Kovitz Core Equity

Investor Summary

Mitchell Kovitz leads the investment team as primary portfolio manager since the strategy's inception in December 1997, providing nearly three decades of consistent leadership and investment approach execution. Joel Hirsh joined as co-manager in 2006, bringing additional depth and experience to investment decision-making processes. The team was strengthened in 2024 with the addition of Matt Hayner, CFA, as co-manager, demonstrating the firm's commitment to maintaining investment talent continuity. The management team's long tenure and stability reflects deep institutional knowledge and consistent application of the value-oriented investment philosophy. This continuity in leadership has been instrumental in delivering the strategy's long-term performance track record and maintaining disciplined investment processes across different market environments.

Fund Strategy

The Kovitz Core Equity Strategy implements a private owner investment philosophy with a multi-year time horizon, emphasizing preservation of capital through disciplined value investing principles. The strategy seeks to achieve competitive risk-adjusted returns by purchasing equity securities of competitively advantaged and financially strong companies at prices substantially below their intrinsic value. The approach focuses on mid to large capitalization companies with sustainable competitive advantages, maintaining concentrated portfolios of 30-40 stocks with low turnover of 30-40%. The investment philosophy emphasizes thorough fundamental analysis, patient capital deployment, and extended holding periods rather than market timing or momentum strategies, believing superior long-term returns are achieved through careful security selection across multiple market cycles.

ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION	QUARTERLY	YTD
-	-	8.2%

2025
2.7%

Executive Summary

Kovitz Core Equity returned 2.7% in Q3 2025 versus 8.1% for the S&P 500, underperforming due to momentum-driven markets favoring AI-related stocks over their quality-focused approach. The portfolio has been increasingly tilted toward high-quality companies with strong fundamentals as a prudent strategy amid record market valuations and AI concentration risk. Information Technology now comprises 35% of large cap market weight, effectively converting the broader market into an AI wager. The manager sold Oracle after a 215% gain due to customer concentration risk, while adding healthcare positions including Alcon, Cooper Companies, Waters Corporation, and Ryan Specialty Holdings. They view current AI infrastructure spending projections as potentially unsustainable, requiring $2 trillion in annual AI revenue by 2030. In fixed income, they advocate for private credit given compressed traditional risk premiums. The manager maintains cautious optimism, emphasizing disciplined valuation-centric investing and comparing their approach to a veteran marathoner pacing strategically against momentum-driven competitors.

Forward Outlook

The manager maintains cautious optimism while acknowledging increased risk from AI-related market concentration and demanding valuations. They emphasize sticking to disciplined, valuation-centric investing principles focused on earnings growth and strong businesses at good prices, comparing their approach to a veteran marathoner pacing strategically against energetic momentum-driven runners.

Date	Letter	Tickers	Keywords	Pitches	Quick Takes
Oct 22 2025	2025 Q3	ADBE, ADI, ALC, AMD, AMZN, ANET, BDX, COO, FI, GOOGL, KMX, META, MSFT, ORCL, PM, PPG, RYAN, TMO, TSLA, WAT	AI, healthcare, infrastructure, momentum, private credit, Quality, technology	ORCL ALC COO RYAN WAT ORCL ALC COO RYAN WAT	Kovitz underperformed in Q3 as momentum investing dominated markets, with AI stocks driving the S&P 500's concentration to dangerous levels. The manager sold Oracle after 215% gains due to customer concentration risk and added quality healthcare names. They maintain disciplined value approach amid unsustainable AI infrastructure spending projections requiring $2 trillion annual revenue by 2030.
Jul 15 2025	2025 Q2	ADI, AHT.L, AMZN, BDX, DLTR, FI, FND, HAS, ICE, J, META, MSFT, MSI, ORCL, PM, SCHW, TMO, UMG.AS, V	Cloud, financials, healthcare, tariffs, technology, value	ORCL MSFT META BDX FI TMO ADI FND	Kovitz Core Equity lagged the S&P500 in Q2 due to Healthcare pressures and missed Technology rally following tariff postponement. The team actively deployed capital during volatility, adding to quality names trading at discounted valuations. Portfolio remains differentiated with strong long-term positioning despite near-term headwinds from sector allocation and market speculation favoring unprofitable companies.
Apr 21 2025	2025 Q1	ADBE, ADI, AMAT, AMD, AMZN, ANET, ASHTY, BDX, BRK-A, DEO, FI, GOOG, GOOGL, ICE, J, JPM, MSFT, PM, TMO, UMG.AS	AI, financials, Quality, Resilience, technology, Trade Policy, volatility	ADBE ASHTY MSFT	Kovitz outperformed in Q1 2025 despite market decline, benefiting from reduced AI exposure and strong Financials positioning. New administration's aggressive tariff policies create significant uncertainty, prompting portfolio rebalancing toward high-quality companies with strong balance sheets and competitive advantages. Focus on resilient businesses positioned to navigate volatility while trading at reasonable valuations.
Jan 21 2025	2024 Q4	AMAT, AMD, AMTM, AMZN, CRM, GOOG, GOOGL, LVS, NVDA, TMO, TSLA	AI, large cap, semiconductors, technology, US, value	AMZN CRM GOOGL AMTM AMD AMAT TMO LVS	Kovitz Core Equity delivered 19.9% returns in 2024 while maintaining disciplined value approach amid AI euphoria. Manager trimmed overvalued AI beneficiaries and rebalanced into diverse opportunities with strong earnings compounding potential. Portfolio positioned defensively against market concentration risk with underweight Technology, overweight Financials. Expects transition from FOMO-driven AI spending to focus on proven returns.
Oct 17 2024	2024 Q3	-	-	-	Kovitz Core Equity delivered 28.7% net returns, underperforming the S&P 500 but beating value indices. The strategy focuses on companies with competitive advantages trading below intrinsic value, generating 10.6% annualized returns since inception through disciplined value investing.
Jul 16 2024	2024 Q2	-	large cap, Quality, US, value	-	Kovitz Core Equity employs a value strategy targeting companies with competitive advantages and strong balance sheets trading below intrinsic value. The strategy has delivered 10.5% annualized returns since 1997 inception, with strong 2023 performance of 26.77% recovering from 2022's decline, demonstrating long-term value creation through disciplined fundamental analysis.
Apr 12 2024	2024 Q1	-	Equity, Performance, value	-	Kovitz Core Equity strategy focuses on undervalued companies with competitive advantages and strong balance sheets. Recent year performance of 28.2% net trailed the S&P 500 but beat value benchmarks. Long-term track record shows 10.6% annualized returns since inception through disciplined value investing approach.
Jan 16 2024	2023 Q4	-	large cap, Performance, Quality, US, value	-	Kovitz Core Equity delivered 26.77% net returns in 2023, matching the S&P 500 while significantly outperforming value indices. The strategy employs a private owner mentality to purchase quality companies with durable competitive advantages trading at discounts to intrinsic value, targeting long-term total return maximization through disciplined value investing principles.
Oct 17 2023	2023 Q3	AXP, BX, DEO, DIS, EXPE, HAS, KEYS, KMX, PM, SPLK	credit, Economic Resilience, inflation, interest rates, long-term, Portfolio Management, value	AXP DEO ADI\|BDX\|FI\|FND\|HAS\|META\|MSFT\|MSI\|ORCL\|TMO KEYS 0PMJ LN	Kovitz outperformed in Q3 despite market decline, maintaining strong YTD returns. Economic resilience continues despite aggressive Fed tightening, though commercial real estate and China risks loom. Portfolio focused on quality companies at attractive valuations, with additions to American Express, Diageo, and others while exiting Disney and Blackstone. Higher rate environment expected to favor active value investing approach.
Jul 17 2023	2023 Q2	AAPL, DEO, DLTR, GDDY, JPM, KEYS, MSI, SCHW	Banking, Beverages, long-term, Quality, retail, technology, value	DEO SCHW DLTR	Kovitz posted solid Q2 returns of 8.4% net, adding Diageo and increasing positions in Schwab, Dollar Tree, and Keysight while trimming overvalued holdings. The firm maintains its disciplined value approach, seeking quality companies with competitive advantages at attractive prices, emphasizing long-term perspective over short-term market concerns including banking sector stress and debt ceiling drama.
Apr 18 2023	2023 Q1	ANET, AXP, GOOGL, J, KEYS, LVS, META, PM, PPG, PWR, V	AI, Banking, compounders, long-term, Quality, value	^VIX PPG AXP 0JZ0 LN KEYS 0PMJ LN	Kovitz delivered strong Q1 returns while navigating banking sector volatility and making strategic portfolio adjustments. The firm reduced AI-threatened positions like Alphabet, trimmed appreciated holdings, and increased exposure to quality compounders trading at attractive valuations. Their focus remains on businesses with durable competitive advantages and high returns on capital for long-term wealth creation.
Jan 1 2023	2022 Q4	AMZN, CHTR, KMX, LOW, LVS, MSI	-	-
Oct 17 2022	2022 Q3	ADI, BKNG, J, JPM, KMX, NTRS, PWR	-	-
Jul 21 2022	2022 Q2	ADI, ANET, C, CHTR, CVET, DLTR, ICE, KMX, PCAR, PWR	-	-
Apr 15 2022	2022 Q1	HAYW, J, SPOT	-	-

