing investment losses.
Indexes
The S&P 500 Index is an index of 500 stocks chosen for
market size, liquidity and industry grouping, among other factors. The S&P is designed to be a leading indicator of U.S. equities and is meant to reflect the risk/return characteristics of the large cap universe.
The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the 2,000
smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, which represents approximately 10% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000 Index.
The FTSE Developed ex North America Index comprises Large and
Mid-cap stocks providing coverage of Developed markets, excluding the US and Canada. The index is derived from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS), which covers 98% of the world’s investable market capitalization.
The FTSE Developed Index is a market-capitalization weighted
index representing the performance of large and mid-cap companies in Developed markets. The index is derived from the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (GEIS), which covers 98% of the world’s investable market capitalization.
The MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australia, Far East) is a broad
based, unmanaged equity market index designed to measure the equity market performance of 22 developed markets, excluding the US & Canada.
The MSCI World Index is a broad-based, unmanaged equity market
index designed to measure the equity market performance of 23 developed markets, including the United States.
An index cannot be invested in directly.
Definitions
EBITDA is a company’s earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization.
Free Cash Flow (FCF) is
a measure of a company’s ability to generate the cash flow necessary to maintain operations. Generally, it is calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures.
Return on equity (ROE) is a measure of profitability that
calculates how many dollars of profit a company generates with each dollar of shareholders' equity.
“Margin of Safety” is a reference to the
difference between a stock’s market price and Southeastern’s calculated appraisal value. It is not a guarantee of investment performance or returns.
Price / Earnings (P/E) is the ratio of a company’s share
price compared to its earnings per share.
Operating Cash
Flow (OCF) measures cash generated by a company’s normal business operations.
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR), is the mean annual growth
rate of an investment over a specified period of time longer than one year.
© 2023
Southeastern Asset Management, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Longleaf, Longleaf Partners Funds and the pine cone logo are registered trademarks of Longleaf Partners Funds Trust.
Southeastern Asset Management, Inc.
is a registered trademark.
Funds distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc.
Management
Discussion (Unaudited)
Partners Fund
Longleaf Partners Fund added 5.15% in the second quarter,
taking year-to-date (YTD) returns to 17.42% for the first half. While the portfolio’s lack of exposure to Information Technology and relative overweight to Consumer Discretionary weighed on relative results in the quarter, the Fund
outperformed the S&P 500 in the first half in an environment that strongly favored growth.
The central macro theme in the second quarter and for the
first half was the reemergence of a handful of mega-cap growth stocks driving the S&P 500. These stocks dominated markets over the last decade but suffered an initial collapse of over 30% from January 2022 to the Nasdaq’s recent low point
in October 2022, before rallying over 40% in the last six months. The market rarely moves down (or up) in a straight line, as we have learned through multiple previous cycles. This reminds us of the early stages of the dotcom bubble, when the Nasdaq
fell over 35% from March 2000 highs before temporarily rebounding 36% in 2Q 2000, only to drop a further 80% over the subsequent 25 months, as shown in the charts below.
While every period
is different, we believe the mega-cap tech darlings are similarly primed today for a more precipitous decline in the face of peak margins on top of increased competition and regulation.
However, the Fund’s ability to produce strong relative
results is not predicated on a market correction. We continue to see solid operational results across our portfolio holdings, translating into positive stock performance for many. Our management partners are on offense with strong balance sheets and
pricing power, allowing them to grow and recognize value in more challenging market environments.
We encourage you to watch our video with Portfolio Managers
Ross Glotzbach and Staley Cates available at southeasternasset.com for a more detailed review of the quarter.
Live Nation - Live Nation
Entertainment, a new purchase this year, was the top contributor in the quarter and a top performer for the first half. We had the opportunity to buy Live Nation on the back of the well-publicized controversy faced by Ticketmaster after the botched
Taylor Swift tour pre-sale event in November, which lead to short-term fan and political pressure. The industry continues to have great demand tailwinds for the long term. Even after a strong 2022, concerts further accelerated in 2023, driving the
positive stock price performance in the quarter. We have prior knowledge of Live Nation from our time owning various Liberty Media entities and are encouraged on future capital allocation that Liberty is still on the case as a 30%+
owner.
IAC
– Digital holding company IAC was a top contributor in the quarter and for the first half, after having been among the largest detractors in 2022. Underlying holding MGM has continued to deliver great results,
reporting double digit profit growth while being one of our largest share repurchasers. Controlled companies Angi and Dotdash Meredith have stabilized following positive management changes at Angi and further business integration at Dotdash
Meredith. Angi reported year-over-year (YOY) revenue declines but positive YOY operating cash flow (OCF). Dotdash reiterated guidance for the second half with expected growth in revenues and OCF as it rolls off more challenging 2021 YOY comparables.
IAC bought back more shares in the quarter than it has in many years, while also buying more Turo shares at good prices, and it still has net cash at the parent level.
Warner Bros Discovery –
Media conglomerate Warner Bros Discovery was the top detractor in the quarter but remained a top contributor for the first half. After a strong first quarter, the stock price faltered in the face of near-term uncertainty around the re-launch of
streaming service Max. Additionally, the big budget movie The Flash has not been a success. Finally, there was well-publicized drama around CNN
management, with CNN CEO Chris Licht leaving the company after only one year, which we believe was a positive resolution. The company remains dramatically undervalued today, and management continues to make positive operational progress to drive
free cash flow (FCF) growth. We believe this company has seen the worst so will be less leveraged and more strategically positioned in the quarters and years to come. Its underlying holdings are high quality businesses that will drive FCF per share
growth while also being attractive acquisition candidates.
Portfolio Activity
Portfolio activity was higher than usual in the first half
with seven new positions, six exits and multiple active trims and additions throughout the year in the face of increased market volatility and team productivity. We initiated one new position in the second quarter in a Health Care company that we
are still building and will discuss in more detail next quarter. Our other year-to-date purchases range from consumer staples company Kellogg, which plans to spin off its eponymous cereal business (which accounts for less than 20% of our appraisal
value) to focus on its high-quality and growing snacks business; to Entertainment company Live Nation, discussed in more detail above; to toy company Hasbro, which we have followed as a direct competitor to existing holding Mattel and finally had
the opportunity to purchase at a discount; to a combined holding in Fiserv and Fidelity
Information
Services, the latter of which we purchased in the wake of the first quarter banking crisis; to Fortune Brands, a large conglomerate that has strategically slimmed down to a high-quality owner of plumbing and other housing-related businesses.
We exited second-time holding Alphabet and long-term position
Lumen in the quarter. After successfully owning Alphabet from 2015 to 2020, we purchased the company again in 2022 as tech stocks broadly faced weakness. Alphabet was especially punished due to fears of increased competition entering the AI space,
and we felt those worries were overdone. This market narrative quickly flipped in our roughly one-year holding period with Alphabet now being viewed as a likely AI winner, and we sold the position at a gain as the share price re-rated and the market
was now overlooking a worse competitive and regulatory outlook.
We sold our remaining position in Lumen, after reducing our
position in the first quarter when it became clearer the new management team under CEO Kate Johnson would not pursue a strategic path to monetizing Lumen’s consumer business. At their first analyst day in early June, new management presented
disappointingly weak financial targets and significant further spending without a clear path to revenue growth. Throughout our holding period, we saw bond market pricing holding up and supporting our case for the strength of Lumen’s balance
sheet, but in the second quarter, this reversed with bond prices becoming overly distressed. We lowered our appraisal as our outlook for the company deteriorated, leading to a full exit in the quarter. Lumen represented a permanent capital loss for
the Fund, a significant opportunity cost for the portfolio and a disappointing long-term mistake. Lumen has reinforced the importance of limiting overweight positions in the portfolio, being cautious of leverage and value declines, and fully
re-underwriting a case – and being willing to move on – when the people and/or underlying facts change.
The higher-than-average portfolio activity YTD reflects the
continued improvement in our process and the productivity of the team, with the proceeds of our trims and sales going to fund new opportunities with a better margin of safety and significant potential upside.
Outlook
The Fund delivered a strong first half, despite
significant relative macro headwinds, and with materially different return drivers than the index. We believe this positions the Fund to deliver differentiated future returns. The research team has been busy evaluating existing holdings and
identifying new opportunities, resulting in upgrades to the portfolio. Our management teams have been similarly busy, taking steps to get the underlying value of their businesses recognized. Following a period of high-teens returns, the portfolio
ended the quarter with a compelling price-to-value (P/V) ratio in the mid-60s%, indicating significant future potential upside.
Performance History
(Unaudited)
Partners Fund
Comparison
of Change in Value of $10,000 Investment
Since Inception
April 8, 1987
Average
Annual Returns for the Periods Ended June 30, 2023 |
|
YTD*
|
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
20
Year |
Since
Inception 4/08/87 |
Partners
Fund |
17.42%
|
7.29%
|
2.86%
|
5.19%
|
5.45%
|
9.34%
|
S&P
500 Index |
16.89
|
19.59
|
12.31
|
12.86
|
10.04
|
10.18
|
* |
Year-to-date (YTD) not
annualized. |
The index is unmanaged.
Because the S&P 500 Index was available only at month-end in 1987, we used the 3/31/87 value for performance since inception. Returns reflect reinvested capital gains and dividends but not the deduction of taxes an investor would pay on
distributions or share redemptions. Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value 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 of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by visiting
southeasternasset.com. The Partners Fund is subject to stock market risk, meaning stocks in the Fund may fluctuate in response to developments at individual companies or due to general market and economic conditions. Also, because the Fund generally
invests in 15 to 25 companies, share value could fluctuate more than if a greater number of securities were held. Mid-cap stocks held may be more volatile than those of larger companies.
As reported in the Prospectus dated May 1, 2023, the total
expense ratio for the Partners Fund is 1.03% (gross) and 0.79% (net). Through at least April 30, 2024, this expense ratio is subject to fee waiver to the extent the fund's normal annual operating expenses exceed 0.79% of average annual net
assets. Please refer to the Financial Highlights within this report for the Fund's current expense ratio.
Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)
Partners Fund
Top
10 Portfolio Holdings at June 30, 2023 |
|
|
Net
Assets |
FedEx
Corporation |
6.3%
|
CNX
Resources Corporation |
6.2
|
IAC,
Inc. |
6.2
|
Fairfax
Financial Holdings Limited |
5.5
|
Affiliated
Managers Group, Inc. |
5.4
|
Mattel,
Inc. |
5.4
|
MGM
Resorts International |
4.9
|
Bio-Rad
Laboratories, Inc. |
4.8
|
Warner
Bros., Discovery, Inc. |
4.8
|
PVH
Corp. |
4.7
|
|
54.2%
|
Sector
Composition |
|
|
Net
Assets |
Communication
Services |
24.4%
|
Consumer
Discretionary |
21.2
|
Industrials
|
18.2
|
Financials
|
17.8
|
Energy
|
6.2
|
Health
Care |
4.8
|
Consumer
Staples |
3.4
|
Cash
& Other |
4.0
|
|
100.0%
|
Fund holdings are subject to change
and holding discussions are not recommendations to buy or sell any security.
Portfolio of
Investments (Unaudited)
Partners Fund
Common
Stocks |
|
Shares
|
Value
|
%
of Net Assets |
Air
Freight & Logistics |
FedEx
Corporation |
350,540
|
$
86,898,866 |
6.3%
|
Building
Products |
Fortune
Brands Innovations, Inc. |
673,768
|
48,477,608 |
3.5
|
Capital
Markets |
Affiliated
Managers Group, Inc. |
492,252
|
73,783,652 |
5.4
|
Entertainment
|
Live
Nation Entertainment, Inc.* |
667,329
|
60,800,345 |
4.4
|
Warner
Bros., Discovery, Inc.* |
5,199,046
|
65,196,037 |
4.8
|
Warner
Music Group Corp. |
2,358,153
|
61,524,212
|
4.5
|
|
|
187,520,594
|
13.7
|
Financial
Services |
Fidelity
National Information Services, Inc. |
817,927
|
44,740,607 |
3.2
|
Fiserv,
Inc.* |
398,234
|
50,237,219
|
3.7
|
|
|
94,977,826
|
6.9
|
Food
Products |
Kellogg
Company |
685,278
|
46,187,737 |
3.4
|
Hotels,
Restaurants & Leisure |
Hyatt
Hotels Corporation - Class A |
527,890
|
60,485,636 |
4.4
|
MGM
Resorts International |
1,541,775
|
67,714,758
|
4.9
|
|
|
128,200,394
|
9.3
|
Industrial
Conglomerates |
General
Electric Company |
506,996
|
55,693,511 |
4.1
|
Insurance
|
Fairfax
Financial Holdings Limited (Canada) |
100,337
|
75,156,370 |
5.5
|
Interactive
Media & Services |
IAC,
Inc.* |
1,358,794
|
85,332,263 |
6.2
|
Leisure
Products |
Hasbro,
Inc. |
375,900
|
24,347,043 |
1.8
|
Mattel,
Inc.* |
3,772,498
|
73,714,611
|
5.4
|
|
|
98,061,654
|
7.2
|
Life
Sciences Tools & Services |
Bio-Rad
Laboratories, Inc.* |
171,987
|
65,203,712 |
4.8
|
Machinery
|
CNH
Industrial N.V. (Italian Exchange) (Netherlands) |
3,306,184
|
47,683,801 |
3.5
|
CNH
Industrial N.V. (U.S. Exchange) (Netherlands) |
806,177
|
11,608,949
|
0.8
|
|
|
59,292,750
|
4.3
|
Media
|
Liberty
Broadband Corporation - Series C* |
761,905
|
61,036,210 |
4.5
|
Oil,
Gas & Consumable Fuels |
CNX
Resources Corporation* |
4,825,381
|
85,505,751 |
6.2
|
Textiles,
Apparel & Luxury Goods |
PVH
Corp. |
765,955
|
65,083,196
|
4.7
|
Total
Common Stocks (Cost $1,134,811,246) |
|
1,316,412,094
|
96.0
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Short-Term
Obligations |
|
Principal
Amount |
Value
|
%
of Net Assets |
Repurchase
agreement with State Street Bank, 4.25%, dated 06/30/23, due 07/03/23, Repurchase price $55,079,500 (Collateral: $56,161,225 U.S. Treasury Bonds, 1.125% - 2.875% due 1/15/33 to 5/15/49, Par $59,583,900) (Cost $55,060,000) |
55,060,000
|
$
55,060,000 |
4.0%
|
Total
Investments (Cost $1,189,871,246) |
|
1,371,472,094
|
100.0
|
Other
Assets (Liabilities), Net |
|
(103,446)
|
(—)
|
Net
Assets |
|
$1,371,368,648
|
100.0%
|
* |
Non-income
producing security. |
Note: Non-U.S.
