| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 8.6% | 0.9% | -1.3% |
| 2025 |
|---|
| -1.3% |
The Meridian Small Cap Growth Fund returned 0.90% net during Q4 2025, underperforming the Russell 2000 Growth Index's 1.22% return. The fund's investment approach centers on three core principles: investing in high-quality businesses with recurring revenue and sustainable competitive advantages, prioritizing risk management over return opportunity, and constructing resilient portfolios capable of mitigating losses while participating in gains. Healthcare was the portfolio's largest allocation and top-performing sector, with the manager viewing it as undervalued relative to long-term fundamentals after four years of underperformance. The quarter saw mixed market factors, with leadership shifting toward lower-momentum and lower-beta exposures, providing a modest tailwind, while lower-quality stock outperformance created headwinds given the portfolio's quality bias. Top contributors included Structure Therapeutics with promising obesity therapy trials, Axogen with peripheral nerve regeneration technology, and Zenas BioPharma with autoimmune treatments. Looking ahead, the manager maintains focus on high-quality businesses positioned to navigate market excesses and economic uncertainty.
The fund invests in high-quality small-cap growth companies with recurring revenue streams, sustainable competitive advantages, and strong balance sheets, emphasizing downside protection while participating in market gains.
The manager maintains a consistent investment approach focused on high-quality businesses with durable competitive advantages, strong balance sheets, and clear visibility into sustainable earnings growth. They believe these companies are best positioned to navigate both speculative market excesses and broader economic uncertainty, creating long-term value as market exuberance and short-term momentum eventually subside.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 21 2026 | 2025 Q4 | ALKT, AMPL, AXGN, CCSI, CDNA, CERT, GPCR, KEX, RELY, TPB, VCYT, VNOM, ZNAS | Biotechnology, growth, healthcare, Quality, small caps, technology, value |
CERT DOCS RELY GMED TNDM EXAS CCSI CERT RELY GPCR AXGN ZBIO |
Healthcare was the portfolio's largest allocation and top-performing sector for the quarter. The manager continues to view the sector as undervalued relative to long-term fundamentals, noting it has lagged the broader market over the last four years. Multiple biotech holdings contributed positively, including Structure Therapeutics with promising obesity therapy trials, Axogen with peripheral nerve regeneration technology, and Zenas BioPharma with autoimmune disease treatments in Phase 3 trials. The fund emphasizes investing in high-quality businesses with recurring revenue, sustainable competitive advantages, strong balance sheets, and clear visibility into sustainable earnings growth. This quality bias created a modest headwind during the quarter as lower-quality stocks outperformed. |
| Oct 24 2025 | 2025 Q3 | ALIT, CCSI, KEX, SPT, TPB, ZBIO | capital goods, healthcare, semiconductors, small caps, valuation |
SPT KEX CCSI SPT ALGN MDGL HALO ZD ALIT SPT KEX TPB ZENAS CCSI |
A quality-biased, lower-beta process lagged a speculative, momentum-led rally; managers avoided expensive capital-goods and speculative semis despite a powerful AI buildout. Healthcare overweight and underweights in capital goods hurt, but stock selection in consumer, comm services, and financials helped. They remain disciplined on durable growth at reasonable valuations. |
| Aug 2 2025 | 2025 Q2 | AXGN, MIR, NPKI, PACK, TPB, VNOM | growth, Quality, Recurring Revenue, risk management, small caps |
PACK AXGN VNOM |
The letter highlights small-cap growth investing with an emphasis on quality, recurring revenue, and risk management. Management avoids high-beta speculation and prioritizes resilience during market drawdowns. Long-term returns are expected from steady execution and earnings growth. |
| Mar 31 2025 | 2025 Q1 | IMXI, LZ, MMSI, RBA, TNDM, VCYT | - | - | |
| Feb 10 2025 | 2024 Q4 | ANGI, BYRN, MIR, SRI, TMDC, TPB | - | - | |
| Sep 30 2024 | 2024 Q3 | BYRN, EVRI, LZ, SEAT, SRI, TPB | - | - | |
| Jun 30 2024 | 2024 Q2 | AGS, ALIT, BYRN, LZ, SILK, TMDX | - | - | |
| Apr 15 2024 | 2024 Q1 | BYRN, CCSI, FORR, NGNE, QDEL, SG | - | - | |
| Dec 31 2023 | 2023 Q4 | CARG, CCCC, EVRI, MIR, SKIN, SONX | - | - | |