Date

Letter

Tickers

Keywords

Pitches

Quick Takes

Oct 22 2025

2025 Q3

ADBE, ADI, ALC, AMD, AMZN, ANET, BDX, COO, FI, GOOGL, KMX, META, MSFT, ORCL, PM, PPG, RYAN, TMO, TSLA, WAT

AI, healthcare, infrastructure, momentum, private credit, Quality, technology

ORCL
ALC
COO
RYAN
WAT
ORCL
ALC
COO
RYAN
WAT

Kovitz underperformed in Q3 as momentum investing dominated markets, with AI stocks driving the S&P 500's concentration to dangerous levels. The manager sold Oracle after 215% gains due to customer concentration risk and added quality healthcare names. They maintain disciplined value approach amid unsustainable AI infrastructure spending projections requiring $2 trillion annual revenue by 2030.

Jul 15 2025

2025 Q2

ADI, AHT.L, AMZN, BDX, DLTR, FI, FND, HAS, ICE, J, META, MSFT, MSI, ORCL, PM, SCHW, TMO, UMG.AS, V

Cloud, financials, healthcare, tariffs, technology, value

ORCL
MSFT
META
BDX
FI
TMO
ADI
FND

Kovitz Core Equity lagged the S&P500 in Q2 due to Healthcare pressures and missed Technology rally following tariff postponement. The team actively deployed capital during volatility, adding to quality names trading at discounted valuations. Portfolio remains differentiated with strong long-term positioning despite near-term headwinds from sector allocation and market speculation favoring unprofitable companies.

Apr 21 2025

2025 Q1

ADBE, ADI, AMAT, AMD, AMZN, ANET, ASHTY, BDX, BRK-A, DEO, FI, GOOG, GOOGL, ICE, J, JPM, MSFT, PM, TMO, UMG.AS

AI, financials, Quality, Resilience, technology, Trade Policy, volatility

ADBE
ASHTY
MSFT

Kovitz outperformed in Q1 2025 despite market decline, benefiting from reduced AI exposure and strong Financials positioning. New administration's aggressive tariff policies create significant uncertainty, prompting portfolio rebalancing toward high-quality companies with strong balance sheets and competitive advantages. Focus on resilient businesses positioned to navigate volatility while trading at reasonable valuations.

Jan 21 2025

2024 Q4

AMAT, AMD, AMTM, AMZN, CRM, GOOG, GOOGL, LVS, NVDA, TMO, TSLA

AI, large cap, semiconductors, technology, US, value

AMZN
CRM
GOOGL
AMTM
AMD
AMAT
TMO
LVS

Kovitz Core Equity delivered 19.9% returns in 2024 while maintaining disciplined value approach amid AI euphoria. Manager trimmed overvalued AI beneficiaries and rebalanced into diverse opportunities with strong earnings compounding potential. Portfolio positioned defensively against market concentration risk with underweight Technology, overweight Financials. Expects transition from FOMO-driven AI spending to focus on proven returns.

Oct 17 2024

2024 Q3

Kovitz Core Equity delivered 28.7% net returns, underperforming the S&P 500 but beating value indices. The strategy focuses on companies with competitive advantages trading below intrinsic value, generating 10.6% annualized returns since inception through disciplined value investing.

Jul 16 2024

2024 Q2

large cap, Quality, US, value

Kovitz Core Equity employs a value strategy targeting companies with competitive advantages and strong balance sheets trading below intrinsic value. The strategy has delivered 10.5% annualized returns since 1997 inception, with strong 2023 performance of 26.77% recovering from 2022's decline, demonstrating long-term value creation through disciplined fundamental analysis.

Apr 12 2024

2024 Q1

Equity, Performance, value

Kovitz Core Equity strategy focuses on undervalued companies with competitive advantages and strong balance sheets. Recent year performance of 28.2% net trailed the S&P 500 but beat value benchmarks. Long-term track record shows 10.6% annualized returns since inception through disciplined value investing approach.

Jan 16 2024

2023 Q4

large cap, Performance, Quality, US, value

Kovitz Core Equity delivered 26.77% net returns in 2023, matching the S&P 500 while significantly outperforming value indices. The strategy employs a private owner mentality to purchase quality companies with durable competitive advantages trading at discounts to intrinsic value, targeting long-term total return maximization through disciplined value investing principles.

Oct 17 2023

2023 Q3

AXP, BX, DEO, DIS, EXPE, HAS, KEYS, KMX, PM, SPLK

credit, Economic Resilience, inflation, interest rates, long-term, Portfolio Management, value

AXP
DEO
ADI|BDX|FI|FND|HAS|META|MSFT|MSI|ORCL|TMO
KEYS
0PMJ LN

Kovitz outperformed in Q3 despite market decline, maintaining strong YTD returns. Economic resilience continues despite aggressive Fed tightening, though commercial real estate and China risks loom. Portfolio focused on quality companies at attractive valuations, with additions to American Express, Diageo, and others while exiting Disney and Blackstone. Higher rate environment expected to favor active value investing approach.

Jul 17 2023

2023 Q2

AAPL, DEO, DLTR, GDDY, JPM, KEYS, MSI, SCHW

Banking, Beverages, long-term, Quality, retail, technology, value

DEO
SCHW
DLTR

Kovitz posted solid Q2 returns of 8.4% net, adding Diageo and increasing positions in Schwab, Dollar Tree, and Keysight while trimming overvalued holdings. The firm maintains its disciplined value approach, seeking quality companies with competitive advantages at attractive prices, emphasizing long-term perspective over short-term market concerns including banking sector stress and debt ceiling drama.