Companies represent 9.8% of net assets.
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Management
Discussion (Unaudited)
Small-Cap Fund
Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund added 3.70% in the second
quarter, taking year-to-date (YTD) returns to 8.10% for the first half. While the portfolio’s lack of exposure to Health Care and relative overweight to Consumer Staples weighed on relative results in the quarter, the Fund’s
differentiated holdings within the Financials and Real Estate sectors contributed to absolute and relative returns in the quarter and for the first half. We have built a unique, diversified and relatively defensive portfolio in the Fund. We own a
collection of stable businesses with strong brands that are by and large out of the economic crosshairs – tortillas, beverages, insurance, sports – with great management partners in place that navigate even the most challenging markets.
We believe this differentiated positioning will be a source of future outperformance.
The Russell 2000 has been one of the relatively weaker markets
in 2023, as investors have fled what they view to be more volatile, cyclical companies in favor of increasingly mega-cap growth companies. These stocks dominated markets over the last decade but suffered an initial collapse of over 30% from January
2022 to the Nasdaq’s recent low point in October 2022, before rallying over 40% in the last six months. The market rarely moves down (or up) in a straight line, as we have learned through multiple previous cycles. This reminds us of the early
stages of the dotcom bubble, when the Nasdaq fell over 35% from March 2000 highs before temporarily rebounding 36% in 2Q 2000, only to drop a further 80% over the subsequent 25 months, as shown in the charts below.
While every period
is different, we believe the mega-cap tech darlings are similarly primed today for a more precipitous decline in the face of peak margins on top of increased competition and regulation.
The Fund’s ability to produce strong relative results is
not predicated on a technology stock correction or on small-cap stocks more broadly recovering. We continue to see solid operational results across our portfolio holdings, translating into positive stock performance for many. Our management partners
are on offense with strong balance sheets and pricing power, allowing them to grow and recognize value in more challenging market environments.
We encourage you to watch our video with Portfolio Managers
Ross Glotzbach and Staley Cates available at southeasternasset.com for a more detailed review of the quarter.
Oscar Health - Health
insurance and software platform Oscar Health was again the top performer in the quarter and for the first half. New CEO Mark Bertolini brings significant operational expertise, as well as a strong endorsement value to the business, given his
long-term track record as CEO of Aetna. As discussed last quarter, his compensation package aligns his interests with shareholders. He is already executing on improved cost control and operational efficiency that should translate into improved
results in the next 6-12 months. In the quarter, the company affirmed near-term results are on track.
Liberty Braves Group –
Liberty Braves Group, which owns the Atlanta Braves baseball team and real estate around the stadium, was another top contributor in the quarter. Liberty is on track to spin out this tracking stock as a standalone company in the third quarter, which
is likely to result in a price re-rating, as we have seen in numerous other Liberty tracking stock investments over our history. The baseball team is off to a strong start this season, and the Braves sold out of season ticket inventory for the first
time in franchise history and drew their largest home opening crowd in Truist Park history. Our appraisal has steadily grown, and we believe the Braves could be an interesting take-out candidate once it trades as a standalone business.
Anywhere Real Estate –
Real Estate brokerage franchisor Anywhere was another solid performer in the quarter and for the first half, benefitting from “green shoots” in the seemingly bottomed-out US housing market. Management has maintained strong cost control,
and even at this depressed level, Anywhere is producing net positive free cash flow (FCF) today with the potential for strong future franchise fee growth.
Lanxess – German-listed
specialty chemical company Lanxess was the top detractor after announcing a higher-than-expected profit warning in the quarter. The company has faced a triple whammy of industry-wide destocking, exposure to delayed demand recovery in China and costs
related to cleaning up the operations of the business. We believe the scale of the warning reflects management taking all the pain upfront to ensure it was a “one and done” warning. We exited the position post-quarter end to fund new
positions, as it no longer qualified as a top-20 holding for the Fund.
Portfolio Activity
In the second quarter, we initiated three new positions, added
to Boston Beer Company, a new purchase in the first quarter, sold Vimeo and Lanxess (discussed above), converted our Lumen equity position to a smaller position in Lumen bonds, and trimmed several strong performers. Founded in 1984 by Jim Koch,
Boston Beer today includes original beer brand Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea (which has become the largest part of the value), regional craft beers like Dogfish Head, Angry Orchard cider and Truly Seltzer, where it is the number two player in its
category. Boston Beer’s share price soared to over $1,200 per share amid a great “seltzer boom” in 2020, which ultimately proved to be a fad, providing us an opportunity to invest in this great business that has compounded over
time at a double-digit compound annual growth rate (CAGR). We are still building out the three new holdings purchased in the second quarter, two of which we’ve owned successfully before.
We exited Vimeo and long-term position Lumen in the quarter,
both of which were disappointing investments that resulted in a permanent capital loss in the portfolio. At Vimeo we initially misjudged how much of a COVID beneficiary the business had been, and our sum of the parts valuation proved to be too
generous for some of the underlying assets that were less differentiated than we originally believed. We sold our remaining equity position in Lumen, after reducing our position in the first quarter when it became clearer the new management team
under CEO Kate Johnson would not pursue a strategic path to monetizing Lumen’s consumer business. At their first analyst day in early June, new management presented disappointingly weak financial targets and significant further spending
without a clear path to revenue growth. Throughout our holding period, we saw bond market pricing holding up and supporting our case for the strength of Lumen’s balance sheet, but in the second quarter, this reversed with bond prices becoming
overly distressed. We lowered our appraisal as our outlook for the company deteriorated, leading to a full exit in our equity position in the quarter. However, the incredibly depressed bond prices created a unique opportunity to own Lumen bonds that
are backed by hard assets (property plant and equipment to which the company assigns a $150 billion replacement cost) and offer equity-like returns. The bonds are not as dependent on the people part of the case and offer a compelling opportunity to
implicitly pay a 3x EBITDA multiple for assets with a materially better risk-reward profile.
While any permanent capital loss is disappointing, having
taken these losses and others puts the Fund in a very tax advantageous position, meaning we could realize significant future capital gains without incurring a capital gain distribution. The higher-than-average portfolio changes YTD illustrate the
continued improvement in our process and the productivity of the team, with the proceeds of our exits going to fund new opportunities with a better margin of safety and significant potential upside. Kodak ended the quarter at a larger-than-6.5%
position size, and we expect to work this down in due time. Similar to how Westrock Coffee temporarily exceeded our 6.5% position limit at the start of the year, we will not rush a move like this to hit a quarterly report, but we will always be
working to get to the right weighting. Just after the quarter end, Kodak announced a major refinancing, which both expanded and extended its term loan. This signals heightened confidence in the Kodak turnaround and in the various sources of value at
the company by a lender who is also an equity owner and board seat holder.
Outlook
The Fund delivered a solid first half, despite macro
headwinds, and with materially different return drivers than the index. We believe this positions the Fund to deliver differentiated future returns. The research team has been busy evaluating existing holdings and identifying new opportunities,
resulting in upgrades to the portfolio. Our management teams have been similarly busy, taking steps to get the underlying value of their businesses recognized. The portfolio ended the quarter with a compelling price-to-value (P/V) ratio in the
mid-60s%, indicating significant future potential upside.
Performance History
(Unaudited)
Small-Cap Fund
Comparison
of Change in Value of $10,000 Investment
Since Inception
February 21, 1989
Average
Annual Returns for the Periods Ended June 30, 2023 |
|
YTD*
|
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
20
Year |
Since
Inception 2/21/89 |
Small-Cap
Fund |
8.10%
|
2.69%
|
0.97%
|
5.93%
|
8.39%
|
9.56%
|
Russell
2000 Index |
8.09
|
12.31
|
4.21
|
8.25
|
8.88
|
9.05
|
* |
Year-to-date (YTD) not
annualized. |
The index is unmanaged.
Returns reflect reinvested capital gains and dividends but not the deduction of taxes an investor would pay on distributions or share redemptions. Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future
results. The investment return and principal value 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 of the Fund may be lower or higher than the
performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by visiting southeasternasset.com. The Small-Cap Fund is subject to stock market risk, meaning stocks in the Fund may fluctuate in response to
developments at individual companies or due to general market and economic conditions. Also, because the Fund generally invests in 15 to 25 companies, share value could fluctuate more than if a greater number of securities were held. Smaller company
stocks may be more volatile with fewer financial resources than those of larger companies.
As reported in the Prospectus dated May 1, 2023, the total
expense ratio for the Small-Cap Fund is 1.01% (gross) and 0.95% (net). Through at least April 30, 2024, this expense ratio is subject to fee waiver to the extent the fund's normal annual operating expenses exceed 0.95% of average annual net
assets. Please refer to the Financial Highlights within this report for the Fund's current expense ratio.
Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)
Small-Cap Fund
Top
10 Portfolio Holdings at June 30, 2023 |
|
|
Net
Assets |
Eastman
Kodak Company |
8.7%
|
Westrock
Coffee Company |
6.5
|
Gruma,
S.A.B. DE C.V. |
6.4
|
Mattel,
Inc. |
6.4
|
CNX
Resources Corporation |
6.3
|
White
Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. |
6.0
|
Oscar
Health, Inc. |
5.6
|
Empire
State Realty Trust, Inc. |
5.4
|
Liberty
Braves Group |
4.9
|
Hyatt
Hotels Corporation |
4.8
|
|
61.0%
|
Sector
Composition |
|
|
Net
Assets |
Consumer
Staples |
20.1%
|
Consumer
Discretionary |
15.7
|
Financials
|
14.9
|
Real
Estate |
12.3
|
Communication
Services |
9.9
|
Information
Technology |
8.7
|
Energy
|
6.3
|
Materials
|
3.9
|
Industrials
|
3.5
|
Cash
& Other |
4.7
|
|
100.0%
|
Fund holdings are subject to change
and holding discussions are not recommendations to buy or sell any security.
