| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 12.76% | -19.4% | -19.4% |
The Akre Focus ETF declined 19.40% in Q1 2026 versus the S&P 500's 4.33% decline, driven by severe valuation multiple contraction rather than fundamental deterioration. The fund's primary valuation measure fell from 37x to 19x, marking the lowest level since December 2018. Portfolio companies continue generating strong fundamentals, with collective free cash flow per share growth at teens rates in 2025. Key headwinds include AI disruption narratives affecting software holdings and private credit concerns impacting alternative asset managers KKR and Brookfield. However, the manager provides detailed analysis showing limited actual exposure and systemic risk. Constellation Software exemplifies the disconnect, with shares down 44% despite 26% free cash flow growth. The manager views current valuations as creating potential tailwinds for medium-term returns and has increased cash to 4.4% while building positions in temporarily impaired names. The ETF structure provides greater flexibility for tax-efficient portfolio management during periods of elevated valuations.
High-quality businesses with strong fundamentals trading at compelling valuations after severe multiple contraction, creating opportunity for superior medium-term returns as valuations normalize.
Manager strongly believes current valuation drawdown represents a window of opportunity rather than lasting impairment. Expects portfolio companies to continue compounding free cash flow at teens rate. Views current valuations as potential tailwind for medium-term returns as multiples recover.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31 2026 | 2026 Q1 | BN, CCCS, CPRT, CRM, CSGP, CSU.TO, FICO, KKR, LVMUY, MA, MCO, NOW, ORLY, ROP, TOI.TO, V | AI, Concentration, private credit, Quality, software, valuation |
CSU.TO KKR BN |
Quality-focused fund suffered severe valuation contraction despite strong business fundamentals, with primary metric falling from 37x to 19x. AI and private credit narratives drove selling in software and alternative asset manager holdings. Manager sees compelling opportunity as high-quality businesses trade at lowest valuations since 2018, expecting medium-term recovery as oversold multiples normalize. |
| Jan 12 2026 | 2025 Q4 | ABNB, BN, CCC, CSGP, CSU.TO, FICO, GOOGL, KKR, MA, MC.PA, MCO, MSFT, NVDA, ORLY, ROP, TOI.TO, V | AI, Concentration, ETF, Quality, software, value | - | Quality-focused fund underperformed in 2025 as markets chased AI mega caps, but manager sees AI disruption fears around software holdings as overblown. Believes incumbent software businesses with data advantages will benefit from AI adoption. Valuations improved while earnings expectations unchanged, creating better value opportunities for concentrated, long-term approach. |
| Oct 10 2025 | 2025 Q3 | BN, CSGP, CSU.TO, FICO, KKR, MA, MC.PA, MCO, ORLY, ROP, TOI.TO, V | AI, Compounding, ETF Conversion, software, tax efficiency, technology, Vertical Markets | CSU CN | Akre Focus Fund's Q3 underperformance was driven entirely by Constellation Software's 26% decline amid AI disruption fears and leadership transition. The fund maintains conviction in their 11-year holding despite this being the fourth major drawdown. Converting to ETF structure for tax efficiency while preserving their concentrated, long-term compounding investment approach. |
| Jul 15 2025 | 2025 Q2 | AAPL, AMZN, BN, CSGP, CSU.TO, DHR, GOOGL, KKR, MA, MC.PA, MCO, MSFT, NVDA, ORLY, ROP, TOI.TO, V, XOM | Compounding, drawdowns, long-term, Quality, value | - | Akre Focus Fund emphasizes quality-driven compounding over traditional value investing, citing research showing high-quality businesses sustain long-term growth while low-quality names fail to compound despite larger bounces. The fund increased cash to 8.1% positioning for opportunities, delivered strong 12-month returns of 20.43%, and is converting to ETF structure. |
| Apr 10 2025 | 2025 Q1 | ABNB, AMT, BN, CCCS, CSGP, CSU.TO, DHR, KKR, MA, MCO, ORLY, ROP, TOI.TO, V | Cash, Concentration, Discipline, Patience, Quality, valuation, value | - | Akre Focus Fund outperformed the S&P 500 in Q1 2025 with 1.52% returns versus -4.27%, demonstrating their valuation discipline approach. The fund raised cash to 6.3% due to economic uncertainty while maintaining their concentrated portfolio of exceptional businesses. Their Gravity's Rainbow philosophy emphasizes considering full investment cycles rather than chasing momentum, requiring mid-to-high-teens return potential before deploying capital. |
| Jan 11 2025 | 2024 Q4 | AMT, BN, CCCS, CSGP, CSU.TO, DHR, KKR, KMX, MA, MCO, ORLY, ROP, TOI.TO, V | Compounding, Concentration, large cap, Long Term, Quality, value | - | Akre Focus Fund delivered 18.27% in 2024, outperforming without Magnificent 7 exposure. The manager champions compounding as a discipline undermined by ETF abstraction and shortened holding periods. Their concentrated portfolio of exceptional businesses with durable advantages targets above-average long-term returns while accepting below-average risk through patient, businesslike investing. |