Apr 18 2023

2023 Q1

ANET, AXP, GOOGL, J, KEYS, LVS, META, PM, PPG, PWR, V

AI, Banking, compounders, long-term, Quality, value

^VIX
PPG
AXP
0JZ0 LN
KEYS
0PMJ LN

Kovitz delivered strong Q1 returns while navigating banking sector volatility and making strategic portfolio adjustments. The firm reduced AI-threatened positions like Alphabet, trimmed appreciated holdings, and increased exposure to quality compounders trading at attractive valuations. Their focus remains on businesses with durable competitive advantages and high returns on capital for long-term wealth creation.

Jan 1 2023

2022 Q4

AMZN, CHTR, KMX, LOW, LVS, MSI

Oct 17 2022

2022 Q3

ADI, BKNG, J, JPM, KMX, NTRS, PWR

Jul 21 2022

2022 Q2

ADI, ANET, C, CHTR, CVET, DLTR, ICE, KMX, PCAR, PWR

Apr 15 2022

2022 Q1

HAYW, J, SPOT

QUARTER	THEMES	TAGS
2025 Q3	AI The letter extensively discusses AI infrastructure investment with $2.9 trillion projected spending on data centers over three years. Companies like OpenAI have made over $1 trillion in multi-year commitments despite limited current revenue. The AI theme dominates market performance with Information Technology comprising 35% of large cap market weight.	Data Centers Cloud Infrastructure Spending Semiconductors Enterprise Software
	Momentum Momentum investing dominated Q3 2025 markets, with high-momentum stocks significantly outperforming quality stocks. The letter notes this dynamic worked against their quality-focused portfolio approach, as trend followers and headline makers drove market performance rather than fundamental analysis.	Growth Risk Appetite Earnings Quality Value
	Quality The portfolio has been increasingly tilted toward high-quality stocks with above-average profit margins, high returns on capital, and low debt ratios. New purchases like Microsoft, Adobe, Waters, and Alcon exemplify this approach as a prudent strategy amid high market valuations and uncertainty.	Value Earnings Risk Appetite Dividends Buybacks
	Private Credit Private credit offers attractive illiquidity premiums when traditional risk premiums have compressed. Private corporate loan yields consistently exceed public counterparts, with the spread remaining stable even as other premiums narrowed, potentially compounding to 50% higher total returns over a decade.	Credit Stress Capital Markets Rates Liquidity Alternative Asset Managers
2025 Q2	AI AI sentiment turned negative in Q1 but quickly positive in Q2, with Information Technology sector accounting for 65% of S&P500 returns. The AI theme continues to drive significant market volatility and performance.	Technology Information Technology Sentiment
	Trade Policy President's Liberation Day tariff announcement on April 2nd caused 11% market drop, followed by 25% rally after 90-day postponement. Base-level tariffs of 10% remain with continued uncertainty about reciprocal tariffs with China.	Tariffs China Trade Policy
	Cloud Oracle demonstrates strong cloud infrastructure scaling with contracted backlog growth of 41% in FY25, expected to double in FY26. Microsoft shows Azure revenue acceleration as capital expenditures shift to monetizable servers.	Infrastructure Revenue Growth Capital Expenditures
	Financials Portfolio's overweight position in Financials sector contributed to outperformance over the last year. Charles Schwab performing exceptionally well with 24% YTD return as asset gathering gains momentum and TD Ameritrade integration disruptions subside.	Asset Gathering Integration Performance
2025 Q1	Trade Policy New administration's tariff policies creating significant uncertainty with rates of 145% on China and potential decoupling of the two largest global economies. Policy fluidity makes forecasting business fundamentals nearly impossible, causing business leaders and consumers to freeze economic decisions.	Tariffs China Uncertainty Policy Decoupling
	AI Optimism over AI infrastructure buildout waned in Q1 2025, with Magnificent 7 technology stocks declining 14.8%. Manager previously reduced exposure to AI-themed stocks due to perceived excessive enthusiasm and fear-of-missing-out dynamics.	Infrastructure Technology Buildout Enthusiasm Exposure
	Resilience Portfolio rebalanced toward companies with strong investment-grade balance sheets, diverse recurring revenue models, and lower reliance on economic cycles. Focus on businesses positioned to emerge stronger from increased volatility with good competitive advantages.	Balance Sheets Recurring Revenue Competitive Advantages Quality Stability
2024 Q4	AI AI enthusiasm is driving massive capital spending by hyperscale cloud providers, with semiconductor stocks returning 76% in 2024. However, the manager notes that investments are being made before returns are proven, creating potential risk if reality doesn't match expectations. The portfolio includes AI-exposed holdings like AMD, Arista Networks, and Applied Materials.	Semiconductors Cloud Data Centers GPUs Infrastructure
	Semiconductors The semiconductor industry was the leading performer in 2024 with 76% returns, driven by AI infrastructure demand. The manager initiated positions in AMD and Applied Materials while noting concerns about overinvestment relative to proven returns. AI accelerator chips are expected to add hundreds of billions in industry revenues.	AI GPUs Memory Equipment Foundries
	Value The manager follows a value-oriented approach, trimming holdings that appreciated strongly and experienced valuation multiple expansion beyond reasonable base case scenarios. They rebalanced the portfolio in the second half of 2024, focusing on companies where earnings compounding probability was strong and stock prices were opportunistic relative to value estimates.	Valuation Intrinsic Value Discount Compounding Risk-Reward
2023 Q3	Rates Federal Reserve raised rates from 0.00%-0.25% to 5.25%-5.50% over 14 months in the fastest tightening cycle in history. Long-term bond yields surged with 10-year Treasury rising from 3.8% to 4.6%. Higher rates creating challenges for borrowers but opportunities for bond investors with real returns now exceeding 2%.	Federal Reserve Interest Rates Monetary Policy Bond Yields Tightening
	Inflation Consumer Price Index fell to 3.0% year-over-year in June before ticking up slightly. Core PCE fell to 3.9% versus prior year, with latest annualized quarter-over-quarter figure at 2.2% - effectively at Fed's target. Declining inflation supportive of Fed's moderation in rate policy.	CPI Core PCE Disinflation Price Stability Fed Target
	Resilience US economy showing surprising resilience despite aggressive Fed rate increases. Real GDP growth came in at solid 2.4% for Q2 with Atlanta Fed forecasting robust 4.8% for Q3. Unemployment remains low at 3.8%, well below long-term averages, defying expectations of economic downturn.	GDP Growth Employment Economic Strength Consumer Spending Recession Avoidance
	Credit Stress Concerns emerging around commercial real estate loans with $1.5 trillion needing refinancing by end of 2025 at significantly higher rates. Early signs of credit stress appearing though consumer and corporate balance sheets remain relatively strong from low-rate refinancing during COVID era.	Commercial Real Estate Refinancing Credit Risk Balance Sheets Debt Service
2023 Q2	Value Kovitz emphasizes investing like a private owner with dual focus on business quality and margin of safety. The firm seeks companies with sustainable competitive advantages available at attractive valuations, waiting for the valuation gap between perception and reality to close over time.	Valuation Quality Margin of Safety Private Owner Competitive Advantages
	Alcohol Diageo represents a global leader in alcoholic beverages with premium brand portfolio including Johnnie Walker, Guinness, and Tanqueray. Spirits are gaining market share globally while premium products outperform, with the business showing resilience to economic cycles.	Spirits Premium Global Resilient Market Share
	Regional Banks Charles Schwab faced banking sector concerns but differs significantly from failed regional banks. The firm has diversified deposits across 34 million accounts, strong liquidity position, and operates as wealth management platform rather than traditional bank.	Banking Crisis Liquidity Deposits Wealth Management Diversified
	Discount Retail Dollar Tree shows turnaround potential under new leadership team led by former Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling. The company has outstanding merchandising organization and multiple moats against e-commerce with potential for both store growth and comparable sales increases.	Turnaround Leadership Merchandising E-commerce Moats Growth
2023 Q1	AI Rapid innovation in AI, particularly Microsoft's partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to enhance Bing's search capabilities, is creating intensifying competition in search. This may lead to a period of change in how people interact with search and the Internet, potentially affecting Alphabet's dominant position.	Search Competition Innovation Technology Microsoft
	Banking Silicon Valley Bank's failure highlighted interest rate risk and liquidity management issues in regional banking. The crisis was contained but demonstrated how rapidly events can unfold in modern markets and the importance of proper asset-liability matching.	Regional Banks Interest Rate Risk Liquidity Crisis Regulation
	Compounders Focus on companies with durable competitive advantages that can reinvest earnings at high returns year after year. Visa exemplifies this with its network effect, high margins, and ability to compound returns through its payment processing platform.	Network Effect High Returns Competitive Advantage Reinvestment Quality