Portfolio of
Investments (Unaudited)
Small-Cap Fund
Common
Stocks |
|
Shares
|
Value
|
%
of Net Assets |
Beverages
|
The
Boston Beer Company, Inc. Class - A* |
127,153
|
$
39,219,071 |
4.6%
|
Building
Products |
Masonite
International Corporation* |
294,450
|
30,163,458 |
3.5
|
Capital
Markets |
Lazard
Ltd - Class A(a) |
884,226
|
28,295,232 |
3.3
|
Construction
Materials |
Knife
River Corporation* |
762,611
|
33,173,578 |
3.9
|
Consumer
Staples Distribution & Retail |
Ingles
Markets, Incorporated - Class A |
267,894
|
22,141,439 |
2.6
|
Diversified
Consumer Services |
Graham
Holdings Company - Class B |
67,379
|
38,505,751 |
4.5
|
Diversified
REITs |
Douglas
Emmett, Inc. |
1,616,862
|
20,323,955 |
2.4
|
Empire
State Realty Trust, Inc.(b) |
6,112,130
|
45,779,854
|
5.4
|
|
|
66,103,809
|
7.8
|
Entertainment
|
Liberty
Braves Group - Series C* |
1,051,290
|
41,652,110 |
4.9
|
Madison
Square Garden Sports Corp. - Class A* |
120,597
|
22,678,266
|
2.7
|
|
|
64,330,376
|
7.6
|
Food
Products |
Gruma,
S.A.B. DE C.V. (Mexico) |
3,424,422
|
54,986,411 |
6.4
|
Westrock
Coffee Company*(b) |
5,077,244
|
55,189,642
|
6.5
|
|
|
110,176,053
|
12.9
|
Hotels,
Restaurants & Leisure |
Hyatt
Hotels Corporation - Class A |
357,301
|
40,939,549 |
4.8
|
Insurance
|
Oscar
Health, Inc. - Class A*(b) |
5,913,273
|
47,660,980 |
5.6
|
White
Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. |
36,662
|
50,920,219
|
6.0
|
|
|
98,581,199
|
11.6
|
Leisure
Products |
Mattel,
Inc.* |
2,798,959
|
54,691,659 |
6.4
|
Oil,
Gas & Consumable Fuels |
CNX
Resources Corporation* |
3,034,099
|
53,764,234 |
6.3
|
Real
Estate Management & Development |
Anywhere
Real Estate Inc.*(b) |
5,710,068
|
38,143,254
|
4.5
|
Total
Common Stocks (Cost $555,593,605) |
|
718,228,662
|
84.3
|
Preferred
Stock |
|
|
|
|
Technology
Hardware, Storage & Peripherals |
Eastman
Kodak Company Convertible Preferred Stock - Series B 4.00%(b)(c)(d) (Cost $95,452,160) |
932,150
|
74,012,710 |
8.7
|
Corporate
Bonds |
|
Principal
Amount |
|
|
Diversified
Telecommunication Services |
Lumen
Technologies, Inc. 4.50% 144A Senior Notes due 1/15/2029(e) |
37,736,000
|
18,147,242 |
2.1
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Corporate
Bonds |
|
Principal
Amount |
Value
|
%
of Net Assets |
Diversified
Telecommunication Services |
Lumen
Technologies, Inc. 5.38% 144A Senior Notes due 6/15/2029(e) |
2,597,000
|
$
1,303,015 |
0.2%
|
Total
Corporate Bonds (Cost $17,119,672) |
|
19,450,257
|
2.3
|
Short-Term
Obligations |
Repurchase
agreement with State Street Bank, 4.25%, dated 06/30/23, due 07/03/23, Repurchase price $19,928,055 (Collateral: $20,319,424 U.S. Treasury Bond, 2.88% due 05/15/49, Par $24,745,600) (Cost $19,921,000) |
19,921,000
|
19,921,000
|
2.3
|
Total
Investments (Cost $688,086,437) |
|
831,612,629
|
97.6
|
Other
Assets (Liabilities), Net |
|
20,388,711
|
2.4
|
Net
Assets |
|
$
852,001,340 |
100.0%
|
* |
Non-income
producing security. |
(a) |
Master
Limited Partnership |
(b) |
Affiliated
issuer during the period. See Note 3. |
(c) |
Investment
categorized as Level 3 in fair value hierarchy. See Note 4. |
(d) |
These shares
were acquired directly from the issuer in a private placement on February 26, 2021 with a total cost at June 30, 2023 of $95,452,160. They are considered restricted securities under the Securities Act of 1933
(the "33 Act"). These shares may be sold only if registered under the 33 Act or an exemption is available. The issuer has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-3 providing for the potential resale on an ongoing basis
under 33 Act Rule 415 of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Series B Preferred Stock, subject to certain terms of a Registration Rights Agreement with the issuer. Due to the lack of an active trading market, all or a portion of this
position may be illiquid. Judgment plays a greater role in valuing illiquid securities than those for which a more active market exists, and are valued by Southeastern Asset Management as designee under procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees
(See Note 2). |
(e) |
Security
is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. The security may be resold in transactions that are exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. |
Note: Non-U.S. Companies represent 6.4% of net assets.
See Notes to
Financial Statements.
Management
Discussion (Unaudited)
International Fund
Longleaf Partners International Fund added 1.35% in the second
quarter, taking year-to-date (YTD) returns to 13.82% for the first half. While the portfolio’s lack of exposure to Information Technology and overweight to Asian Consumer Discretionary weighed on results, the Fund outperformed the FTSE
Developed-ex-North America Index in the first half. The second quarter saw a continuation of our European businesses driving positive returns as the market rewarded positive bottom-up operational and financial progress, while geopolitics and the
slower consumption recovery in China remained a drag on the rest of the portfolio.
In Europe, most of our businesses delivered strong financial
performance on the back of a challenging year in 2022, and our management teams continued to take steps to create value through intelligent capital allocation and strategic action to crystallize the value of whole businesses and/or underlying
assets. Our businesses that have exposure to China (including German-listed business LANXESS) were challenged in the quarter amid ongoing negative geopolitical sentiment and a slower-than-anticipated Covid reopening recovery, resulting in
disappointing consumer spending. 70% of Chinese household assets are exposed to the property sector, which faces a continued downturn with property sales at 60% of pre-Covid levels. The re-opening boost is unlikely to be enough to reach the 5%
growth target for the year. Beijing is taking notice and is expected to pass through policy responses. In the meantime, near-term share price weakness has created an opportunity for our management teams to go on offence. Alibaba bought back $14
billion worth of shares in the last 14 months (with another $17 billion to go) and announced plans to break itself up into six different businesses to get the value recognized. Prosus similarly announced a transaction to simplify the business by
removing the cross-holding structure with Naspers and has also bought back approximately one quarter of its free float shares in the last 12 months since announcing their open-ended buyback program.
The Fund’s ability to produce strong relative results is
not predicated on a China market recovery. Our businesses have strong balance sheets and pricing power enabling them to navigate challenging external environments and consistently generate growing free cash flow coupons. This has translated into
solid stock performance for most of our portfolio holdings. In cases where there is a persistent gap between price and intrinsic value, our management partners continue to use all the tools within their power to grow and recognize value via
buybacks, spin-offs and divestitures.
We encourage you
to watch our video with Portfolio Managers John Woodman and Manish Sharma available at southeasternasset.com for a more detailed review of the quarter.
Contribution to Return
Applus Services –
Diversified Spanish testing inspection and certification (TIC) business Applus was the top contributor in the quarter and for the first half. In June, private equity firm Apollo Global made a $1.33 billion bid for
the entire business, and there is rumored interest from additional private equity buyers for the company. Throughout our ownership period, we have been engaged with management and the board to encourage getting the value recognized, and the company
bought back 10% of the market cap in the past year. Although we believe
the Apollo bid
undervalues Applus, the private equity interest highlights the strategic nature of this high-quality business within a structural growth industry. We remain closely engaged in this dynamic situation.
Accor – French
hospitality business Accor was another top performer in the quarter and YTD. Accor is a leading global hotel operator in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The business lagged its North American peers given a slower post-Covid recovery in its key
markets but today is reporting revenue-per-average-room (REVPAR) above pre-Covid levels, with strong pricing power and high occupancy rates. During Covid, management internally restructured the business, taking out €200 million in structural
cost savings and reorganizing the business into luxury and lifestyle (trophy assets with well-established brands and a strong pipeline) and mid-scale and economy (a cash-generative franchise business). In the quarter, Accor released separate
financials for each of these businesses, allowing the market to properly weigh the value of the two underlying businesses.
LANXESS – German-listed
specialty chemical company LANXESS was the top absolute and relative detractor after announcing a higher-than-expected profit warning in the quarter. The company has faced a triple whammy of industry-wide destocking, exposure to delayed demand
recovery in China and increased energy prices last year, leading to a stock of high-cost inventory that needed to be cleared. We believe the scale of the warning reflects management taking all the pain upfront to ensure it was a “one and
done” warning, with potential for the company to surprise on the upside in the second half. We are not relying upon a recovery in the second half, as there are signs of returning to a more normalized demand environment by the first half
2024.
Portfolio Activity
In the second quarter, we initiated two new positions, added
to Kansai Paint (a new purchase in the first quarter), exited Gree, and trimmed a handful of positions. We initiated a purchase in a European-listed business that is a global industry leader and derives the majority of its value from its dominant
market position in Asia. The company remains undisclosed while we build the position. We also bought Man Wah, one of the leading functional sofa manufacturers in China, a company that we know well and own in our Asia Pacific strategy. Man Wah is the
largest recliner sofa maker in China with more than 50% market share in a highly fragmented market. Its share price has been punished amid Chinese real estate weakness, but under the leadership of owner operator Man Li Wong (who owns >60% of the
business), the company has continued to take share and build scale that further strengthens its low-cost advantage over peers. Man Wah has a 6% dividend yield and has been buying back its shares at an 8x price to earnings (P/E). We funded the
purchase by selling Gree, the largest air conditioning manufacturer in China, on the back of positive YTD performance driven by strong sales due to a heat wave in China.
We also increased our position in Kansai Paint, a global paint
and coating manufacturer with market leading positions in Japan and India. This is a high-quality industry staple business with no substitutes and strong pricing power in an oligopolistic market. Our management team, under the able leadership of
Mori Kunishi-san, has been focused for the last three years on unwinding the complexity of the business by divesting sub-scale operations at value accretive prices, selling crossholdings and owned real estate, and using the proceeds to buy back
discounted Kansai Paint shares. We are excited to see the organization shift from a hierarchy to meritocracy, and focus on margins, return on equity and free cash flow generation.
Outlook
The Fund delivered a strong first half, despite relative macro
headwinds, and with materially different return drivers than the index. We believe this puts the Fund in a strong position to deliver differentiated future returns. The research team has been busy evaluating existing holdings and identifying new
opportunities, resulting in upgrades to the portfolio. Our management teams have been similarly busy, taking steps to get the underlying value of their businesses recognized. Following a period of mid-teens returns, the portfolio ended the quarter
with a compelling price-to-value (P/V) ratio in the mid-60s%, indicating significant future potential upside.
Performance History
(Unaudited)
International Fund
Comparison
of Change in Value of $10,000 Investment
Since Inception
October 26, 1998
Average
Annual Returns for the Periods Ended June 30, 2023 |
|
YTD*
|
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
20
Year |
Since
Inception 10/26/98 |
International
Fund |
13.82%
|
18.26%
|
0.22%
|
2.93%
|
4.44%
|
6.12%
|
FTSE
Developed ex-North America Index |
11.39
|
17.97
|
4.15
|
5.43
|
7.16
|
5.47
|
* |
Year-to-date (YTD) not
annualized. |
Effective March 31,
2023, the Fund transitioned from the MSCI EAFE to the FTSE Developed ex-North America Index. We believe that the FTSE Developed ex-North America Index accurately reflects the principal investment strategies of the Fund and provides better economic
efficiencies for the Fund. The index is unmanaged. Because the MSCI EAFE Index was available only at month-end in 1998, we used the 10/31/98 value for performance since inception. Returns reflect reinvested capital gains and dividends but not
the deduction of taxes an investor would pay on distributions or share redemptions. Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value 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 of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent
month end may be obtained by visiting southeasternasset.com. The International Fund is subject to stock market risk, meaning stocks in the Fund may fluctuate in response to developments at individual companies or due to general market and economic
conditions. Also, because the Fund generally invests in 15 to 25 companies, share value could fluctuate more than if a greater number of securities were held. Investing in non-U.S. securities may entail risk due to non-U.S. economic and political
developments, exposure to non-U.S. currencies, and different accounting and financial standards. These risks may be higher when investing in emerging markets.
As reported in the Prospectus dated May 1, 2023, the total
expense ratio for the International Fund is 1.26% (gross) and 1.15% (net). This expense ratio is subject to a contractual fee waiver to the extent the fund's normal annual operating expenses exceed 1.15% of average annual net assets.
Please refer to the Financial Highlights within this report for the Fund's current expense ratio.
Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)
International Fund
Top
10 Portfolio Holdings at June 30, 2023 |
|
|
Net
Assets |
Applus
Services, S.A. |
7.4%
|
Accor
S.A. |
6.2
|
Glanbia
plc |
6.0
|
Gruma,
S.A.B. DE C.V. |
5.7
|
Compagnie
Financiere Richemont SA |
5.3
|
EXOR
N.V. |
5.1
|
Premier
Foods plc |
4.9
|
Fairfax
Financial Holdings Limited |
4.5
|
Prosus
N.V. |
4.1
|
Alibaba
Group Holding Limited |
4.1
|
|
53.3%
|
Sector
Composition |
|
|
Net
Assets |
Consumer
Discretionary |
38.2%
|
Consumer
Staples |
22.9
|
Financials
|
15.4
|
Industrials
|
8.7
|
Materials
|
6.0
|
Communication
Services |
5.7
|
Health
Care |
1.8
|
Cash
& Other |
1.3
|
|
100.0%
|
Regional
Composition |
|
|
Net
Assets |
Europe
Ex-United Kingdom |
50.2%
|
Asia
Ex-Japan |
21.0
|
North
America |
15.7
|
United
Kingdom |
8.9
|
Japan
|
2.9
|
Cash
& Other |
1.3
|
|
100.0%
|
Fund holdings are subject to change
and holding discussions are not recommendations to buy or sell any security.