| Oct 14 2024 | 2024 Q3 | ABNB, AMT, BN, CCCS, CSGP, CSU.TO, KKR, KMX, MA, MCO, ORLY, ROP, V | Compounding, Focus, long-term, Patience, Quality, returns | - | Akre Focus Fund's 15-year track record demonstrates the power of patient, concentrated investing in quality businesses. Despite market volatility, the fund has compounded at 15.70% annually, turning investments into 9.0x returns. The manager maintains conviction in long-term compounding over tactical maneuvering, with low cash levels and willingness to add to quality positions at attractive prices. |
| Jul 14 2024 | 2024 Q2 | AAPL, AMT, BN, CSGP, CSU.TO, DHR, KKR, KMX, MA, MCO, MSFT, NVDA, ORLY, ROP, V | Concentration, financials, large cap, Mega Cap, technology, value | - | Akre Focus Fund's Q2 underperformance reflects deliberate avoidance of mega-cap concentration driving market gains. The manager questions sustainability of $3+ trillion valuations for Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia, positioning instead in exceptional businesses with median $65 billion market caps and reinvestment opportunities. High conviction maintained with 1.5% cash. |
| Apr 28 2024 | 2024 Q1 | AMT, BAM, BN, CSGP, CSU.TO, KKR, MA, MCO, ORLY, ROP, SBAC, TOI.TO, V | active management, Concentration, large cap, Passive investing, technology, value | - | Akre Focus Fund returned 8.15% in Q1, underperforming the S&P 500 but beating equal-weighted benchmarks without owning Magnificent 7 stocks. The manager argues passive investing has created market distortions where momentum trumps value. They maintain their concentrated approach in exceptional businesses with strong management and reinvestment opportunities. |
| Oct 1 2024 | 2023 Q4 | AMT, BN, CSGP, CSU.TO, KKR, MA, MCO, ORLY, ROP, V | financials, long-term, Quality, technology, value | - | Akre Focus Fund outperformed in Q4 2023 with 16.71% returns versus S&P 500's 11.69%, driven by quality holdings like Moody's, KKR, and Mastercard. The fund reduced cash to 3.4% while maintaining disciplined focus on business quality and valuation over market timing, positioning for long-term compounding despite inevitable periods of relative underperformance. |
| Oct 19 2023 | 2023 Q3 | ADBE, AMT, BN, CSGP, CSU.TO, DHR, KKR, MA, MCO, ORLY, ROP, TOI.TO, V | Concentration, financials, interest rates, Quality, real estate, technology, value | - | Akre Focus Fund declined 4.10% in Q3 as higher-for-longer rate concerns pressured real estate holdings despite strong underlying business quality. The concentrated portfolio of high-quality companies outperformed the equal-weighted S&P 500 while avoiding the Magnificent 7 AI stocks. Management maintains conviction in their quality-focused approach with 6.1% cash for opportunities. |
| Nov 7 2023 | 2023 Q2 | NVDA | - | - | |
| Apr 14 2023 | 2023 Q1 | - | - | - | |
| Jan 2 2022 | 2022 Q4 | - | - | - | |
| Oct 10 2022 | 2022 Q3 | - | - | - |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q1 |
AIManager discusses AI's disruptive potential on software and information services businesses, arguing their portfolio companies will benefit from AI tools without incurring massive infrastructure costs. Unlike past technology shifts, AI presents enhancement opportunities rather than disruption for high-quality incumbent software businesses. |
Software Disruption Technology Enhancement Infrastructure |
Private CreditExtensive analysis of private credit market concerns affecting portfolio valuations, particularly around direct lending and asset-based finance. Manager provides detailed context on market size, exposure levels, and systemic risk assessment compared to 2008 financial crisis. |
Direct Lending Asset-Based Finance BDC Systemic Risk Credit Quality | |
ValuationFund's primary valuation measure fell from 37x to 19x, marking lowest valuation since December 2018. Manager believes severe multiple contraction creates potential tailwind for medium-term returns as oversold valuations recover. |
Multiple Contraction Free Cash Flow Oversold Recovery Opportunity | |
| 2025 Q4 |
AIManager believes AI narrative around software disruption is overblown and that their software businesses will be enormous beneficiaries of AI. Views AI tools as largely commoditized while well-established software companies with customer intimacy and proprietary data will capture most value from AI adoption. |
Software Disruption Tools Data Incumbents |
QualityManager emphasizes quality businesses with durable competitive advantages, strong balance sheets, excellent returns on capital, and high profitability. Notes that quality has outperformed over long periods despite recent underperformance, with S&P 500 Quality Index returning 10.2% annually versus 8.2% for S&P 500 from 1998-2025. |
Competitive Advantages Balance Sheets Returns Profitability | |
ETFsFund successfully converted from mutual fund to ETF structure in October 2025. Manager describes smooth transition and explains their unorthodox approach to create/redeem baskets, using cash-only creates to maintain opportunistic deployment rather than pro-rata approaches typical of other ETFs. |
Structure Conversion Liquidity Baskets | |
| 2025 Q3 |
AIThe fund addresses concerns about AI disruption to vertical market software companies, particularly through AI-native competitors using large language models. However, they believe Constellation Software can navigate this technological shift due to customer intimacy and access to the same AI tools as competitors. |