QUARTER

THEMES

AI

The letter extensively discusses AI infrastructure investment with $2.9 trillion projected spending on data centers over three years. Companies like OpenAI have made over $1 trillion in multi-year commitments despite limited current revenue. The AI theme dominates market performance with Information Technology comprising 35% of large cap market weight.

Data Centers Cloud Infrastructure Spending Semiconductors Enterprise Software

Momentum

Momentum investing dominated Q3 2025 markets, with high-momentum stocks significantly outperforming quality stocks. The letter notes this dynamic worked against their quality-focused portfolio approach, as trend followers and headline makers drove market performance rather than fundamental analysis.

Growth Risk Appetite Earnings Quality Value

Quality

The portfolio has been increasingly tilted toward high-quality stocks with above-average profit margins, high returns on capital, and low debt ratios. New purchases like Microsoft, Adobe, Waters, and Alcon exemplify this approach as a prudent strategy amid high market valuations and uncertainty.

Value Earnings Risk Appetite Dividends Buybacks

Private Credit

Private credit offers attractive illiquidity premiums when traditional risk premiums have compressed. Private corporate loan yields consistently exceed public counterparts, with the spread remaining stable even as other premiums narrowed, potentially compounding to 50% higher total returns over a decade.

Credit Stress Capital Markets Rates Liquidity Alternative Asset Managers

2025 Q2

AI

AI sentiment turned negative in Q1 but quickly positive in Q2, with Information Technology sector accounting for 65% of S&P500 returns. The AI theme continues to drive significant market volatility and performance.

Technology Information Technology Sentiment

Trade Policy

President's Liberation Day tariff announcement on April 2nd caused 11% market drop, followed by 25% rally after 90-day postponement. Base-level tariffs of 10% remain with continued uncertainty about reciprocal tariffs with China.

Tariffs China Trade Policy

Cloud

Oracle demonstrates strong cloud infrastructure scaling with contracted backlog growth of 41% in FY25, expected to double in FY26. Microsoft shows Azure revenue acceleration as capital expenditures shift to monetizable servers.

Infrastructure Revenue Growth Capital Expenditures

Financials

Portfolio's overweight position in Financials sector contributed to outperformance over the last year. Charles Schwab performing exceptionally well with 24% YTD return as asset gathering gains momentum and TD Ameritrade integration disruptions subside.

Asset Gathering Integration Performance

2025 Q1

Trade Policy

New administration's tariff policies creating significant uncertainty with rates of 145% on China and potential decoupling of the two largest global economies. Policy fluidity makes forecasting business fundamentals nearly impossible, causing business leaders and consumers to freeze economic decisions.

Tariffs China Uncertainty Policy Decoupling

AI

Optimism over AI infrastructure buildout waned in Q1 2025, with Magnificent 7 technology stocks declining 14.8%. Manager previously reduced exposure to AI-themed stocks due to perceived excessive enthusiasm and fear-of-missing-out dynamics.

Infrastructure Technology Buildout Enthusiasm Exposure

Resilience

Portfolio rebalanced toward companies with strong investment-grade balance sheets, diverse recurring revenue models, and lower reliance on economic cycles. Focus on businesses positioned to emerge stronger from increased volatility with good competitive advantages.

Balance Sheets Recurring Revenue Competitive Advantages Quality Stability

2024 Q4

AI

AI enthusiasm is driving massive capital spending by hyperscale cloud providers, with semiconductor stocks returning 76% in 2024. However, the manager notes that investments are being made before returns are proven, creating potential risk if reality doesn't match expectations. The portfolio includes AI-exposed holdings like AMD, Arista Networks, and Applied Materials.

Semiconductors Cloud Data Centers GPUs Infrastructure

Semiconductors

The semiconductor industry was the leading performer in 2024 with 76% returns, driven by AI infrastructure demand. The manager initiated positions in AMD and Applied Materials while noting concerns about overinvestment relative to proven returns. AI accelerator chips are expected to add hundreds of billions in industry revenues.

AI GPUs Memory Equipment Foundries

Value

The manager follows a value-oriented approach, trimming holdings that appreciated strongly and experienced valuation multiple expansion beyond reasonable base case scenarios. They rebalanced the portfolio in the second half of 2024, focusing on companies where earnings compounding probability was strong and stock prices were opportunistic relative to value estimates.

Valuation Intrinsic Value Discount Compounding Risk-Reward

2023 Q3

Rates

Federal Reserve raised rates from 0.00%-0.25% to 5.25%-5.50% over 14 months in the fastest tightening cycle in history. Long-term bond yields surged with 10-year Treasury rising from 3.8% to 4.6%. Higher rates creating challenges for borrowers but opportunities for bond investors with real returns now exceeding 2%.

Federal Reserve Interest Rates Monetary Policy Bond Yields Tightening

Inflation

Consumer Price Index fell to 3.0% year-over-year in June before ticking up slightly. Core PCE fell to 3.9% versus prior year, with latest annualized quarter-over-quarter figure at 2.2% - effectively at Fed's target. Declining inflation supportive of Fed's moderation in rate policy.

CPI Core PCE Disinflation Price Stability Fed Target

Resilience

US economy showing surprising resilience despite aggressive Fed rate increases. Real GDP growth came in at solid 2.4% for Q2 with Atlanta Fed forecasting robust 4.8% for Q3. Unemployment remains low at 3.8%, well below long-term averages, defying expectations of economic downturn.

GDP Growth Employment Economic Strength Consumer Spending Recession Avoidance

Credit Stress

Concerns emerging around commercial real estate loans with $1.5 trillion needing refinancing by end of 2025 at significantly higher rates. Early signs of credit stress appearing though consumer and corporate balance sheets remain relatively strong from low-rate refinancing during COVID era.