Portfolio of
Investments (Unaudited)
International Fund
Common
Stocks |
|
Shares
|
Value
|
%
of Net Assets |
Beverages
|
Becle,
S.A.B. de C.V. (Mexico) |
7,378,752
|
$
18,079,387 |
2.4%
|
Broadline
Retail |
Alibaba
Group Holding Limited* (China) |
2,878,600
|
29,965,738 |
4.1
|
Prosus
N.V. (Netherlands) |
419,299
|
30,705,447
|
4.1
|
|
|
60,671,185
|
8.2
|
Capital
Markets |
Lazard
Ltd - Class A(a) (United States) |
725,116
|
23,203,712 |
3.1
|
Chemicals
|
Kansai
Paint Co., LTD. (Japan) |
1,470,400
|
21,687,450 |
2.9
|
LANXESS
AG (Germany) |
757,573
|
22,856,355
|
3.1
|
|
|
44,543,805
|
6.0
|
Entertainment
|
Juventus
Football Club S.p.A.* (Italy) |
60,638,271
|
22,706,244 |
3.1
|
Financial
Services |
EXOR
N.V. (Netherlands) |
420,900
|
37,575,655 |
5.1
|
Housing
Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (India) |
587,667
|
20,274,678
|
2.7
|
|
|
57,850,333
|
7.8
|
Food
Products |
Glanbia
plc (Ireland) |
2,967,092
|
44,356,364 |
6.0
|
Gruma,
S.A.B. DE C.V. (Mexico) |
2,621,603
|
42,095,436 |
5.7
|
Premier
Foods plc (United Kingdom) |
22,538,242
|
36,466,425 |
4.9
|
WH
Group Limited (Hong Kong) |
53,566,522
|
28,528,138
|
3.9
|
|
|
151,446,363
|
20.5
|
Hotels,
Restaurants & Leisure |
Accor
S.A. (France) |
1,230,878
|
45,802,724 |
6.2
|
Delivery
Hero SE* (Germany) |
420,078
|
18,533,866 |
2.5
|
Domino's
Pizza Group PLC (United Kingdom) |
8,503,380
|
29,806,047 |
4.0
|
Jollibee
Foods Corporation (Philippines) |
6,818,370
|
29,581,834 |
4.0
|
Melco
International Development Limited* (Hong Kong) |
23,653,700
|
22,049,719
|
3.0
|
|
|
145,774,190
|
19.7
|
Household
Durables |
Man
Wah Holdings Limited (Hong Kong) |
22,186,500
|
14,852,925 |
2.0
|
Industrial
Conglomerates |
CK
Hutchison Holdings Limited (Hong Kong) |
1,632,677
|
9,964,789 |
1.3
|
Insurance
|
Fairfax
Financial Holdings Limited (Canada) |
44,228
|
33,128,516 |
4.5
|
Life
Sciences Tools & Services |
Eurofins
Scientific (France) |
209,543
|
13,316,007 |
1.8
|
Professional
Services |
Applus
Services, S.A. (Spain) |
5,090,281
|
54,705,948 |
7.4
|
Textiles,
Apparel & Luxury Goods |
Compagnie
Financiere Richemont SA (Switzerland) |
218,119
|
37,051,440 |
5.0
|
Kering
(France) |
40,484
|
22,355,226
|
3.0
|
|
|
59,406,666
|
8.0
|
Wireless
Telecommunication Services |
Millicom
International Cellular S.A.* (Sweden) |
1,248,262
|
19,100,576
|
2.6
|
Total
Common Stocks (Cost $607,337,005) |
|
728,750,646
|
98.4
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Warrants
|
|
Shares
|
Value
|
%
of Net Assets |
Textiles,
Apparel & Luxury Goods |
Compagnie
Financiere Richemont SA Warrants, exercise price $74.86, 11/22/23* (Switzerland) (Cost $0) |
1,311,288
|
$
1,809,330 |
0.3%
|
Short-Term
Obligations |
|
Principal
Amount |
|
|
Repurchase
agreement with State Street Bank, 4.25%, dated 06/30/23, due 07/03/23, Repurchase price $11,157,950 (Collateral: $11,377,124 U.S. Treasury Bond, 2.88% due 05/15/49, Par $13,855,400) (Cost $11,154,000) |
11,154,000
|
11,154,000
|
1.5
|
Total
Investments (Cost $618,491,005) |
|
741,713,976
|
100.2
|
Other
Assets (Liabilities), Net |
|
(1,361,039)
|
(0.2)
|
Net
Assets |
|
$
740,352,937 |
100.0%
|
* |
Non-income
producing security. |
(a) |
Master
Limited Partnership |
Country
Weightings |
|
|
Net
Assets |
France
|
11.0%
|
Hong
Kong |
10.2
|
Netherlands
|
9.2
|
United
Kingdom |
8.9
|
Mexico
|
8.1
|
Spain
|
7.4
|
Ireland
|
6.0
|
Germany
|
5.6
|
Switzerland
|
5.3
|
Canada
|
4.5
|
China
|
4.1
|
Philippines
|
4.0
|
United
States |
3.1
|
Italy
|
3.1
|
Japan
|
2.9
|
India
|
2.7
|
Sweden
|
2.6
|
Cash
& Other |
1.3
|
|
100.0%
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Management
Discussion (Unaudited)
Global Fund
Longleaf Partners Global Fund added 3.21% in the second
quarter, taking year-to-date (YTD) returns to 18.53% for the first half. While the portfolio’s lack of exposure to Information Technology and relative overweight to Consumer Discretionary weighed on relative results in the quarter, the Fund
outperformed the FTSE Developed Index in the first half in an environment that strongly favored growth.
The central macro theme in the second quarter and for the
first half was the reemergence of a handful of mega-cap growth stocks driving the market. These stocks dominated markets over the last decade but suffered an initial collapse of over 30% from January 2022 to the Nasdaq’s recent low point in
October 2022, before rallying over 40% in the last six months. The market rarely moves down (or up) in a straight line, as we have learned through multiple previous cycles. This reminds us of the early stages of the dotcom bubble, when the Nasdaq
fell over 35% from March 2000 highs before temporarily rebounding 36% in 2Q 2000, only to drop a further 80% over the subsequent 25 months, as shown in the charts below.
While every
period is different, we believe the mega-cap tech darlings are similarly primed today for a more precipitous decline in the face of peak margins on top of increased competition and regulation.
However, the Fund’s ability to produce strong relative
results is not predicated on a market correction. We continue to see solid operational results across our portfolio holdings, translating into positive stock performance for many. Our management partners are on offense with strong balance sheets and
pricing power, allowing them to grow and recognize value in more challenging market environments.
We encourage you to watch our video with Portfolio Managers
Ross Glotzbach and Staley Cates available at southeasternasset.com for a more detailed review of the quarter.
Live Nation – Live
Nation Entertainment, a new purchase this year, was the top contributor in the quarter and a top performer for the first half. We had the opportunity to buy Live Nation on the back of the well-publicized controversy faced by Ticketmaster after the
botched Taylor Swift tour pre-sale event in November, which lead to short-term fan and political pressure. The industry continues to have great demand tailwinds for the long term. Even after a strong 2022, concerts further accelerated in 2023,
driving the positive stock price performance in the quarter. We have prior knowledge of Live Nation from our time owning various Liberty Media entities and are encouraged on future capital allocation that Liberty is still on the case as a 30%+
owner.
IAC
– Digital holding company IAC was a top contributor in the quarter and in the first half, after having been among the largest detractors in 2022. Underlying holding MGM has continued to deliver great results,
reporting double digit profit growth while being one of our largest share repurchasers. Controlled companies Angi and Dotdash Meredith have stabilized following positive management changes at Angi and further business integration at Dotdash
Meredith. Angi reported year-over-year (YOY) revenue declines but positive YOY operating cash flow (OCF). Dotdash reiterated guidance for the second half with expected growth in revenues and OCF as it rolls off more challenging 2021 YOY comparables.
IAC bought back more shares in the quarter than it has in many years, while also buying more Turo shares at good prices, and it still has net cash at the parent level.
Millicom – Latin
American wireless and cable company Millicom was the top detractor in the quarter but remains a meaningful positive contributor for the year. The company announced a disappointing quarter of organic revenue and EBITDA declines driven by its
Guatemala business. In June, Millicom confirmed it had ended potential takeover discussions with private equity company Apollo Global, which the market had rewarded in the first quarter and disliked in the last month. We were not counting on an
Apollo buyout as an outcome, and our appraisal was not impacted by the news. Much more compellingly, French billionaire Xavier Niel, founder of French broadband Internet provider Iliad, grew his stake to almost 25% in the quarter and said in a
public statement, “We remain fully convinced that Millicom’s potential is untapped and under-utilized, particularly when it comes to hidden infrastructure and asset value. We have a clear view on how opportunities can be unlocked, and
are ready to bring our industrial experience, passion and perspectives to the Millicom board.” While we have been disappointed in certain operational missteps and capital allocation decisions at the company, we think that Niel’s positive
presence will make the future different than the recent past.
Warner Bros Discovery –
Media conglomerate Warner Bros Discovery was a top detractor in the quarter but remained a top contributor for the first half. After a strong first quarter, the stock price faltered in the face of near-term uncertainty around the re-launch of
streaming service Max. Additionally, the big budget movie The Flash has not been a success. Finally, there was well-publicized drama around CNN
management, with CNN CEO Chris Licht leaving the company after only one year, which we believe was a positive resolution. The company remains dramatically undervalued today, and management continues to make positive operational progress to drive
free cash flow (FCF) growth. We believe this company has seen the worst so will be less leveraged and more
strategically
positioned in the quarters and years to come. Its underlying holdings are high quality businesses that will drive FCF per share growth while also being attractive acquisition candidates.
Portfolio Activity
Portfolio activity was higher than usual in the first half
with ten new positions, five exits and multiple active trims and additions throughout the year in the face of increased market volatility and team productivity. We initiated four new positions in the second quarter – one in a US Health Care
company that we are still building and will discuss in more detail next quarter. We also started buying a new investment post-quarter that gets most of its value from Asia. Our other year-to-date purchases range from French testing laboratories
company Eurofins Scientific, which services the pharmaceutical, food, environmental, agriscience and consumer products industries but is currently lapping some temporary headwinds; to consumer staples company Kellogg, which plans to spin off its
eponymous cereal business (which accounts for less than 20% of our appraisal value) to focus on its high-quality and growing snacks business; to Entertainment company Live Nation, discussed in more detail above; to toy company Hasbro, which we have
followed as a direct competitor to existing holding Mattel and finally had the opportunity to purchase at a discount; to a combined holding in Fiserv and Fidelity Information Services, purchased in the wake of the first quarter banking crisis; to
Fortune Brands, a large conglomerate that has strategically slimmed down to a high-quality owner of plumbing and other housing-related businesses.
We exited second-time holding Alphabet and long-term position
Lumen in the quarter. After successfully owning Alphabet from 2015 to 2020, we purchased the company again in 2022 as tech stocks broadly faced weakness. Alphabet was especially punished due to fears of increased competition entering the AI space,
and we felt those worries were overdone. This market narrative quickly flipped in our roughly one-year holding period with Alphabet now being viewed as a likely AI winner, and we sold the position at a gain as the share price re-rated and the market
was now overlooking a worse competitive and regulatory outlook.
We sold our remaining position in Lumen, after reducing our
position in the first quarter when it became clearer the new management team under CEO Kate Johnson would not pursue a strategic path to monetizing Lumen’s consumer business. At their first analyst day in early June, new management presented
disappointingly weak financial targets and significant further spending without a clear path to revenue growth. Throughout our holding period, we saw bond market pricing holding up and supporting our case for the strength of Lumen’s balance
sheet, but in the second quarter, this reversed with bond prices becoming overly distressed. We lowered our appraisal as our outlook for the company deteriorated, leading to a full exit in the quarter. Lumen represented a permanent capital loss for
the Fund, a significant opportunity cost for the portfolio and a disappointing long-term mistake. Lumen has reinforced the importance of limiting overweight positions in the portfolio, being cautious of leverage and value declines, and fully
re-underwriting a case – and being willing to move on – when the people and/or underlying facts change.
The higher-than-average portfolio activity YTD reflects the
continued improvement in our process and the productivity of the team, with the proceeds of our trims and sales going to fund new opportunities with a better margin of safety and significant potential upside.
Outlook
The Fund delivered a strong first half, despite significant
relative macro headwinds, and with materially different return drivers than the index. We believe this positions the Fund to deliver differentiated future returns. The research team has been busy evaluating existing holdings and identifying new
opportunities, resulting in upgrades to the portfolio. Our management teams have been similarly busy, taking steps to get the underlying value of their businesses recognized. Following a period of high-teens returns, the portfolio ended the quarter
with a compelling price-to-value (P/V) ratio in the mid-60s%, indicating significant future potential upside.
Performance History
(Unaudited)
Global Fund
Comparison
of Change in Value of $10,000 Investment
Since Inception
December 27, 2012
Average
Annual Returns for the Periods Ended June 30, 2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
YTD*
|
1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year |
Since
Inception 12/27/12 |
Global
Fund |
18.53%
|
11.86%
|
0.40%
|
4.58%
|
4.64%
|
FTSE
Developed Index |
14.86
|
18.28
|
8.79
|
9.36
|
9.70
|
* |
Year-to-date (YTD) not
annualized. |
Effective March 31,
2023, the Fund transitioned from the MSCI World to the FTSE Developed Index. We believe that the FTSE Developed Index accurately reflects the principal investment strategies of the Fund and provides better economic efficiencies for the
Fund. The index is unmanaged. Returns reflect reinvested capital gains and dividends but not the deduction of taxes an investor would pay on distributions or share redemptions. Performance data quoted represents past performance; past
performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value 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 of
the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by visiting southeasternasset.com. The Global Fund is subject to stock market risk, meaning stocks in the Fund may
fluctuate in response to developments at individual companies or due to general market and economic conditions. Also, because the Fund generally invests in 15 to 25 companies, share value could fluctuate more than if a greater number of securities
were held. Investing in non-U.S. securities may entail risk due to non-U.S. economic and political developments, exposure to non-U.S. currencies, and different accounting and financial standards. These risks may be higher when investing in emerging
markets.