Large Language Models Vertical Software Technology Disruption Customer Intimacy AI-native |
ETFsThe fund is converting from a mutual fund to an ETF structure to provide increased tax efficiency through redemption-in-kind transactions. This conversion addresses the built-in unrealized gains issue and positions shareholders on the right side of business evolution. |
Tax Efficiency Redemption-in-kind Unrealized Gains Structure Conversion Business Evolution | |
Vertical SoftwareThe fund emphasizes the resilience of vertical market software businesses like Constellation Software, which have deep customer relationships built over decades. These companies understand niche industry verticals and serve as trusted partners rather than technology providers. |
Customer Intimacy Niche Industries Software Vendors Trusted Partners Industry Verticals | |
| 2025 Q2 |
QualityThe manager emphasizes business quality as the key differentiator for long-term compounding, citing research showing high-quality businesses (measured by smaller drawdowns) compound positively over time while low-quality businesses generally do not. Quality businesses are distinguished by their ability to compound from pre-drawdown peaks, unlike lower quality names that may bounce higher but fail to sustain growth. |
Compounding Drawdowns Business Quality Long-term Valuation |
ValueThe manager distinguishes their compounding approach from traditional value investing, noting that value investors typically seek to buy $1 of intrinsic value for $0.60 and sell at $0.85-$0.90. While acknowledging value investing's merits, they believe this approach implies a commoditized view of businesses and emphasize that business quality is equally important as starting valuations for long-term compounding. |
Intrinsic Value Valuation Traditional Value Compounding Business Quality | |
| 2025 Q1 |
ValueThe fund emphasizes valuation discipline as a core investment principle, requiring mid-to-high-teens annualized returns under base-case scenarios and positive returns under low-case scenarios. They use the metaphor of Gravity's Rainbow to describe considering the full arc of valuation cycles, not just the rising half. This discipline often requires waiting years for appropriate entry points and significant price drops before deploying capital. |
Valuation Discipline Returns Patience Entry Points |
QualityThe fund focuses on exceptional businesses as the foundation of their investment approach. They seek to build a curated, concentrated, low-turnover portfolio comprised of exceptional businesses purchased well. The emphasis is on business quality combined with appropriate valuation rather than chasing momentum or growth at any price. |
Exceptional Businesses Concentrated Portfolio Low-turnover | |
| 2024 Q4 |
CompoundingThe manager emphasizes compounding as a distinct discipline requiring time, endurance, and proper expectations. They argue that financial innovation and abstraction through ETFs has shortened holding periods, undermining compounding potential. The fund focuses on identifying businesses capable of compounding capital at above-average rates for very long periods. |
Compounding Time Endurance Abstraction Holding Period |
ETFsThe manager views passive ETFs as abstractions that disconnect investors from specific businesses and encourage short holding periods. They note that ETF holding periods average just 2 months versus 8 years for individual stocks in the 1950s. This abstraction is seen as the enemy of compounding. |
ETFs Abstraction Passive Holding Period Generic Exposure | |
| 2024 Q3 |
CompoundingThe fund emphasizes long-term compounding over 15+ years, achieving 9.0x returns since inception despite various market disruptions. Manager believes compounding takes place over time periods long enough to include bad and scary things, which is a comforting thought for patient investors. |
Long-term Returns Patience Time Growth |
| 2024 Q2 |
Mega CapThe manager extensively discusses the unprecedented concentration in mega-cap stocks, particularly Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia with $3+ trillion market caps each. He questions whether these companies can continue compounding at historic rates given the law of large numbers, noting their combined value approaches 36% of US GDP under 15% annual growth assumptions. |
Concentration Valuation Size Growth GDP |
ValueThe fund explicitly avoids the mega-cap growth stocks driving index performance, instead focusing on what they consider exceptional businesses trading at more reasonable valuations. The manager positions this as advantageous when the market acts as a weighing machine over longer periods rather than a short-term voting machine. |
Undervalued Weighing Machine Exceptional Reasonable Long-term | |
| 2024 Q1 |
ETFsThe fund discusses the shift to passive index-replicating ETFs and mutual funds, questioning whether this trend has gone too far and whether the stock market is now broken. They argue that passive investing depends on active investors for price discovery and value judgments. |
Passive Index Momentum Value |
AIThe letter mentions the Magnificent 7 stocks being at the forefront of the AI revolution, noting these technology-based franchises have enormous competitive advantages. However, they caution about valuations being built past structural soundness. |