Commercial Real Estate Refinancing Credit Risk Balance Sheets Debt Service

2023 Q2

Value

Kovitz emphasizes investing like a private owner with dual focus on business quality and margin of safety. The firm seeks companies with sustainable competitive advantages available at attractive valuations, waiting for the valuation gap between perception and reality to close over time.

Valuation Quality Margin of Safety Private Owner Competitive Advantages

Alcohol

Diageo represents a global leader in alcoholic beverages with premium brand portfolio including Johnnie Walker, Guinness, and Tanqueray. Spirits are gaining market share globally while premium products outperform, with the business showing resilience to economic cycles.

Spirits Premium Global Resilient Market Share

Regional Banks

Charles Schwab faced banking sector concerns but differs significantly from failed regional banks. The firm has diversified deposits across 34 million accounts, strong liquidity position, and operates as wealth management platform rather than traditional bank.

Banking Crisis Liquidity Deposits Wealth Management Diversified

Discount Retail

Dollar Tree shows turnaround potential under new leadership team led by former Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling. The company has outstanding merchandising organization and multiple moats against e-commerce with potential for both store growth and comparable sales increases.

Turnaround Leadership Merchandising E-commerce Moats Growth

2023 Q1

AI

Rapid innovation in AI, particularly Microsoft's partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to enhance Bing's search capabilities, is creating intensifying competition in search. This may lead to a period of change in how people interact with search and the Internet, potentially affecting Alphabet's dominant position.

Search Competition Innovation Technology Microsoft

Banking

Silicon Valley Bank's failure highlighted interest rate risk and liquidity management issues in regional banking. The crisis was contained but demonstrated how rapidly events can unfold in modern markets and the importance of proper asset-liability matching.

Regional Banks Interest Rate Risk Liquidity Crisis Regulation

Compounders

Focus on companies with durable competitive advantages that can reinvest earnings at high returns year after year. Visa exemplifies this with its network effect, high margins, and ability to compound returns through its payment processing platform.

Network Effect High Returns Competitive Advantage Reinvestment Quality

Date	Pitch Type	Author	Ticker	Company	Industry	Sub Industry	Bull / Bear	Exchange	Keywords	Action
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	WAT	Waters Corporation	Health Care	Life Sciences Tools & Services	Bull	NYSE	acquisition, Analytical instruments, Biotech, diagnostics, EPS growth, recurring revenue, synergy	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	ALC	Alcon Inc.	Health Care	Health Care Equipment	Bull	Swiss Exchange	Demographics, growth, innovation, lenses, Ophthalmology, Procedures, R&D	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	COO	Cooper Companies Inc.	Health Care	Health Care Supplies	Bull	NYSE	cashflow, Contacts, healthcare, lenses, Margins, oligopoly, valuation	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	RYAN	Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc.	Financials	Insurance Brokers	Bull	NYSE	Cyclicality, growth, Insurance, Margins, specialty, underwriting, valuation	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	WAT	Waters Corporation	Health Care	Life Sciences Tools & Services	Bull	NYSE	acquisition, Analytical instruments, Biotech, diagnostics, EPS growth, recurring revenue, synergy	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	ORCL	Oracle Corporation	Information Technology	System Software	Bear	NYSE	AI, backlog, cloud, concentration risk, Contracts, risk management, valuation	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	ALC	Alcon Inc.	Health Care	Health Care Equipment	Bull	Swiss Exchange	Demographics, growth, innovation, lenses, Ophthalmology, Procedures, R&D	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	ORCL	Oracle Corporation	Information Technology	System Software	Bear	NYSE	AI, backlog, cloud, concentration risk, Contracts, risk management, valuation	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	COO	Cooper Companies Inc.	Health Care	Health Care Supplies	Bull	NYSE	cashflow, Contacts, healthcare, lenses, Margins, oligopoly, valuation	Login
Oct 22, 2025	Fund Letters	Matt Hayner	RYAN	Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc.	Financials	Insurance Brokers	Bull	NYSE	Cyclicality, growth, Insurance, Margins, specialty, underwriting, valuation	Login
Jun 30, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	META	Meta Platforms Inc	Interactive Media & Services	Interactive Media & Services	Bull	NASDAQ	AI, digital advertising, e-commerce, growth, social media, technology	Login
Jun 30, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	BDX	Becton Dickinson and Company	Health Care Equipment & Supplies	Health Care Equipment	Bull	NYSE	defensive, Demographics, healthcare, Medical devices, recurring revenue, Value	Login
Jun 30, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	ORCL	Oracle Corporation	Software	Systems Software	Bull	NASDAQ	cloud infrastructure, Database, Enterprise software, growth, SaaS, technology	Login
Jun 30, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	FND	Floor & Decor Holdings Inc	Specialty Retail	Home Improvement Retail	Bull	NYSE	Cyclical, Flooring, home improvement, professional services, retail, supply chain	Login
Jun 30, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	MSFT	Microsoft Corporation	Software	Systems Software	Bull	NASDAQ	Azure, cloud infrastructure, Enterprise software, growth, SaaS, technology	Login
Jun 30, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	ADI	Analog Devices Inc	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Semiconductors	Bull	NASDAQ	Analog, automotive, engineering, Industrial, semiconductors, technology, Value	Login
Jun 30, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	FI	Fiserv Inc	Financial Services	Data Processing & Outsourced Services	Bull	NASDAQ	financial services, Fintech, growth, payment processing, SaaS, Value	Login
Jun 30, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	TMO	Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc	Life Sciences Tools & Services	Life Sciences Tools & Services	Bull	NYSE	biotechnology, healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, Research Tools, Value	Login
Mar 31, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	MSFT	Microsoft Corporation	Software	Systems Software	Bull	NASDAQ	AI, capital expenditure, cloud infrastructure, datacenters, Enterprise software, productivity software, ROIC	Login
Mar 31, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	ADBE	Adobe Inc.	Software	Application Software	Bull	NASDAQ	AI, creative software, Design Tools, digital marketing, SaaS, Share Buybacks, subscription model	Login
Mar 31, 2025	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	ASHTY	Ashtead Group plc	Capital Goods	Trading Companies & Distributors	Bull	LSE	construction, Cyclical, Equipment Rental, market share, Reshoring, Sunbelt, US Housing	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	AMD	Advanced Micro Devices Inc	Information Technology	Semiconductors	Bull	NASDAQ	AI accelerators, data center, Fabless Design, Gpu, high-performance computing, market share gains, NVIDIA Alternative, semiconductors	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	CRM	Salesforce Inc	Information Technology	Application Software	Bull	NYSE	AI agents, Autonomous AI, competitive moat, CRM Software, Enterprise software, margin expansion, SaaS	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	AXP	American Express Company	Financials	Consumer Finance	Bull	NYSE	consumer finance, credit cards, Gen Z, Millennials, Premium Brand, Recession-Resilient, returns on equity, Travel Recovery, Value	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	AXP	American Express	Financials	Consumer Finance	Bull	NYSE	Affluent Customers, consumer finance, credit cards, defensive, financial services, Premium Brand, ROE, Value	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	0JZ0 LN	Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.	Industrials	Construction & Engineering	Bull	NYSE	backlog, biotechnology, Engineering services, Government Spending, higher margins, infrastructure, organic growth, semiconductors	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	AMAT	Applied Materials Inc	Information Technology	Semiconductor Equipment	Bull	NASDAQ	AI demand, China exposure, Chip Manufacturing, Complex Architectures, Cyclical Recovery, Reshoring, semiconductor equipment, services revenue	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	DEO	Diageo	Consumer Staples	Distillers & Vintners	Bull	NYSE	consumer staples, Global, inventory management, margin expansion, market share, premium brands, Spirits, Value	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	0PMJ LN	Philip Morris International	Consumer Staples	Tobacco	Bull	NYSE	dividend yield, Heat Not Burn, IQOS, Reduced-Risk Products, Swedish Match, Tobacco Transformation, US launch, ZYN	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	KEYS	Keysight Technologies Inc.	Information Technology	Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components	Bull	NYSE	5G, automotive, IoT, margin expansion, R&D, Scale Advantages, secular growth, semiconductors, Software, Test Equipment	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	0PMJ LN	Philip Morris International Inc.	Consumer Staples	Tobacco	Bull	NYSE	brand loyalty, Industry Transformation, IQOS, organic growth, Reduced-Risk Products, Swedish Match, tobacco, US Expansion, Zyn Pouches	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	TMO	Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc	Health Care	Life Sciences Tools & Services	Bull	NYSE	biotechnology, China risk, Defensive growth, healthcare innovation, Lab Equipment, Life Sciences Tools, Pharmaceutical, R&D Services	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	DEO	Diageo	Consumer Staples	Distillers & Vintners	Bull	NYSE	consumer staples, defensive, Global, market share gains, premium brands, Recession-resistant, Resource Scarcity, Spirits	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	LVS	Las Vegas Sands Corp	Consumer Discretionary	Casinos & Gaming	Neutral	NYSE	China recovery, COVID Recovery, Gaming, Macao, Premium Mass, risk management, Stimulus, Tourism	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	SCHW	Charles Schwab	Financials	Investment Banking & Brokerage	Bull	NYSE	Banking Crisis Recovery, Brokerage, Custodial Services, FDIC Insured, Flywheel Effect, Liquidity, Net New Assets, wealth management	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	AMTM	Amentum Holdings Inc	Industrials	Research & Consulting Services	Neutral	NYSE	Defense Services, DOGE, Engineering services, Government Contractor, Government Spending, Policy Uncertainty, political risk	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	DLTR	Dollar Tree	Consumer Discretionary	General Merchandise Stores	Bull	NASDAQ	defensive, discount retail, E-commerce Moats, Family Dollar, Management Change, Share Buybacks, Store growth, turnaround	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	GOOGL	Alphabet Inc Class A	Communication Services	Interactive Media & Services	Bull	NASDAQ	AI Overviews, Cloud computing, Diversified Platform, innovation, Quantum Computing, search engine, technology leadership	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	ADI\|BDX\|FI\|FND\|HAS\|META\|MSFT\|MSI\|ORCL\|TMO	Hasbro	Consumer Discretionary	Leisure Products	Bull	NASDAQ	brand portfolio, Games, IP monetization, Magic The Gathering, margin expansion, new management, Toys, turnaround	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	AMZN	Amazon.com Inc	Consumer Discretionary	Internet & Direct Marketing Retail	Bull	NASDAQ	advertising, AI infrastructure, AWS, Cloud computing, e-commerce, margin expansion, technology platform	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	KEYS	Keysight Technologies	Information Technology	Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components	Bull	NYSE	China exposure, competitive moat, Cyclical, secular growth, Semiconductor Testing, technology, Test Equipment	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	^VIX	Visa Inc.	Information Technology	Data Processing & Outsourced Services	Bull	NYSE	Compounders, digital payments, Fintech, high margins, infrastructure, network effects, secular growth, Transaction Processing, Two-sided Platform	Login
-	Fund Letters	Kovitz Core Equity	PPG	PPG Industries Inc.	Materials	Specialty Chemicals	Bull	NYSE	Aerospace, China recovery, Coatings, Cyclical Recovery, Electric Vehicles, infrastructure, margin expansion, specialty chemicals, Technology leader	Login