As reported in the Prospectus dated May 1, 2023,
the total expense ratio for the Global Fund is 1.33% (gross) and 1.15% (net). This expense ratio is subject to a contractual fee waiver to the extent the fund's normal annual operating expenses exceed 1.15% of average annual net assets.
Please refer to the Financial Highlights within this report for the Fund's current expense ratio.
Portfolio Summary (Unaudited)
Global Fund
Top
10 Portfolio Holdings at June 30, 2023 |
|
|
Net
Assets |
CNX
Resources Corporation |
6.3%
|
EXOR
N.V. |
6.2
|
IAC,
Inc. |
6.2
|
FedEx
Corporation |
6.0
|
Prosus
N.V. |
5.4
|
Affiliated
Managers Group, Inc. |
5.3
|
Bio-Rad
Laboratories, Inc. |
4.8
|
Warner
Bros., Discovery, Inc. |
4.8
|
MGM
Resorts International |
4.6
|
Live
Nation Entertainment, Inc. |
4.6
|
|
54.2%
|
Sector
Composition |
|
|
Net
Assets |
Consumer
Discretionary |
24.0%
|
Communication
Services |
22.2
|
Financials
|
19.5
|
Industrials
|
11.6
|
Consumer
Staples |
7.8
|
Energy
|
6.3
|
Health
Care |
5.8
|
Materials
|
0.1
|
Cash
& Other |
2.7
|
|
100.0%
|
Regional
Composition |
|
|
Net
Assets |
North
America |
70.0%
|
Europe
Ex-United Kingdom |
23.5
|
Asia
Ex-Japan |
3.7
|
Japan
|
0.1
|
Cash
& Other |
2.7
|
|
100.0%
|
Fund holdings are subject to change
and holding discussions are not recommendations to buy or sell any security.
Portfolio of
Investments (Unaudited)
Global Fund
Common
Stocks |
|
Shares
|
Value
|
%
of Net Assets |
Air
Freight & Logistics |
FedEx
Corporation (United States) |
60,724
|
$ 15,053,480
|
6.0%
|
Broadline
Retail |
Prosus
N.V. (Netherlands) |
186,337
|
13,645,539 |
5.4
|
Capital
Markets |
Affiliated
Managers Group, Inc. (United States) |
89,245
|
13,376,933 |
5.3
|
Chemicals
|
Kansai
Paint Co., LTD. (Japan) |
11,600
|
171,092 |
0.1
|
Entertainment
|
Live
Nation Entertainment, Inc.* (United States) |
127,278
|
11,596,298 |
4.6
|
Warner
Bros., Discovery, Inc.* (United States) |
962,093
|
12,064,646 |
4.8
|
Warner
Music Group Corp. (United States) |
210,320
|
5,487,249
|
2.2
|
|
|
29,148,193
|
11.6
|
Financial
Services |
EXOR
N.V. (Netherlands) |
173,658
|
15,503,238 |
6.2
|
Fidelity
National Information Services, Inc. (United States) |
88,158
|
4,822,243 |
1.9
|
Fiserv,
Inc.* (United States) |
43,539
|
5,492,445
|
2.2
|
|
|
25,817,926
|
10.3
|
Food
Products |
Glanbia
plc (Ireland) |
738,798
|
11,044,616 |
4.4
|
Kellogg
Company (United States) |
128,517
|
8,662,046
|
3.4
|
|
|
19,706,662
|
7.8
|
Hotels,
Restaurants & Leisure |
Accor
S.A. (France) |
135,139
|
5,028,715 |
2.0
|
Delivery
Hero SE* (Germany) |
8,000
|
352,960 |
0.1
|
Hyatt
Hotels Corporation - Class A (United States) |
56,112
|
6,429,313 |
2.6
|
Melco
International Development Limited* (Hong Kong) |
4,245,388
|
3,957,504 |
1.6
|
MGM
Resorts International (United States) |
265,211
|
11,648,067
|
4.6
|
|
|
27,416,559
|
10.9
|
Industrial
Conglomerates |
CK
Hutchison Holdings Limited (Hong Kong) |
854,529
|
5,215,484 |
2.1
|
General
Electric Company (United States) |
80,429
|
8,835,126
|
3.5
|
|
|
14,050,610
|
5.6
|
Insurance
|
Fairfax
Financial Holdings Limited (Canada) |
13,149
|
9,849,120 |
3.9
|
Interactive
Media & Services |
IAC,
Inc.* (United States) |
246,012
|
15,449,554 |
6.2
|
Leisure
Products |
Hasbro,
Inc. (United States) |
50,600
|
3,277,362 |
1.3
|
Mattel,
Inc.* (United States) |
505,258
|
9,872,741
|
3.9
|
|
|
13,150,103
|
5.2
|
Life
Sciences Tools & Services |
Bio-Rad
Laboratories, Inc.* (United States) |
31,869
|
12,082,175 |
4.8
|
Eurofins
Scientific (France) |
41,108
|
2,612,325
|
1.0
|
|
|
14,694,500
|
5.8
|
Oil,
Gas & Consumable Fuels |
CNX
Resources Corporation* (United States) |
890,204
|
15,774,415 |
6.3
|
Textiles,
Apparel & Luxury Goods |
PVH
Corp. (United States) |
73,276
|
6,226,262 |
2.5
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Common
Stocks |
|
Shares
|
Value
|
%
of Net Assets |
Wireless
Telecommunication Services |
Millicom
International Cellular S.A.* (Sweden) |
726,580
|
$
11,117,936 |
4.4%
|
Total
Common Stocks (Cost $213,362,537) |
|
244,648,884
|
97.3
|
Short-Term
Obligations |
|
Principal
Amount |
|
|
Repurchase
agreement with State Street Bank, 4.25%, dated 06/30/23, due 07/03/23, Repurchase price $7,115,519 (Collateral: $7,255,279 U.S. Treasury Bonds, 1.125% - 1.25% due 8/15/31 to 1/15/33, Par $8,483,700) (Cost $7,113,000) |
7,113,000
|
7,113,000
|
2.8
|
Total
Investments (Cost $220,475,537) |
|
251,761,884
|
100.1
|
Other
Assets (Liabilities), Net |
|
(201,001)
|
(0.1)
|
Net
Assets |
|
$
251,560,883 |
100.0%
|
* |
Non-income
producing security. |
Country
Weightings |
|
|
Net
Assets |
United
States |
66.1%
|
Netherlands
|
11.6
|
Sweden
|
4.4
|
Ireland
|
4.4
|
Canada
|
3.9
|
Hong
Kong |
3.7
|
France
|
3.0
|
Germany
|
0.1
|
Japan
|
0.1
|
Cash
& Other |
2.7
|
|
100.0%
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Statements of
Assets and Liabilities (Unaudited)
at June 30, 2023
|
Partners
Fund |
Small-Cap
Fund |
International
Fund |
Global
Fund |
Assets:
|
|
|
|
|
Non-affiliated
investments in securities, at value (Cost $1,189,871,246, $411,654,508, $618,491,005, $220,475,537, respectively) |
$
1,371,472,094 |
$
570,826,189 |
$
741,713,976 |
$
251,761,884 |
Affiliated
investments, at value (Cost $0, $276,431,929, $0, $0, respectively) |
—
|
260,786,440
|
—
|
—
|
Cash
|
312
|
846
|
975
|
726
|
Receivable
from: |
|
|
|
|
Fund
shares sold |
233,728
|
322,202
|
469,048
|
62,763
|
Dividends
and interest |
448,182
|
1,098,782
|
2,262,536
|
82,778
|
Securities
sold |
550,924
|
20,243,424
|
2,548,156
|
285,861
|
Investment
Counsel |
283,721
|
111,886
|
70,656
|
38,633
|
Foreign
tax reclaims |
—
|
495,333
|
911,233
|
14,628
|
Other
assets |
29,000
|
6,166
|
2,204
|
5,242
|
Total
Assets |
1,373,017,961
|
853,891,268
|
747,978,784
|
252,252,515
|
Liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
Payable
for: |
|
|
|
|
Fund
shares redeemed |
486,922
|
314,328
|
432,067
|
62,764
|
Securities
purchased |
—
|
693,659
|
6,315,977
|
340,786
|
Investment
Counsel fee |
898,335
|
650,387
|
627,231
|
226,653
|
Administration
fee |
108,819
|
75,760
|
60,560
|
20,147
|
Other
accrued expenses |
155,237
|
155,794
|
190,012
|
41,282
|
Total
Liabilities |
1,649,313
|
1,889,928
|
7,625,847
|
691,632
|
Net
Assets |
$
1,371,368,648 |
$
852,001,340 |
$
740,352,937 |
$
251,560,883 |
Net
assets consist of: |
|
|
|
|
Paid-in
capital |
$
1,361,714,157 |
$1,228,333,052
|
$
773,629,292 |
$
254,460,981 |
Total
distributable earnings (losses) |
9,654,491
|
(376,331,712)
|
(33,276,355)
|
(2,900,098)
|
Net
Assets |
$1,371,368,648
|
$
852,001,340 |
$740,352,937
|
$251,560,883
|
Net
asset value per share |
$
21.44 |
$
22.68 |
$
15.73 |
$
11.90 |
Fund
shares issued and outstanding (unlimited number of shares authorized, no par value) |
63,966,665
|
37,570,153
|
47,060,552
|
21,135,409
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Statements of
Operations (Unaudited)
For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2023
|
Partners
Fund |
Small-Cap
Fund |
International
Fund |
Global
Fund |
Investment
Income |
|
|
|
|
Dividends
from non-affiliates (net foreign tax withheld of $156,376, 227,657, 761,300 and 78,902, respectively) |
$
5,453,089 |
$
2,962,150 |
$
8,959,717 |
$
1,260,627 |
Dividends
from affiliates |
—
|
2,367,473
|
—
|
—
|
Interest
from non-affiliates |
1,911,442
|
2,312,117
|
328,186
|
202,941
|
Total
Investment Income |
7,364,531
|
7,641,740
|
9,287,903
|
1,463,568
|
Expenses
|
|
|
|
|
Investment
Counsel fee |
5,432,117
|
4,708,893
|
3,813,535
|
1,382,995
|
Administration
fees |
658,163
|
561,734
|
368,627
|
122,933
|
Transfer
agent fees and expenses |
536,209
|
324,810
|
200,405
|
38,730
|
Trustees'
fees and expenses |
118,908
|
113,681
|
68,041
|
21,700
|
Custodian
fees and expenses |
38,309
|
34,424
|
104,837
|
22,744
|
Other
|
128,543
|
163,325
|
105,185
|
58,749
|
Total
Expenses |
6,912,249
|
5,906,867
|
4,660,630
|
1,647,851
|
Expenses
waived and/or reimbursed |
(1,712,757)
|
(570,397)
|
(421,418)
|
(234,123)
|
Net
expenses |
5,199,492
|
5,336,470
|
4,239,212
|
1,413,728
|
Net
investment income |
2,165,039
|
2,305,270
|
5,048,691
|
49,840
|
Realized
and Unrealized Gain: |
|
|
|
|
Net
Realized Gain (Loss): |
|
|
|
|
Non-affiliated
securities |
(137,987,875)
|
(145,500,707)
|
(4,915,206)
|
(21,628,601)
|
Affiliated
securities |
—
|
(32,522,598)
|
—
|
—
|
Foreign
currency transactions |
3,567
|
(1,759)
|
(39,781)
|
(2,754)
|
Net
Realized Loss |
(137,984,308)
|
(178,025,064)
|
(4,954,987)
|
(21,631,355)
|
Change
in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation): |
|
|
|
|
Non-affiliated
securities |
346,268,534
|
156,315,398
|
94,274,730
|
62,532,904
|
Affiliated
securities |
—
|
102,886,047
|
—
|
—
|
Foreign
currency transactions |
—
|
9,311
|
17,502
|
3,697
|
Net
Change in Unrealized Appreciation |
346,268,534
|
259,210,756
|
94,292,232
|
62,536,601
|
Net
Realized and Unrealized Gain |
208,284,226
|
81,185,692
|
89,337,244
|
40,905,246
|
Net
Increase in Net Assets Resulting from Operations |
$
210,449,265 |
$
83,490,962 |
$
94,385,935 |
$
40,955,086 |
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Statements of
Changes in Net Assets (Unaudited)
|
Partners
Fund |
|
Small-Cap
Fund |
|
Six
Months Ended June 30, |
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
Six
Months Ended June 30, |
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
2023
(Unaudited) |
2022
|
|
2023
(Unaudited) |
2022
|
Operations:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
$
2,165,039 |
$
12,481,805 |
|
$
2,305,270 |
$
12,718,347 |
Net
realized loss from investments and foreign currency transactions |
(137,984,308)
|
(10,102,675)
|
|
(178,025,064)
|
(19,273,709)
|
Net
change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) from investments and foreign currency transactions |
346,268,534
|
(402,137,951)
|
|
259,210,756
|
(321,877,298)
|
Net
increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations |
210,449,265
|
(399,758,821)
|
|
83,490,962
|
(328,432,660)
|
Distributions
to Shareholders: |
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions |
—
|
(54,452,997)
|
|
—
|
(14,002,380)
|
Capital
Share Transactions: |
|
|
|
|
|
Net
proceeds from sale of shares |
5,669,614
|
23,139,887
|
|
40,548,253
|
56,083,266
|
Reinvestment
of shareholder distributions |
—
|
49,868,871
|
|
—
|
12,677,209
|
Cost
of shares redeemed |
(80,539,199)
|
(185,212,828)
|
|
(451,081,920)
|
(377,003,254)
|
Net
decrease in net assets from fund share transactions |
(74,869,585)
|
(112,204,070)
|
|
(410,533,667)
|
(308,242,779)
|
Total
increase (decrease) in net assets |
135,579,680
|
(566,415,888)
|
|
(327,042,705)
|
(650,677,819)
|
Net
Assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
Beginning
of year |
1,235,788,968
|
1,802,204,856
|
|
1,179,044,045
|
1,829,721,864
|
End
of year |
$1,371,368,648
|
$1,235,788,968
|
|
$
852,001,340 |
$
1,179,044,045 |
Capital
Share Transactions: |
|
|
|
|
|
Issued
|
280,631
|
1,070,934
|
|
1,802,344
|
2,350,071
|
Reinvested
|
—
|
2,585,813
|
|
—
|
602,956
|
Redeemed
|
(4,007,946)
|
(8,613,338)
|
|
(20,428,524)
|
(16,314,841)
|
Net
decrease in shares outstanding |
(3,727,315)
|
(4,956,591)
|
|
(18,626,180)
|
(13,361,814)
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
|
International
Fund |
|
Global
Fund |
|
Six
Months Ended June 30, |
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
Six
Months Ended June 30, |
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
2023
(Unaudited) |
2022
|
|
2023
(Unaudited) |
2022
|
Operations:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
investment income |
$
5,048,691 |
$
4,709,791 |
|
$
49,840 |
$
924,123 |
Net
realized loss from investments and foreign currency transactions |
(4,954,987)
|
(126,357,292)
|
|
(21,631,355)
|
(13,512,458)
|
Net
change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) from investments and foreign currency transactions |
94,292,232
|
(109,234,294)
|
|
62,536,601
|
(69,003,671)
|
Net
increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations |
94,385,936
|
(230,881,795)
|
|
40,955,086
|
(81,592,006)
|
Distributions
to Shareholders: |
|
|
|
|
|
Total
distributions |
—
|
(4,623,926)
|
|
—
|
(2,014,434)
|
Capital
Share Transactions: |
|
|
|
|
|
Net
proceeds from sale of shares |
20,093,151
|
144,696,547
|
|
1,956,701
|
15,698,147
|
Reinvestment
of shareholder distributions |
—
|
3,419,370
|
|
—
|
1,808,710
|
Cost
of shares redeemed |
(66,852,330)
|
(499,956,199)
|
|
(16,749,677)
|
(51,828,887)
|
Net
decrease in net assets from fund share transactions |
(46,759,179)
|
(351,840,282)
|
|
(14,792,976)
|
(34,322,030)
|
Total
increase (decrease) in net assets |