Technology Innovation Valuation | |
| 2023 Q4 |
QualityThe fund emphasizes investing in great businesses with quality standards and valuation discipline. They focus on business quality and value as primary drivers of investment decisions, maintaining these standards even when faced with compelling new themes that capture investor imagination. |
Quality Valuation Business |
PaymentsMastercard and Visa represent significant holdings at 14.0% and 7.0% respectively, making payments a core theme. Both companies were among the top contributors to performance during the quarter. |
Payments Fintech Digital | |
| 2023 Q3 |
AIThe second quarter narrative abruptly changed to bullishness on artificial intelligence, giving rise to the Magnificent 7 market darlings. These seven companies were largely responsible for the S&P 500's 13.07% year-to-date return through September, while the S&P 493 excluding them only returned 3.18%. |
Artificial Intelligence Magnificent 7 Technology Market Leadership Concentration |
Commercial Real EstateRising interest rates weighed on real estate-oriented holdings including American Tower, CoStar, and Brookfield Corp. Real estate can be especially susceptible to rising rates given typical dependence on financial leverage and cap-rate valuations. However, the manager believes their real estate businesses are demonstrably superior to typical real estate investments. |
Interest Rates REITs Leverage Cap Rates Office Properties | |
RatesThe third quarter narrative turned negative due to growing consensus that interest rates will be higher for longer with commensurately higher recession risk. Rising rates and spreads weigh on debt issuance volumes and act as gravity on equity valuations broadly. |
Federal Reserve Higher For Longer Recession Risk Debt Issuance Valuations |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 2026 | Fund Letters | Akre Focus Fund | CSU.TO | Constellation Software Inc. | Software - Application | Systems Software | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | AI Concerns, Canada, Free Cash Flow Growth, Mission-Critical, Software, valuation disconnect, Vertical Markets | Login |
| Mar 31, 2026 | Fund Letters | Akre Focus Fund | KKR | KKR & Co Inc. | Asset Management | Asset Management & Custody Banks | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Alternative Asset Manager, Asset Based Finance, AUM growth, Default Risk Analysis, Direct Lending, diversification, Private Credit | Login |
| Mar 31, 2026 | Fund Letters | Akre Focus Fund | BN | Brookfield Corporation | Asset Management | Asset Management & Custody Banks | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Alternative Asset Manager, Diversified Platform, infrastructure, Minimal Software Exposure, private equity, Real Estate, Renewable Power | Login |
| Oct 10, 2025 | Fund Letters | John Neff | CSU CN | Constellation Software Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bull | TSX | AI, compounding, growth, leadership, M&A, resilience, Software, valuation, Verticals | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| CSU.TO | Constellation Software, the stock, down 44.63% in US dollar terms. In stark contrast, Constellation Software, the business grew free cash flow per share more than 26% in 2025. To us, this deviation between plummeting valuation and strong fundamentals makes a better argument for Constellation shares being cheap than it does for a permanently impaired outlook. |
| KKR | KKR down 27.31% year-to-date through March 31 as concerns over private credit coupled with exposure to software businesses have risen. For KKR, total private credit represents 18% of total AUM as of December 31, 2025, of which 63% is asset-based finance (11% of total AUM) and 37% is direct lending. |
| BN | BN down 11.66% year-to-date through March 31 as concerns over private credit coupled with exposure to software businesses have risen. Brookfield has even less exposure to direct lending than KKR, likely in the 3% range of fee-paying AUM. |
| ORLY | O'Reilly Automotive was the only positive performance contributor during the first quarter. Nothing notable to call out. |
| CSGP | CoStar also experienced idiosyncratic pressure in the form of an increasingly public dispute between CoStar and two activist investors. |
| FICO | FICO experienced idiosyncratic pressure in the form of regulatory and competitive concerns. |
| LVMUY | In the rare instances where our companies are not performing well fundamentally (LVMH, Copart) we are building positions under what we see as temporary overhangs. |
| CPRT | In the rare instances where our companies are not performing well fundamentally (LVMH, Copart) we are building positions under what we see as temporary overhangs. |
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Bought | Shares Bought | % Change | Weight % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Recent Buys Data | |||||
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Sold | Shares Sold | % Change | Weight % | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Recent Sells Data | ||||||
| Industry | Prev Quarter % | Current Quarter % | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| No industry data available | |||