Date

Pitch Type

Author

Ticker

Company

Industry

Sub Industry

Bull / Bear

Exchange

Keywords

Action

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

WAT

Waters Corporation

Health Care

Life Sciences Tools & Services

Bull

NYSE

acquisition, Analytical instruments, Biotech, diagnostics, EPS growth, recurring revenue, synergy

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

ALC

Alcon Inc.

Health Care

Health Care Equipment

Bull

Swiss Exchange

Demographics, growth, innovation, lenses, Ophthalmology, Procedures, R&D

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

COO

Cooper Companies Inc.

Health Care

Health Care Supplies

Bull

NYSE

cashflow, Contacts, healthcare, lenses, Margins, oligopoly, valuation

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

RYAN

Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc.

Financials

Insurance Brokers

Bull

NYSE

Cyclicality, growth, Insurance, Margins, specialty, underwriting, valuation

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

WAT

Waters Corporation

Health Care

Life Sciences Tools & Services

Bull

NYSE

acquisition, Analytical instruments, Biotech, diagnostics, EPS growth, recurring revenue, synergy

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

ORCL

Oracle Corporation

Information Technology

System Software

Bear

NYSE

AI, backlog, cloud, concentration risk, Contracts, risk management, valuation

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

ALC

Alcon Inc.

Health Care

Health Care Equipment

Bull

Swiss Exchange

Demographics, growth, innovation, lenses, Ophthalmology, Procedures, R&D

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

ORCL

Oracle Corporation

Information Technology

System Software

Bear

NYSE

AI, backlog, cloud, concentration risk, Contracts, risk management, valuation

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

COO

Cooper Companies Inc.

Health Care

Health Care Supplies

Bull

NYSE

cashflow, Contacts, healthcare, lenses, Margins, oligopoly, valuation

Oct 22, 2025

Fund Letters

Matt Hayner

RYAN

Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc.

Financials

Insurance Brokers

Bull

NYSE

Cyclicality, growth, Insurance, Margins, specialty, underwriting, valuation

Jun 30, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

META

Meta Platforms Inc

Interactive Media & Services

Bull

NASDAQ

AI, digital advertising, e-commerce, growth, social media, technology

Jun 30, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

BDX

Becton Dickinson and Company

Health Care Equipment & Supplies

Health Care Equipment

Bull

NYSE

defensive, Demographics, healthcare, Medical devices, recurring revenue, Value

Jun 30, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

ORCL

Oracle Corporation

Software

Systems Software

Bull

NASDAQ

cloud infrastructure, Database, Enterprise software, growth, SaaS, technology

Jun 30, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

FND

Floor & Decor Holdings Inc

Specialty Retail

Home Improvement Retail

Bull

NYSE

Cyclical, Flooring, home improvement, professional services, retail, supply chain

Jun 30, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

MSFT

Microsoft Corporation

Software

Systems Software

Bull

NASDAQ

Azure, cloud infrastructure, Enterprise software, growth, SaaS, technology

Jun 30, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

ADI

Analog Devices Inc

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment

Semiconductors

Bull

NASDAQ

Analog, automotive, engineering, Industrial, semiconductors, technology, Value

Jun 30, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

Fiserv Inc

Financial Services

Data Processing & Outsourced Services

Bull

NASDAQ

financial services, Fintech, growth, payment processing, SaaS, Value

Jun 30, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

TMO

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc

Life Sciences Tools & Services

Bull

NYSE

biotechnology, healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, Research Tools, Value

Mar 31, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

MSFT

Microsoft Corporation

Software

Systems Software

Bull

NASDAQ

AI, capital expenditure, cloud infrastructure, datacenters, Enterprise software, productivity software, ROIC

Mar 31, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

ADBE

Adobe Inc.