| Sep 30 2023 | 2023 Q3 | - | - | - | |
| Jun 30 2023 | 2023 Q2 | - | - | - | |
| Mar 31 2023 | 2023 Q1 | ACVA, ALBO, CCSI, FTDR, HDSN, PMVP | - | - | |
| Jan 31 2023 | 2022 Q4 | DICE, HDSN, OMCL, SYNH, TIL | - | - |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 |
HealthcareHealthcare was the strongest relative contributor in the quarter with holdings increasing nearly +16% compared to benchmark returns of roughly +12%. Exact Sciences was acquired for a significant premium by Abbott Laboratories resulting in an +86% return, while other strong performers included Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Glaukos following approval of a new product, Penumbra, and Repligen driven by strong earnings results. |
M&A Product Approval Earnings Biotech |
QualityThe company emphasizes investing in businesses with excellent economics, durable competitive advantages, and high-integrity management. This quality focus is evident in concentrated equity holdings and operating business acquisitions. |
Durable Advantages Management Quality Economic Moats Competitive Position | |
TechnologyHoldings span social media, online search, cloud computing and e-commerce including select Magnificent 7 positions. They also own semiconductor companies at reasonable valuations, including picks and shovels businesses like Applied Materials with strong competitive positions and long track records of value creation. |
Technology Semiconductors Cloud Social Media E-commerce | |
| 2025 Q3 |
Small CapsSmall caps getting strong start in 2026 supported by easing monetary conditions and constructive fiscal backdrop. Small caps more sensitive to economic cyclicality which is overdue for expansion. Expected to grow at better pace than large caps in 2026 after long period of underperformance. |
Value Growth Cyclical Monetary Policy Fiscal Policy |
| 2025 Q2 |
QualityThe company emphasizes investing in businesses with excellent economics, durable competitive advantages, and high-integrity management. This quality focus is evident in concentrated equity holdings and operating business acquisitions. |
Durable Advantages Management Quality Economic Moats Competitive Position |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | KEX | Kirby Corp. | Industrials | Marine Transportation | Bull | NYSE | cash flow, compounder, energy, Logistics, Marine, Petrochemicals, Transportation, Utilization | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | CERT | Certara, Inc. | Health Care | Life Sciences Tools & Services | Bull | NASDAQ | Biosimulation, divestiture, drug development, Software, turnaround | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | CCSI | Consensus Cloud Solutions Inc. | Information Technology | Software | Bull | NASDAQ | acquisition, FCF, healthcare, Margins, recurring revenue, Software, turnaround, valuation | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | DOCS | Doximity, Inc. | Health Care | Health Care Technology | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | advertising, guidance, healthcare, network, platform | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | SPT | Sprout Social, Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bull | NASDAQ | enterprise, guidance, Margins, recurring revenue, Retention, SaaS | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | RELY | Remitly Global, Inc. | Financials | Transaction & Payment Processing Services | Bull | NASDAQ | Fintech, Payments, profitability, Remittances, scale | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | ALGN | Align Technology, Inc. | Health Care | Health Care Supplies | Bear | NASDAQ | Asp, Competition, Demand, Dental, Mix, Pricing | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | GMED | Globus Medical, Inc. | Health Care | Health Care Equipment | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Acquisitions, growth, leverage, Medtech, Spine | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | MDGL | Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Health Care | Biotechnology | Bull | NASDAQ | GLP-1, growth, Launch, MASH, pipeline, valuation | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | TNDM | Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc. | Health Care | Health Care Equipment | Bull | NASDAQ | Automation, Devices, Diabetes, Pharmacy, pipeline | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | HALO | Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. | Health Care | Biotechnology | Bull | NASDAQ | drug delivery, FCF, guidance, Partners, platform, royalties | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | EXAS | Exact Sciences Corporation | Health Care | Health Care Technology | Bull | NASDAQ | acquisition, Cancer, diagnostics, growth, Screening | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | ZD | Ziff Davis, Inc. | Communication Services | Digital Media | Bull | NASDAQ | cloud services, digital media, FCF, M&A, Margins, organic growth | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | CCSI | Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bear | NASDAQ | cashflow, Cloudsoftware, Healthcareit, Recurringrevenue, valuation | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | ALIT | Alight Inc. | Information Technology | Human Capital Software | Bear | NYSE | AI integration, Execution, HCM, Margin recovery, Retention, Software, transformation, valuation | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | CERT | Certara, Inc. | Health Care | Life Sciences Tools & Services | Bear | NASDAQ | Biosimulation, Drugdevelopment, growth, restructuring, Software | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | SPT | Sprout Social Inc. | Information Technology | Software | Bull | NASDAQ | Adoption, enterprise, FCF, growth, guidance, Margins, Marketing, SaaS | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | RELY | Remitly Global, Inc. | Financials | Transaction & Payment Processing Services | Bear | NASDAQ | Fintech, growth, Payments, profitability, Remittances | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | KEX | Kirby Corp. | Industrials | Marine Transportation | Bull | NYSE | cash flow, compounder, energy, Logistics, Marine, Petrochemicals, Transportation, Utilization | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | GPCR | Structure Therapeutics, Inc. | Health Care | Biotechnology | Bull | NASDAQ | Biotech, Clinicaltrials, Glp1, Obesity, Oraltherapy | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | TPB | Turning Point Brands Inc. | Consumer Staples | Tobacco Products | Bull | NYSE | Consumer products, growth, innovation, Margins, market share, Nicotine, profitability, tobacco | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | AXGN | Axogen, Inc. | Health Care | Medical Devices | Bull | NASDAQ | FDA, Medicaldevices, Nerves, Regeneration, Reimbursement | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | ZENAS | Zenas BioPharma Inc. | Health Care | Biotechnology | Bull | - | Autoimmune, Biotech, Commercialization, Financing, Immunology, Phase 3, Trials | Login |
| Jan 21, 2026 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | ZBIO | Zenas BioPharma, Inc. | Health Care | Biotechnology | Bull | NASDAQ | Autoimmune, biologics, Clinicaltrials, growth, pipeline | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | CCSI | Consensus Cloud Solutions Inc. | Information Technology | Software | Bull | NASDAQ | acquisition, FCF, healthcare, Margins, recurring revenue, Software, turnaround, valuation | Login |
| Aug 2, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | PACK | Ranpak Holdings Corp. | Materials | Packaging | Bear | New York Stock Exchange | Automation, ecommerce, Margins, Packaging, Sustainability | Login |
| Aug 2, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | AXGN | Axogen Inc. | Health Care | Biotechnology | Bull | NASDAQ | Biotech, growth, Margins, Nerve, Regeneration | Login |
| Oct 24, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | SPT | Sprout Social Inc. | Information Technology | Software | Bull | NASDAQ | Adoption, enterprise, FCF, growth, guidance, Margins, Marketing, SaaS | Login |
| Aug 2, 2025 | Fund Letters | Chad Meade | VNOM | Viper Energy Inc. | Energy | Oil & Gas Exploration & Production | Bear | NASDAQ | cashflow, Commodities, energy, Permian, royalties | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| AMPL | Amplitude has undergone a significant turnaround that has gone largely unnoticed since new CFO Andrew Casey joined the company to reboot the sales force and manage the company for profitable growth and free cash flow. Amplitude is a leader in digital analytics software that tracks, analyzes, and predicts user behavior across digital products. We believe the current valuation is extremely attractive and estimate the intrinsic value to be $21. |