47,626,757
|
(587,346,003)
|
|
26,162,110
|
(117,928,470)
|
Net
Assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
Beginning
of year |
692,726,180
|
1,280,072,183
|
|
225,398,773
|
343,327,243
|
End
of year |
$740,352,937
|
$
692,726,180 |
|
$
251,560,883 |
$
225,398,773 |
Capital
Share Transactions: |
|
|
|
|
|
Issued
|
1,317,075
|
9,409,583
|
|
169,829
|
1,398,545
|
Reinvested
|
—
|
245,468
|
|
—
|
173,259
|
Redeemed
|
(4,384,835)
|
(34,341,406)
|
|
(1,489,465)
|
(4,847,594)
|
Net
decrease in shares outstanding |
(3,067,760)
|
(24,686,355)
|
|
(1,319,636)
|
(3,275,790)
|
See Notes to Financial Statements.
Notes to Financial
Statements (Unaudited)
Note 1. Organization
Longleaf Partners Fund, Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund,
Longleaf Partners International Fund, and Longleaf Partners Global Fund (the “Funds”) are non-diversified and each is a series of Longleaf Partners Funds Trust, a Massachusetts business trust, which is registered as an open-end
management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
Note 2. Significant Accounting
Policies
The Funds follow the accounting and reporting
guidance in FASB Accounting Standards Codification 946.
Management Estimates
The accompanying financial statements are prepared in
accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”); these principles may require the use of estimates by Fund management. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Security Valuation
The following is a description of the valuation techniques
applied to the Funds' investments (see also Note 7. Fair Value Measurements).
Portfolio securities listed or traded on a securities exchange
(U.S. or foreign), on the NASDAQ national market, or any representative quotation system providing same day publication of actual prices, are valued at the last sale price, and categorized as Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. If there are no
transactions in the security that day, securities are valued at the midpoint between the closing bid and ask prices or, if there are no such prices, the prior day's close, and categorized as Level 2.
In the case of bonds and other fixed income securities,
valuations are furnished by a pricing service which takes into account factors in addition to quoted prices (such as trading characteristics, yield, quality, coupon rate, maturity, type of issue, and other market data relating to the priced security
or other similar securities) where taking such factors into account would lead to a more accurate reflection of the fair market value of such securities. Such securities are categorized as Level 2.
When market quotations are not readily available, valuations
of portfolio securities are determined by Southeastern Asset Management, Inc. (“Southeastern”) in accordance with procedures adopted by and under the general supervision of the Funds' Board of Trustees (the "Board"). In determining fair
value, Southeastern considers relevant qualitative and quantitative information including news regarding significant market or security specific events. Southeastern may also utilize a service provided by an independent third party to assist in fair
valuation of certain securities. These factors are subject to change over time and are reviewed periodically. Because the utilization of fair value depends on market activity, the frequency with which fair valuation may be used cannot be predicted.
Estimated values may differ from the values that would have been used had a ready market for the investment existed. Such securities are categorized as either Level 2 or 3.
Repurchase agreements are valued at cost which, combined with
accrued interest, approximates market value. Short-term U.S. Government obligations purchased with a remaining maturity of more than 60 days are valued through pricing obtained through pricing services approved by the Funds' Trustees. Obligations
purchased with a remaining maturity of 60 days or less or existing positions that have less than 60 days to maturity generally are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. However, if amortized cost is deemed not to reflect fair
value, the securities are valued at prices furnished by dealers who make markets in such securities or by an independent pricing service. Such securities are categorized as Level 2.
The Funds determine net asset values (“NAVs”) once
a day, at the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“Exchange”) (usually at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on days the Exchange is open for business. The Exchange is closed for specified national holidays and on weekends.
Foreign securities are generally priced at the latest market close in the foreign market, which may be at different times or days than the close of the Exchange. If country specific (i.e. natural disaster, economic or political developments), issuer
specific (i.e. earnings report, merger announcement), or U.S. markets-specific (i.e. significant movement in U.S. markets that would likely affect the value of foreign securities) events occur which could materially affect the NAV between the close
of the foreign market and normal pricing at the close of the Exchange, foreign securities may be fair valued by
Southeastern in
accordance with procedures adopted by and under the general supervision of the Board using observable data (i.e. trading in depository receipts) or using an external pricing service approved by the Board. The pricing service uses an automated
system incorporating a model based on multiple parameters, including a security’s local closing price, relevant general and sector indices, currency fluctuations, trading in depositary receipts and futures, if applicable, and/or research
valuations by its staff, in determining what it believes is the fair value of the securities. Such securities are categorized as Level 2.
Security Transactions
For financial reporting purposes, the Funds record security
transactions on trade date. Realized gains and losses on security transactions are determined using the specific identification method. Dividend income is recognized on the ex-dividend date, except that certain dividends from foreign securities are
recorded as soon after the ex-dividend date as the Fund is able to obtain information on the dividend. Interest income is recognized on an accrual basis and includes, where applicable, the amortization of premium or accretion of discount using the
effective interest method. The Funds record distributions received from investments in Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) and Master Limited Partnerships ("MLPs") in excess of income from underlying investments as a reduction of
cost of investments and/or realized gain. Such amounts are based on estimates if actual amounts are not available and actual amounts of income, realized gain and return of capital may differ from the estimated amounts. The Funds adjust the estimated
amounts once the issuers provide information about the actual composition of the distributions.
Distributions to Shareholders
Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and
distributed to shareholders annually. Net realized capital gains from investment transactions, if any, are declared and distributed to shareholders at least annually. Furthermore, capital gains are distributed only to the extent they exceed
available capital loss carryforwards. Distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. The amount and timing of distributions are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP.
Federal Income Taxes
The Funds' policy is to comply with the requirements of
Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all taxable income to shareholders. Accordingly, no federal income tax provision is required. Reclassifications are made within
the Funds' capital accounts for permanent book and tax basis differences.
The Funds' tax returns are subject to examination by the
relevant tax authorities until expiration of the applicable statute of limitations, which is generally three years after filing of the tax return but could be longer in certain circumstances. Management has analyzed the Funds' tax positions taken on
federal income tax returns for all open tax years (tax years ended December 31, 2019 through 2022), and has concluded that no provision for federal income tax is required in the Funds' financial statements. The Funds recognize interest and
penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense in the Statements of Operations. The Funds did not incur any interest or penalties during the period.
Repurchase Agreements
The Funds may engage in repurchase agreement transactions. The
Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (“FICC”) sells U.S. government or agency securities to each Fund under agreements to repurchase these securities at a stated repurchase price including interest for the term of the agreement, which is
usually overnight or over a weekend. Each Fund, through FICC, receives delivery of the underlying U.S. government or agency securities as collateral, whose market value is required to be at least equal to the repurchase price. If FICC becomes
bankrupt, the Fund might be delayed, or may incur costs or possible losses of principal and income, in selling the collateral.
Note 3. Investment Counsel Agreement and
Other Transactions with Affiliates
Southeastern serves
as Investment Counsel to the Funds and receives annual compensation, computed daily and paid monthly, in accordance with the following schedule:
Partners
Fund |
1.00%
on first $400 million of average net assets 0.75% in excess of $400 million |
Small-Cap
Fund |
1.00%
on first $400 million of average net assets 0.75% in excess of $400 million |
International
Fund |
1.10%
on first $500 million of average net assets 0.90% in excess of $500 million |
Global
Fund |
1.125%
on first $500 million of average net assets 1.00% in excess of $500 million |
Investment Counsel fees payable at June 30, 2023, and
Investment Counsel fees expense for the period ended June 30, 2023, are disclosed on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and the Statements of Operations, respectively.
Southeastern has contractually committed to waive fees and/or
reimburse expenses so that each Fund's annual operating expenses (excluding taxes, interest, brokerage fees, and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed the following:
Partners
Fund |
0.79%
|
Small-Cap
Fund |
0.95
|
International
Fund |
1.15
|
Global
Fund |
1.15
|
Investment Counsel receivable at
June 30, 2023, and expenses waived and/or reimbursed for the period ended June 30, 2023, are disclosed on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and the Statements of Operations, respectively. The Partners Fund and Small-Cap Fund fee-waiver
agreements are in effect through at least April 30, 2024. The International Fund and Global Fund fee-waiver agreements do not have a limited term. These agreements may not be terminated without Board approval.
Southeastern also serves as the Fund Administrator and in this
capacity is responsible for managing, performing or supervising the administrative and business operations of the Funds. Functions include the preparation of all registration statements, prospectuses, proxy statements, and oversight of daily
valuation of the portfolios and calculation of daily net asset values per share. The Funds pay a fee as compensation for these services, accrued daily and paid monthly, of 0.10% per annum of average daily net assets. Administration fee payable at
June 30, 2023, and Administration fee expense for the period ended June 30, 2023, are disclosed in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Statements of Operations, respectively.
The Board supervises the business activities of the Trust.
Each Trustee serves as a Trustee for the lifetime of the Trust or until resignation or removal. “Independent Trustees,” meaning those Trustees who are not “interested persons” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940
(“1940 Act”) of the Trust, each receives annual compensation of $130,000 from the Trust, paid in four equal quarterly installments. In addition, the Trust reimburses Trustees for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in conjunction with
attendance at Board meetings. One Trustee of the Trust is an employee of Southeastern. Trustee fees and expenses for the period ended June 30, 2023, are disclosed in the Statements of Operations. There were no Trustee fees payable at
June 30, 2023.