Software

Application Software

Bull

NASDAQ

AI, creative software, Design Tools, digital marketing, SaaS, Share Buybacks, subscription model

Mar 31, 2025

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

ASHTY

Ashtead Group plc

Capital Goods

Trading Companies & Distributors

Bull

LSE

construction, Cyclical, Equipment Rental, market share, Reshoring, Sunbelt, US Housing

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

AMD

Advanced Micro Devices Inc

Information Technology

Semiconductors

Bull

NASDAQ

AI accelerators, data center, Fabless Design, Gpu, high-performance computing, market share gains, NVIDIA Alternative, semiconductors

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

CRM

Salesforce Inc

Information Technology

Application Software

Bull

NYSE

AI agents, Autonomous AI, competitive moat, CRM Software, Enterprise software, margin expansion, SaaS

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

AXP

American Express Company

Financials

Consumer Finance

Bull

NYSE

consumer finance, credit cards, Gen Z, Millennials, Premium Brand, Recession-Resilient, returns on equity, Travel Recovery, Value

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

AXP

American Express

Financials

Consumer Finance

Bull

NYSE

Affluent Customers, consumer finance, credit cards, defensive, financial services, Premium Brand, ROE, Value

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

0JZ0 LN

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Industrials

Construction & Engineering

Bull

NYSE

backlog, biotechnology, Engineering services, Government Spending, higher margins, infrastructure, organic growth, semiconductors

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

AMAT

Applied Materials Inc

Information Technology

Semiconductor Equipment

Bull

NASDAQ

AI demand, China exposure, Chip Manufacturing, Complex Architectures, Cyclical Recovery, Reshoring, semiconductor equipment, services revenue

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

DEO

Diageo

Consumer Staples

Distillers & Vintners

Bull

NYSE

consumer staples, Global, inventory management, margin expansion, market share, premium brands, Spirits, Value

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

0PMJ LN

Philip Morris International

Consumer Staples

Tobacco

Bull

NYSE

dividend yield, Heat Not Burn, IQOS, Reduced-Risk Products, Swedish Match, Tobacco Transformation, US launch, ZYN

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

KEYS

Keysight Technologies Inc.

Information Technology

Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components

Bull

NYSE

5G, automotive, IoT, margin expansion, R&D, Scale Advantages, secular growth, semiconductors, Software, Test Equipment

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

0PMJ LN

Philip Morris International Inc.

Consumer Staples

Tobacco

Bull

NYSE

brand loyalty, Industry Transformation, IQOS, organic growth, Reduced-Risk Products, Swedish Match, tobacco, US Expansion, Zyn Pouches

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

TMO

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc

Health Care

Life Sciences Tools & Services

Bull

NYSE

biotechnology, China risk, Defensive growth, healthcare innovation, Lab Equipment, Life Sciences Tools, Pharmaceutical, R&D Services

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

DEO

Diageo

Consumer Staples

Distillers & Vintners

Bull

NYSE

consumer staples, defensive, Global, market share gains, premium brands, Recession-resistant, Resource Scarcity, Spirits

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

LVS

Las Vegas Sands Corp

Consumer Discretionary

Casinos & Gaming

Neutral

NYSE

China recovery, COVID Recovery, Gaming, Macao, Premium Mass, risk management, Stimulus, Tourism

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

SCHW

Charles Schwab

Financials

Investment Banking & Brokerage

Bull

NYSE

Banking Crisis Recovery, Brokerage, Custodial Services, FDIC Insured, Flywheel Effect, Liquidity, Net New Assets, wealth management

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

AMTM

Amentum Holdings Inc

Industrials

Research & Consulting Services

Neutral

NYSE

Defense Services, DOGE, Engineering services, Government Contractor, Government Spending, Policy Uncertainty, political risk

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

DLTR

Dollar Tree

Consumer Discretionary

General Merchandise Stores

Bull

NASDAQ

defensive, discount retail, E-commerce Moats, Family Dollar, Management Change, Share Buybacks, Store growth, turnaround

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

GOOGL

Alphabet Inc Class A

Communication Services

Interactive Media & Services

Bull

NASDAQ

AI Overviews, Cloud computing, Diversified Platform, innovation, Quantum Computing, search engine, technology leadership

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

ADI|BDX|FI|FND|HAS|META|MSFT|MSI|ORCL|TMO

Hasbro

Consumer Discretionary

Leisure Products

Bull

NASDAQ

brand portfolio, Games, IP monetization, Magic The Gathering, margin expansion, new management, Toys, turnaround

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

AMZN

Amazon.com Inc

Consumer Discretionary

Internet & Direct Marketing Retail

Bull

NASDAQ

advertising, AI infrastructure, AWS, Cloud computing, e-commerce, margin expansion, technology platform

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

KEYS

Keysight Technologies

Information Technology

Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components

Bull

NYSE

China exposure, competitive moat, Cyclical, secular growth, Semiconductor Testing, technology, Test Equipment

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

^VIX

Visa Inc.

Information Technology

Data Processing & Outsourced Services

Bull

NYSE

Compounders, digital payments, Fintech, high margins, infrastructure, network effects, secular growth, Transaction Processing, Two-sided Platform

Fund Letters

Kovitz Core Equity

PPG

PPG Industries Inc.

Materials

Specialty Chemicals

Bull

NYSE

Aerospace, China recovery, Coatings, Cyclical Recovery, Electric Vehicles, infrastructure, margin expansion, specialty chemicals, Technology leader