| AXGN | New to the strategy was Axogen, Inc., which develops technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair from injuries caused by trauma, chronic conditions, or surgical procedures. Its flagship product, Avance Nerve Graft, is a decellularized human nerve allograft that preserves native nerve microarchitecture while eliminating immune rejection risk. It is the only FDA-approved implantable biological nerve allograft on the market. |
| CCSI | Entry Price: $16 USD. Valuation at Entry Price: 3.5x EPS. Change that Occurred: Management announced a new capital allocation policy to pay down debt (Q4 2023). New Clarity clinical documentation services launched (Q1 2024). Price Target: $58/share. 145% upside. |
| CERT | Certara, Inc. develops software and services that support drug development through biosimulation, modeling how investigational compounds interact at varied dosing levels with organs and other drugs. While the technology remains relatively early in adoption, a large majority of recent FDA-approved drugs used a Certara solution at some point in the development process. During the quarter, the company underperformed due to weaker-than-expected service bookings, which prompted management to slightly lower guidance. However, with the recent appointment of a new CEO who is adopting a more commercially focused strategy, as well as the potential divestiture of a non-core, lower-moat business segment, Certara is positioned to transform into a more focused, pure-play growth company. |
| GPCR | Structure Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm focused on developing oral therapies targeting obesity and metabolic diseases. The company's lead oral candidate has shown promising efficacy and a lower-than-anticipated discontinuation rate in Phase II trials, positioning it as a viable alternative to injectable GLP-1 medications. Following the release of favorable clinical data, the stock advanced, bolstered by a successful capital raise that is expected to adequately support funding through Phase III trials. The therapy's oral administration format, combined with its leading safety profile, enhances the company's attractiveness as a potential acquisition target within the GLP-1 competitive landscape. |
| RELY | Remitly Global, Inc. is a digitally native money transfer firm strategically capturing market share in the cross-border remittance space, competing effectively against established players such as Western Union and MoneyGram. The company has reached a scale that positions it for potentially substantial improvements in profitability going forward. Despite reporting robust quarterly earnings, the stock underperformed during the quarter, influenced by management's guidance indicating a deceleration in revenue growth compared to previous periods. This tempered outlook stems from challenging year-over-year comparisons and, to a lesser extent, immigration-related headwinds affecting remittance volumes. Nevertheless, Remitly continues to expand its market presence even amid a temporarily subdued demand environment. |
| TPB | TPB is trading at a high single-digit free cash flow yield. The nicotine pouch market has exploded, driving dramatic growth in TPB's business. TPB initially guided 2025 nicotine pouch sales to $60-80 million, then raised that to $80-95 million in March, $100-110 million in August, and $125-130 million in November. TPB could generate over $5.00 per share in earnings this year and $6.00+ next year as the market continues to grow. Looking out a few years, if TPB can garner 8% market share in a $12bn+ nicotine pouch market, it would generate approximately $1bn in sales. We think TPB could be worth $200-300 per share in the next few years. |
| ZNAS | Zenas BioPharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative therapies for patients with autoimmune diseases. Its lead drug, Obexelimab, is in Phase 3 clinical trials and, while results are still pending, appears on track for potential approval and launch in 2027. During the quarter, the stock exhibited strong performance, buoyed by encouraging Phase II trial data. While we acknowledge that near-term share price fluctuations in clinical-stage companies often hinge on individual data releases, our focus remains on Zenas BioPharma's long-term revenue potential. With multiple indications in development, there is a prospect of achieving annual revenues exceeding $1 billion, contingent upon successful development and regulatory approval. |
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