Note 4. Investment Transactions
Purchases and sales of investment securities for the period
ended June 30, 2023 (excluding short-term and U.S. government obligations) are summarized below:
|
Purchases
|
Sales
|
Partners
Fund |
$327,823,627
|
$396,327,058
|
Small-Cap
Fund |
147,635,971
|
526,161,730
|
International
Fund |
68,404,387
|
98,670,560
|
Global
Fund |
52,848,080
|
70,544,934
|
Note 5. Related
Ownership
At June 30, 2023, officers, employees of
Southeastern and their families, Fund trustees, the Southeastern retirement plan and other affiliates owned the following:
|
%
of Fund |
Partners
Fund |
30%*
|
Small-Cap
Fund |
18*
|
International
Fund |
41*
|
Global
Fund |
69*
|
*
|
A
significant portion consists of a few shareholders whose redemptions could have a material impact on the fund. |
Note 6. Affiliated Issuers
Under Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, a
portfolio company is defined as “affiliated” if a fund owns five percent or more of its voting stock during all or part of the period. Affiliated companies during the period ended June 30, 2023 were as follows:
|
Shares
at 6/30/23 |
Value
at 12/31/22 |
Purchases
|
Sales
|
Dividends
|
Net
Realized Gain (Loss) 1/1/23 to 6/30/23 |
Net
Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) 1/1/23 to 6/30/23 |
Value
at 6/30/23 |
Small-Cap
Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common
Stocks |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anywhere
Real Estate Inc.* (Real Estate Management & Development) |
5,710,068
|
$41,579,998
|
$1,544,536
|
$6,448,409
|
$—
|
$(17,469,338)
|
$18,936,467
|
$38,143,254
|
Empire
State Realty Trust, Inc.(a)(Diversified REITs) |
6,112,130
|
55,701,031
|
—
|
12,913,315
|
503,173
|
(8,216,039)
|
11,208,177
|
45,779,854
|
Oscar
Health, Inc. - Class A*(a) (Insurance) |
5,913,273
|
35,838,417
|
—
|
60,512,777
|
—
|
(11,789,261)
|
84,124,601
|
47,660,980
|
Westrock
Coffee Company* (Food Products) |
5,077,244
|
93,217,930
|
—
|
23,953,500
|
—
|
4,952,040
|
(19,026,828)
|
55,189,642
|
Preferred
Stock |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Eastman
Kodak Company Convertible Preferred Stock - Series B 4.0%(b)(c) (Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals) |
932,150
|
66,369,080
|
—
|
—
|
1,864,300
|
—
|
7,643,630
|
74,012,710
|
|
|
$292,706,456
|
$1,544,536
|
$103,828,001
|
$2,367,473
|
$(32,522,598)
|
$102,886,047
|
$260,786,440
|
*
Non-income producing security.
(a)
Not an affiliate at the end of the period.
(b)
Restricted security, see Portfolio of Investments for
additional disclosures.
(c)
Investment categorized as Level 3 in fair value hierarchy.
See Note 7.
Note 7. Fair Value
Measurements
FASB ASC 820 established a single
definition of fair value for financial reporting, created a three-tier framework for measuring fair value based on inputs used to value the Funds' investments, and required additional disclosure about the use of fair value measurements. The
hierarchy of inputs is summarized below.
•
|
Level 1 – quoted
prices in active markets for identical investments |
•
|
Level 2 – other
significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.) |
•
|
Level 3
– significant unobservable inputs (including the Funds' own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments) |
Observable inputs are those based on market data obtained from
sources independent of the Funds, and unobservable inputs reflect the Funds' own assumptions based on the best information available. The input levels are not necessarily an indication of risk or liquidity associated with investing in those
securities.
A summary of the inputs used in valuing the
Funds' investments at June 30, 2023 follows:
|
Level
1 |
Level
2 |
Level
3 |
Total
Value |
Partners
Fund |
|
|
|
|
Common
Stocks - North America |
$1,268,728,293
|
$
— |
$
— |
$1,268,728,293
|
Common
Stocks - Other |
—
|
47,683,801
|
—
|
47,683,801
|
Short-Term
Obligations |
—
|
55,060,000
|
—
|
55,060,000
|
|
$1,268,728,293
|
$102,743,801
|
$
— |
$
1,371,472,094 |
Small-Cap
Fund |
|
|
|
|
Common
Stocks |
$
718,228,662 |
$
— |
$
— |
$
718,228,662 |
Preferred
Stock |
—
|
—
|
74,012,710
|
74,012,710
|
Corporate
Bonds |
—
|
19,450,257
|
—
|
19,450,257
|
Short-Term
Obligations |
—
|
19,921,000
|
—
|
19,921,000
|
|
$
718,228,662 |
$
39,371,257 |
$74,012,710
|
$
831,612,629 |
International
Fund |
|
|
|
|
Common
Stocks - North America |
$
116,507,051 |
$
— |
$
— |
$
116,507,051 |
Common
Stocks - Other |
110,628,836
|
501,614,759
|
—
|
612,243,595
|
Warrants
|
1,809,330
|
—
|
—
|
1,809,330
|
Short-Term
Obligations |
—
|
11,154,000
|
—
|
11,154,000
|
|
$
228,945,217 |
$512,768,759
|
$
— |
$
741,713,976 |
Global
Fund |
|
|
|
|
Common
Stocks - North America |
$
189,645,014 |
$
— |
$
— |
$
189,645,014 |
Common
Stocks - Other |
11,044,616
|
43,959,254
|
—
|
55,003,870
|
Short-Term
Obligations |
—
|
7,113,000
|
—
|
7,113,000
|
|
$
200,689,630 |
$
51,072,254 |
$
— |
$
251,761,884 |
The following table provides quantitative information related
to the significant unobservable inputs used to determine the value of Level 3 assets and the sensitivity of the valuations to changes in those significant unobservable inputs. These securities were valued by a third-party specialist utilizing the
income approach, which includes an analysis of various factors and subjective assumptions, including the current common stock price, expected period until exercise, expected volatility of the common stock, expected dividends, risk-free rate,
credit
quality of the
issuer, and common stock borrow cost. Because a variety of factors and inputs, both observable and unobservable, are considered in determining fair values, the significant unobservable inputs presented below do not reflect all inputs significant to
the fair value determination.
Fund
|
Investments
in Securities |
Fair
Value (000s) |
Valuation
Technique |
Unobservable
Input |
Value
or Range of Input |
Impact
to Valuation from an Increase in Input* |
Small-Cap
Fund |
Preferred
Stock |
$74,013
|
Bionomial
Latice Pricing |
Straight
Debt Yield |
19%
|
Decrease
|
|
|
|
|
Expected
Volatility |
55%
|
Increase
|
* |
Represents the directional
change in the fair value that would result in an increase from the corresponding unobservable input. A decrease to the unobservable input would have the opposite effect. Significant increases and decreases in these unobservable inputs in insolation
could result in significantly higher or lower fair value. |
The following is a reconciliation of Level 3 holdings for
which significant unobservable inputs were used in determining fair value at June 30, 2023:
|
Small-Cap
Fund |
Fair
value at December 31, 2022 |
$66,369,080
|
Change
in unrealized appreciation(a) |
7,643,630
|
Fair
value at June 30, 2023 |
$
74,012,710 |
(a)
Statements of Operations location: Change in Unrealized
Appreciation (Depreciation) Affiliated investments. The entire amount relates to assets held as of June 30, 2023.
Note 8. Federal Income Taxes
The tax basis unrealized appreciation (depreciation) and
federal tax cost of investments held by each fund as of June 30, 2023 were as follows:
|
Partners
Fund |
Small-Cap
Fund |
International
Fund |
Global
Fund |
Gross
unrealized appreciation |
$
302,114,118 |
$180,719,321
|
$
170,094,543 |
$
54,300,739 |
Gross
unrealized depreciation |
(136,691,913)
|
(49,389,778)
|
(46,871,572)
|
(24,703,039)
|
Net
unrealized appreciation |
$
165,422,205 |
$131,329,543
|
$
123,222,971 |
$
29,597,700 |
Cost
for federal income tax purposes |
$1,206,049,889
|
$700,283,086
|
$618,491,005
|
$222,164,184
|
Note
9. Commitments and Contingencies
The Funds
indemnify the Board for certain liabilities that might arise from their performance of their duties to the Funds. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Funds enter into contracts that contain a variety of representations and warranties
and which provide general indemnifications. The Funds' maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Funds that have not yet occurred. However, based on experience, the Funds
expect the risk of loss to be remote.
Note
10. Subsequent Events
The Funds evaluated
events from the date of the financial statements through the date the financial statements were issued. There were no subsequent events requiring recognition or disclosure.
The presentation is for a share outstanding throughout each
period.
Partners
Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2023 (Unaudited) |
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
2022
|
2021
|
2020
|
2019
|
2018
|
Net
Asset Value Beginning of Period |
$
18.26 |
$
24.81 |
$
21.73 |
$
20.30 |
$
18.35 |
$
26.84 |
Net
Investment Income(a) |
0.03
|
0.18
|
0.22
|
0.23
|
0.38
|
0.42
|
Net
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
3.15
|
(5.91)
|
4.79
|
1.90
|
2.33
|
(4.78)
|
Total
from Investment Operations |
3.18
|
(5.73)
|
5.01
|
2.13
|
2.71
|
(4.36)
|
Dividends
from Net Investment Income |
—
|
(0.20)
|
(0.23)
|
(0.23)
|
(0.42)
|
(0.47)
|
Distributions
from Net Realized Capital Gains |
—
|
(0.62)
|
(1.70)
|
(0.47)
|
(0.34)
|
(3.66)
|
Total
Distributions |
—
|
(0.82)
|
(1.93)
|
(0.70)
|
(0.76)
|
(4.13)
|
Net
Asset Value End of Period |
$
21.44 |
$
18.26 |
$
24.81 |
$
21.73 |
$
20.30 |
$
18.35 |
Total
Return |
17.42%
(c) |
(23.25)%
|
23.58%
|
10.53%
|
14.81%
|
(17.98)%
|
Net
Assets End of Period (thousands) |
$1,371,369
|
$1,235,789
|
$1,802,205
|
$1,655,311
|
$1,797,792
|
$1,980,081
|
Ratio
of Expenses to Average Net Assets |
0.79%
(d)(e) |
0.79%
(e) |
0.79%
(e) |
0.79%
(e) |
0.93%
(e) |
0.97%
|
Ratio
of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets |
0.33%
(d) |
0.82%
|
0.86%
|
1.23%
|
1.92%
|
1.59%
|
Portfolio
Turnover Rate |
27%
(c) |
39%
|
35%
|
37%
|
6%
|
37%
|
Small-Cap
Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2023 (Unaudited) |
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
2022
|
2021
|
2020
|
2019
|
2018
|
Net
Asset Value Beginning of Period |
$
20.98 |
$
26.30 |
$
23.85 |
$
24.27 |
$
22.10 |
$
27.60 |
Net
Investment Income(a) |
0.04
|
0.20
|
0.16
|
0.18
|
0.51
|
0.74
|
Net
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
1.66
|
(5.27)
|
2.51
|
0.79
(b) |
3.78
|
(2.24)
|
Total
from Investment Operations |
1.70
|
(5.07)
|
2.67
|
0.97
|
4.29
|
(1.50)
|
Dividends
from Net Investment Income |
—
|
(0.25)
|
(0.22)
|
(0.55)
|
(0.62)
|
(0.76)
|
Distributions
from Net Realized Capital Gains |
—
|
—
|
—
|
(0.82)
|
(1.50)
|
(3.24)
|
Return
of Capital |
—
|
—
|
—
|
(0.02)
|
—
|
—
|
Total
Distributions |
—
|
(0.25)
|
(0.22)
|
(1.39)
|
(2.12)
|
(4.00)
|
Net
Asset Value End of Period |
$
22.68 |
$
20.98 |
$
26.30 |
$
23.85 |
$
24.27 |
$
22.10 |
Total
Return |
8.10%
(c) |
(19.27)%
|
11.18%
|
4.14%
|
19.65%
|
(6.52)%
|
Net
Assets End of Period (thousands) |
$852,001
|
$1,179,044
|
$1,829,722
|
$1,836,719
|
$3,324,987
|
$3,109,436
|
Ratio
of Expenses to Average Net Assets |
0.95%
(d)(e) |
0.95%
(e) |
0.96%
(e) |
0.96%
|
0.93%
|
0.92%
|
Ratio
of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets |
0.41%
(d) |
0.84%
|
0.61%
|
0.89%
|
2.10%
|
2.61%
|
Portfolio
Turnover Rate |
15%
(c) |
18%
|
33%
|
33%
|
22%
|
32%
|
(a) |
Computed
using average shares outstanding throughout the period. |
(b) |
Due to
the timing of sales and redemptions of capital shares, the net realized and unrealized gain (loss) per share will not equal the Fund's changes in the net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments for the period. |
(c) |
Not
annualized. |
(d) |
Annualized.