TICKER	COMMENTARY
GOOGL	Alphabet continues to grow its digital advertising revenues across Search and YouTube at a double-digit clip. Its cloud infrastructure business accelerated in the most recent quarter with ramping demand for the company's AI services, while also achieving record profitability. Lastly, the remedies handed down by the Judge in the Search antitrust trial were largely better than feared and do not mandate drastic changes to Google's business.
ANET	Arista significantly increased its revenue growth expectations to 25% for 2025 driven by strong momentum with its large cloud customers and in its enterprise campus business. On top of the higher revenue forecast, management also raised its guidance for operating margins by 350 bps. We expect Arista to continue playing an integral role in networking in the AI infrastructure buildout and increasingly, for the networking needs of enterprise campuses, too.
ORCL	Oracle shares appreciated sharply following the company's fiscal first quarter earnings report. The company's contracted backlog, which primarily reflects its cloud infrastructure business, grew substantially from $138B at the end of last quarter to $455B in the most recent quarter. As discussed in the Portfolio Activity section, much of this increase was related to one customer, which led to our decision to exit the position.
FI	Fiserv stock continued to languish in the quarter. Last quarter we wrote that Fiserv stock declined after reporting that volume growth decelerated in the company's Clover payment services product line. There has been some transitory noise in year-over-year comparisons, a CEO succession, and U.S. payments volume growth has moderated from a mid-teens growth rate to high-single digits in 2025, although this is still at a healthy level and above digital payments industry averages.
KMX	CarMax shares declined by 33% in Q3 after the company reported a decline in same-store-sales growth and a significant miss to earnings expectations. This followed a quarter in which CarMax reported very strong same-store-sales growth of 8% on the back of fears of tariffs driving up prices. This pulled forward demand dissipated quickly as the administration's tariff policy reversed, and consumers turned cautious amidst increased economic uncertainty.
PM	Philip Morris reported a modest miss in Zyn shipment volumes in the U.S. in its most recently reported results and indicated that volumes grew 32% through the first eight weeks of its fiscal Q3 relative to the 41% growth reported in Q2. Management indicated that it would be stepping up promotional efforts to ensure pricing was more competitive with other nicotine pouches, which we expect to drive improved volume growth over the coming quarters and years.
ALC	Spun off from Novartis in 2019, Alcon has a rich, 75-year history as a global leader in ocular health. The company commands supermajority market shares in optical surgical equipment and implantable premium intraocular lenses (IOLs) and is one of four companies that dominates the contact lens and over-the-counter vision care market.
COO	Our investment in Cooper Companies builds our exposure to the vision care industry alongside our investment in Alcon. Like Alcon, Cooper is a leading manufacturer of contact lenses, an industry characterized by an oligopolistic structure with strong barriers to entry. The company has achieved consistent market share gains over the last 15+ years aided by its unique ability to offer both private label and branded contacts to large retailers.
RYAN	Ryan is a broker of specialty insurance, which is a fast-growing segment of the property & casualty insurance market. As property catastrophes have intensified, jury verdicts have become larger, and new risks like cyber risks have emerged, the need for more customized risk underwriting has accelerated. Ryan has been outgrowing the insurance brokerage industry at large and has grown revenue organically at a double-digit rate for 14 consecutive years.
WAT	Waters is a leading manufacturer of analytical instruments, along with associated consumables and software, used to separate and identify chemical compounds, for customers in the biotech/pharma, materials, and food science end markets. With instruments primarily used in more stable late-stage manufacturing and quality assurance / quality control in biopharma end markets, a majority of revenues derived from recurring service and consumables, and a strong management team five years into a transformation plan that reinvigorated product innovation and optimized the entire organization, Waters has displayed above-market growth and rising profitability in a difficult environment.
TSLA	Tesla stock (TSLA) returning +40% in the quarter despite earnings estimates for next year declining as the quarter progressed. Raymond James analysts covering automotive electrical components noted that TSLA continues to lose share in every region.

TICKER

COMMENTARY

GOOGL

Alphabet continues to grow its digital advertising revenues across Search and YouTube at a double-digit clip. Its cloud infrastructure business accelerated in the most recent quarter with ramping demand for the company's AI services, while also achieving record profitability. Lastly, the remedies handed down by the Judge in the Search antitrust trial were largely better than feared and do not mandate drastic changes to Google's business.

ANET

Arista significantly increased its revenue growth expectations to 25% for 2025 driven by strong momentum with its large cloud customers and in its enterprise campus business. On top of the higher revenue forecast, management also raised its guidance for operating margins by 350 bps. We expect Arista to continue playing an integral role in networking in the AI infrastructure buildout and increasingly, for the networking needs of enterprise campuses, too.

ORCL

Oracle shares appreciated sharply following the company's fiscal first quarter earnings report. The company's contracted backlog, which primarily reflects its cloud infrastructure business, grew substantially from $138B at the end of last quarter to $455B in the most recent quarter. As discussed in the Portfolio Activity section, much of this increase was related to one customer, which led to our decision to exit the position.

Fiserv stock continued to languish in the quarter. Last quarter we wrote that Fiserv stock declined after reporting that volume growth decelerated in the company's Clover payment services product line. There has been some transitory noise in year-over-year comparisons, a CEO succession, and U.S. payments volume growth has moderated from a mid-teens growth rate to high-single digits in 2025, although this is still at a healthy level and above digital payments industry averages.

KMX

CarMax shares declined by 33% in Q3 after the company reported a decline in same-store-sales growth and a significant miss to earnings expectations. This followed a quarter in which CarMax reported very strong same-store-sales growth of 8% on the back of fears of tariffs driving up prices. This pulled forward demand dissipated quickly as the administration's tariff policy reversed, and consumers turned cautious amidst increased economic uncertainty.

Philip Morris reported a modest miss in Zyn shipment volumes in the U.S. in its most recently reported results and indicated that volumes grew 32% through the first eight weeks of its fiscal Q3 relative to the 41% growth reported in Q2. Management indicated that it would be stepping up promotional efforts to ensure pricing was more competitive with other nicotine pouches, which we expect to drive improved volume growth over the coming quarters and years.

ALC

Spun off from Novartis in 2019, Alcon has a rich, 75-year history as a global leader in ocular health. The company commands supermajority market shares in optical surgical equipment and implantable premium intraocular lenses (IOLs) and is one of four companies that dominates the contact lens and over-the-counter vision care market.

COO

Our investment in Cooper Companies builds our exposure to the vision care industry alongside our investment in Alcon. Like Alcon, Cooper is a leading manufacturer of contact lenses, an industry characterized by an oligopolistic structure with strong barriers to entry. The company has achieved consistent market share gains over the last 15+ years aided by its unique ability to offer both private label and branded contacts to large retailers.

RYAN

Ryan is a broker of specialty insurance, which is a fast-growing segment of the property & casualty insurance market. As property catastrophes have intensified, jury verdicts have become larger, and new risks like cyber risks have emerged, the need for more customized risk underwriting has accelerated. Ryan has been outgrowing the insurance brokerage industry at large and has grown revenue organically at a double-digit rate for 14 consecutive years.

WAT

Waters is a leading manufacturer of analytical instruments, along with associated consumables and software, used to separate and identify chemical compounds, for customers in the biotech/pharma, materials, and food science end markets. With instruments primarily used in more stable late-stage manufacturing and quality assurance / quality control in biopharma end markets, a majority of revenues derived from recurring service and consumables, and a strong management team five years into a transformation plan that reinvigorated product innovation and optimized the entire organization, Waters has displayed above-market growth and rising profitability in a difficult environment.

TSLA

Tesla stock (TSLA) returning +40% in the quarter despite earnings estimates for next year declining as the quarter progressed. Raymond James analysts covering automotive electrical components noted that TSLA continues to lose share in every region.

Ticker	Put/Call	Amount Bought	Shares Bought	% Change	Weight %
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Ticker	Put/Call	Amount Sold	Shares Sold	% Change	Weight %	Status
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Industry	Prev Quarter %	Current Quarter %	Change
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Investment Summary

Investor Summary

Fund Strategy

FUND PERFORMANCE AS OF 30th September 2025

Investor Letters

Latest Executive Summary:

Executive Summary

Core Thesis

Forward Outlook

Investment Themes

AI

Momentum

Quality

Private Credit

AI

Trade Policy

Cloud

Financials

Trade Policy

AI

Resilience

AI

Semiconductors

Value

Rates

Inflation

Resilience

Credit Stress

Value

Alcohol

Regional Banks

Discount Retail

AI

Banking

Compounders

Investor Pitches

Current Portfolio as of ( 30th September 2025 )

Key Risks identified by Manager:

Key catalysts include:

Portfolio Implications

Ticker Commentary

Matt Hayner Top Holdings

Recent Buys (13F)

Recent Sells (13F)

13F Sector Summary

Portfolio Distribution

Latest 13D & 13G Filings

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Kovitz Core Equity