|
(e) |
Expenses
presented net of fee waiver. The Partners Fund expense ratio before waiver for the periods ended June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 were 1.05%,1.03%, 1.00%, 1.03%, and 1.00%, respectively. The Small-Cap Fund
expense ratio before waiver for the period ended June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 and 2021 was 1.05%, 1.01%, and 0.97%, respectively. |
International
Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2023 (Unaudited) |
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
2022
|
2021
|
2020
|
2019
|
2018
|
Net
Asset Value Beginning of Period |
$
13.82 |
$
17.11 |
$
17.38 |
$
17.68 |
$
15.26 |
$
16.63 |
Net
Investment Income(a) |
0.10
|
0.08
|
0.09
|
0.07
|
0.14
|
0.12
|
Net
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
1.81
|
(3.28)
|
(0.24)
|
(0.29)
|
2.89
|
(1.29)
|
Total
from Investment Operations |
1.91
|
(3.20)
|
(0.15)
|
(0.22)
|
3.03
|
(1.17)
|
Dividends
from Net Investment Income |
—
|
(0.09)
|
(0.12)
|
(0.08)
|
(0.14)
|
—
|
Distributions
from Net Realized Capital Gains |
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
(0.47)
|
(0.20)
|
Total
Distributions |
—
|
(0.09)
|
(0.12)
|
(0.08)
|
(0.61)
|
(0.20)
|
Net
Asset Value End of Period |
$
15.73 |
$
13.82 |
$
17.11 |
$
17.38 |
$
17.68 |
$
15.26 |
Total
Return |
13.82%
(c) |
(18.69)%
|
(0.89)%
|
(1.22)%
|
20.00%
|
(7.08)%
|
Net
Assets End of Period (thousands) |
$740,353
|
$692,726
|
$1,280,072
|
$1,166,163
|
$1,348,777
|
$1,012,707
|
Ratio
of Expenses to Average Net Assets |
1.15%
(d)(e) |
1.15%
|
1.15%
|
1.15%
|
1.15%
|
1.18%
|
Ratio
of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets |
1.37%
(e) |
0.56%
|
0.47%
|
0.46%
|
0.82%
|
0.75%
|
Portfolio
Turnover Rate |
10%
(c) |
27%
|
27%
|
28%
|
23%
|
46%
|
Global
Fund |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2023 (Unaudited) |
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
2022
|
2021
|
2020
|
2019
|
2018
|
Net
Asset Value Beginning of Period |
$
10.04 |
$
13.34 |
$
13.26 |
$
13.19 |
$
11.25 |
$
14.94 |
Net
Investment Income(a) |
0.00
(b) |
0.04
|
0.09
|
0.08
|
0.12
|
0.18
|
Net
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) |
1.86
|
(3.25)
|
0.94
|
0.39
|
2.17
|
(2.48)
|
Total
from Investment Operations |
1.86
|
(3.21)
|
1.03
|
0.47
|
2.29
|
(2.30)
|
Dividends
from Net Investment Income |
—
|
(0.01)
|
(0.07)
|
(0.07)
|
(0.13)
|
(0.13)
|
Distributions
from Net Realized Capital Gains |
—
|
(0.08)
|
(0.88)
|
(0.33)
|
(0.22)
|
(1.26)
|
Total
Distributions |
—
|
(0.09)
|
(0.95)
|
(0.40)
|
(0.35)
|
(1.39)
|
Net
Asset Value End of Period |
$
11.90 |
$
10.04 |
$
13.34 |
$
13.26 |
$
13.19 |
$
11.25 |
Total
Return |
18.53%
(c) |
(24.15)%
|
8.20%
|
3.57%
|
20.38%
|
(16.16)%
|
Net
Assets End of Period (thousands) |
$251,561
|
$225,399
|
$343,327
|
$342,621
|
$288,637
|
$212,824
|
Ratio
of Expenses to Average Net Assets |
1.15%
(e) |
1.15%
|
1.15%
|
1.19%
|
1.20%
|
1.20%
|
Ratio
of Net Investment Income to Average Net Assets |
0.04%
(e) |
0.33%
|
0.59%
|
0.72%
|
0.95%
|
1.19%
|
Portfolio
Turnover Rate |
22%
(c) |
33%
|
48%
|
36%
|
37%
|
29%
|
(a) |
Computed
using average shares outstanding throughout the period. |
(b) |
Rounds to
less than $0.01. |
(c) |
Not
annualized. |
(d) |
Expenses
presented net of fee waiver. The International Fund expense ratio before waiver for the periods ended June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018 were 1.26%, 1.26%, 1.17%, 1.20%, 1.17% and 1.21%, respectively. The Global
Fund expense ratio before waiver for the periods ended June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018, were 1.34%, 1.33%, 1.31%, 1.33%, 1.32%, and 1.33%, respectively. |
(e) |
Annualized.
|
Expense Example (Unaudited)
Shareholders of mutual funds may incur two types of costs: (1)
ongoing costs, including management fees, transfer agent fees, and other fund expenses; and (2) transaction costs, including sale charges (loads) and redemption fees. Longleaf does not charge transaction fees of any sort.
The following examples are intended to show the ongoing costs
(in dollars) of investing in the Longleaf Partners Funds and to enable you to compare the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Each example is based on an investment of $1,000 made at January 01, 2023 and held through June 30, 2023.
Actual Expenses
The table below provides information about actual account
values and actual expenses using each Fund's actual return for the period. To estimate the expenses that you paid over the period, divide your account balance by $1,000 (for example, a $12,500 account balance divided by $1,000 = 12.5), then multiply
the result by the number in the third line entitled “Expenses Paid During Period.”
Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes
The table below also provides information about hypothetical
account values and expenses based on each Fund's actual expense ratio and assumed returns of 5% per year before expenses, which are not the Funds' actual returns. Do not use the hypothetical data below to estimate your ending account balance or
expenses you paid. This information serves only to compare the ongoing costs of investing in Longleaf with other mutual funds. To do so, examine this 5% hypothetical example against the 5% hypothetical examples found in other funds' shareholder
reports.
The expenses shown in the table highlight only
ongoing costs and do not reflect transactional costs that may be charged by other funds. Therefore, the table does not reveal the total relative costs of owning different funds. Since Longleaf does not charge transactions fees, you should evaluate
other funds' transaction costs to assess the total cost of ownership for comparison purposes.
|
|
Actual
|
|
Hypothetical
(5% return before expenses) |
|
|
Beginning
account value 12/31/2022 |
Ending
account value 06/30/2023 |
Expenses
paid during period * |
|
Ending
account value 06/30/2023 |
Expenses
paid during period * |
Annualized
expense ratio |
Partners
Fund |
$1,000.00
|
$
1,174.20 |
$4.26
|
|
$
1,020.88 |
$3.96
|
0.79%
|
Small-Cap
Fund |
1,000.00
|
1,081.00
|
4.90
|
|
1,020.08
|
4.76
|
0.95
|
International
Fund |
1,000.00
|
1,138.20
|
6.10
|
|
1,019.09
|
5.76
|
1.15
|
Global
Fund |
1,000.00
|
1,185.30
|
6.23
|
|
1,019.09
|
5.76
|
1.15
|
*
Expenses are equal to each Fund's annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by the number of days in the most recent fiscal half year (181) divided by 365 days in
the current year. |
The following additional information may be obtained for free
by calling (800) 445-9469, visiting southeasternasset.com, or on the SEC's website at sec.gov.
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
A description of Longleaf's Proxy Voting Policies and
Procedures is included in the Statement of Additional Information (SAI).
Proxy Voting Record
Information regarding how the Funds voted proxies relating to
portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is contained in Form N-PX.
Quarterly Portfolio Holdings
Each Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit on Form N-PORT. The Funds' Form N-PORTs are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The exhibits for the most
recent 1st and 3rd quarters are also available at www.southeasternasset.com.
Fund Trustees
Additional information about Fund Trustees is included in the
SAI.
Call (800) 445-9469
Fund Information
To request a printed Prospectus, Summary Prospectus
(connect.rightprospectus.com/Longleaf/TADF/543069108/SP#), Statement of Additional Information (including Longleaf's Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures), financial report, application or other Fund information from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern
time, Monday through Friday.
Shareholder
Inquiries
To request action on your existing account
from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Account Information
For automated account balance and transaction activity, 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
Correspondence
|
|
By
regular mail: |
By overnight
mail: |
Longleaf
Partners Funds |
Longleaf
Partners Funds |
c/o
BNY Mellon |
c/o BNY
Mellon |
P.O.
Box 534448 |
Attn:
534448 |
Pittsburgh,
PA 15253-4448 |
500 Ross
Street 154-0520 |
|
Pittsburgh,
PA 15262 |
Published Daily
Price Quotations
Below are the common references for
searching printed or electronic media to find daily NAVs of the Funds.
Abbreviation
|
Symbol
|
Cusip
|
Transfer
Agent Fund Number |
Status
to New Investors |
Partners
|
LLPFX
|
543069108
|
133
|
Open
|
Sm-Cap
|
LLSCX
|
543069207
|
134
|
Open
|
Intl
|
LLINX
|
543069405
|
136
|
Open
|
Global
|
LLGLX
|
543069504
|
137
|
Open
|
This page is
intentionally left blank.
Our Governing Principles
We will treat your investment as if it were our own.
We will remain significant investors in Longleaf Partners Funds.
We will invest for the long term, while striving to maximize returns and
minimize business, financial, purchasing power, regulatory and market risks.
We will choose each equity investment based on its discount from our appraisal
of corporate intrinsic value, its financial strength, its management, its competitive position, and our assessment of its future earnings potential.
We will focus our assets in our best ideas.
We will not impose loads or 12b-1 charges on mutual fund shareholders.
We will consider closing to new investors if closing would benefit existing
clients.
We will discourage short-term speculators and market timers.
We will continue our efforts to enhance shareholder services.
We will communicate with our investment partners as candidly as possible.
Item 1(b) Rule 30e-3 Notice
August 24, 2023
An Important Report to Shareholders of Longleaf Partners Funds
is Now Available Online and in Print by Request
The Longleaf Partners Funds have filed a new shareholder report, which is now available online and in print by request. Your shareholder report contains
important information about your investments, including performance, expenses, portfolio holdings, and financial statements. We encourage you to access and review it. You can:
|
|
|
Access the report and other resources at
https://southeasternasset.com/investment-offerings/longleaf-partners-fund/ under the heading Resources. |
|
|
|
At any time, request a mailed copy of the report and other resources at no charge by calling (800) 445-9469, by written request to Longleaf Partners Funds, c/o BNY Mellon, P.O. Box 534448, Pittsburgh, PA 15253-4448, or by contacting your financial intermediary. You will not otherwise receive a paper copy.
|
|
|
|
Sign-up for e-delivery of
shareholder reports and other communications by logging on to your account at https://my.accessportals.com/app/a07/login, by calling (800) 445-9469, by written request to Longleaf Partners Funds, c/o
BNY Mellon, P.O. Box 534448, Pittsburgh, PA 15253-4448, or by contacting your financial intermediary. You will not otherwise receive an email copy. |
Item 2. Code of Ethics.
Not applicable to semi-annual reports.
Item 3.
Audit Committee Financial Expert.
Not applicable to semi-annual reports.
Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
Not applicable to semi-annual reports.
Item 5.
Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.
Not applicable.
Item 6. Schedule of Investments.
A
complete schedule of investments for the period ended June 30, 2023 is included in the Semi-Annual Report filed under Item 1 of this form.
Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment
Companies.
Not applicable.
Item 8.
Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
Not applicable.
Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End
Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.
Not applicable.
Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
The registrant does not currently have in place procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrants board of directors.
Item 11. Controls and Procedures.
The registrants principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded, based on their evaluation of the effectiveness of the design
and operation of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report on Form N-CSR, that the design and operation of such procedures are
effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the investment company in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within
the time periods specified in the Commissions rules and forms.
At the date of filing this Form N-CSR, the
registrants principal executive officer and principal financial officer are aware of no changes in the registrants internal control over financial reporting during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are
reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants internal control over financial reporting.
Item 12. Disclosure of Securities
Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
Not applicable.
Item
13. Exhibits.
Exhibit 99.1 CERT Certification Required by Item 13(a)(2) of Form N-CSR
Exhibit 99.2 CERT Certification Pursuant to Section
906 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
|
|
|
Longleaf Partners Funds Trust |
|
|
By |
|
/s/ O. Mason Hawkins |
|
|
O. Mason Hawkins |
|
|
Trustee |
|
|
Longleaf Partners Funds Trust |
|
|
Date |
|
August 25, 2023 |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has
been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
|
|
|
By |
|
/s/ Ross Glotzbach |
|
|
Ross Glotzbach CEO, Southeastern Asset
Management, Inc. Functioning as principal executive officer under
agreements with Longleaf Partners Funds Trust and its separate
series |
|
|
|
Date |
|
August 25, 2023 |
|
|
By |
|
/s/ Ryan S. Hocker |
|
|
Ryan S. Hocker |
|
|
Global Funds Treasurer, Southeastern Asset |
|
|
Management, Inc. Functioning as principal financial officer |
|
|
under agreements with Longleaf Partners Funds Trust and its
separate series |
|
|
Date |
|
August 25, 2023 |
A signed original of this written statement has been provided to Longleaf Partners Funds Trust and will be retained by
Longleaf Partners Funds Trust and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.