Investor Summary
Fund Strategy
FUND PERFORMANCE AS OF 31st December 2025
| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 15.0% | -2.7% | 7.5% |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 6.9% | 19.8% | 26.7% |
| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 15.0% | -2.7% | 7.5% |
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 6.9% | 19.8% | 26.7% |
The Langdon Global Smaller Companies Portfolio declined 0.5% in Q4 2025 but delivered 6.9% for the full year, demonstrating the characteristic volatility of the small-cap asset class. The manager views 2025 as a stress test that validated their quality-focused approach, with the portfolio experiencing materially shallower drawdowns than broader markets during periods of volatility. Key contributors in Q4 included YETI, Watches of Switzerland, and CSW Industrials, which rebounded strongly after first-half weakness. The recovery was driven by company-specific execution rather than improved market conditions. Burford Capital remained challenging, declining 28% for the year despite the manager's conviction in its long-term prospects. The portfolio enters 2026 positioned with companies that have leaner cost structures, improved working capital discipline, and strong balance sheets. Valuations remain attractive relative to intrinsic value estimates, creating favorable conditions for long-term investors. The manager maintains high conviction in the concentrated portfolio of quality businesses capable of compounding cash flow over time.
The portfolio represents a concentrated collection of high-quality smaller companies with durable competitive positions, strong balance sheets, and management teams capable of compounding intrinsic value at high rates through cash earnings growth over the medium to long term.
The manager remains cautious about making broad macroeconomic predictions but sees companies entering 2026 with leaner cost structures, improved working capital discipline, and balance sheets positioned to support both resilience and opportunity. Valuations across several holdings remain attractive relative to estimates of intrinsic value, creating a favorable setup for long-term investors.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 14 2026 | 2025 Q4 | BUR.L, CSWI, WOSG.L, YETI | Concentration, consumer, global, Luxury, Quality, small caps, value, volatility |
YETI WOSG LN BUR LN |
The portfolio focuses on global smaller companies with elevated volatility, sharp sentiment shifts, and frequent disconnects between short-term price movements and long-term business value. These characteristics are viewed as necessary preconditions to generate material outperformance in the asset class. The portfolio consists of businesses with durable competitive positions, strong balance sheets, and management teams capable of compounding intrinsic value at high rates through cash earnings growth. Quality characteristics provided downside protection during market stress. Watches of Switzerland operates as a leading retailer of highly desirable luxury watch brands, benefiting from strong client relationships and disciplined inventory management. The company has gained exclusive retailer status for pre-owned Rolex timepieces, creating additional revenue streams. |
| Sep 30 2025 | 2025 Q3 | 6532 JP, DOC AV, ROSE LN, YETI | Aviation, ConsumerBrands, DigitalTransformation, Industrial, insurance | - | Industrial: Holdings such as Johns Lyng, DO & CO, and Rosebank demonstrate durable industrial reinvestment runways via disciplined M&A, operational integration, and cross-border platform building. Consumer: YETI is deeply analyzed as a durable global brand with expanding categories, rising international penetration, and strong free-cash-flow economics despite near-term sentiment swings. Financials: Insurance-exposed names like Kinsale and Goosehead continue to compound premiums, margins, and policy counts even as valuations compress, reflecting the managers belief in cyclical mispricing of high-return financials. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2} |
| Jul 1 2025 | 2025 Q2 | AGYS, AND CN, ATG LN, FEVR LN | buyouts, compounders, healthcare, industrials, software | - | Global small-cap leaders in industrials, software, and healthcare continued to compound value through secular niche dominance and disciplined capital allocation. The portfolio benefited from take-private activity, recurring-revenue models, and consolidation trends in fragmented markets. Compounders remain a durable theme as select smaller companies grow free cash flow predictably across cycles. |
| May 12 2025 | 2025 Q1 | DHG GR, FEVR LN, YETI | unavailable | - | Data for this document was not accessible; no thematic analysis could be completed. |
| Jan 30 2025 | 2024 Q4 | FECR LN, HYQ GR, RBREW DC, WED CN | Alternatives, insurance, NAV, Platforms, privatecredit | - | Westaim's recapitalization by CC Capital underscores growing investor appetite for alternative-asset platforms with insurance and private-credit adjacencies. The transition from NAV-based valuation toward earnings-driven models mirrors trends seen at Apollo, Ares, and Blackstone affiliates. Alternative-asset ecosystems continue compounding through fee growth, insurance float, and scaled origination. |
| Oct 23 2024 | 2024 Q3 | YETI | consumer, fieldwork, global, Research, SmallCaps | - | A core theme is deep, on-the-ground researchextended local stays, field visits, and cultural immersionto refine investment assumptions and discover mispriced global small caps. Such fieldwork improves understanding of brand presence, customer behavior, and operational quality, informing better forecasts and conviction. Field research remains central to identifying durable small-cap opportunities across regions. |
| Jul 31 2024 | 2024 Q2 | - | compensation, dilution, earnings, Governance, Incentives | - | The letter highlights how differing global compensation structuresespecially heavy U.S. stock-based compensationdistort true economics and inflate adjusted earnings. Langdon emphasizes dilution as a real cost that impairs per-share value creation and requires normalization across markets for fair comparisons. Compensation practices remain a critical theme affecting valuation, capital allocation, and long-term investor returns. |
| Apr 17 2024 | 2024 Q1 | - | Beverages, Biotech, ContractResearch, LuxuryRetail, MergersAcquisitions | - | BeverageConsolidation: Royal Unibrew has rapidly doubled its invested capital through 11 acquisitions in three years, temporarily depressing returns via higher input costs but creating a broader multi-beverage, multi-country platform that the manager believes will generate attractive cash earnings as integration benefits and pricing power flow through. LuxuryRetail: Watches of Switzerland is framed as a scarce owner of Rolex agencies whose current multiple implies pricing near invested capital after weak UK holiday trading and mix headwinds, yet the team still expects mid-teens EPS growth beyond 2024 as luxury demand normalises and distribution scarcity persists. HealthcareServices: Medpace exemplifies the appeal of full-service clinical research organisations as picks-and-shovels beneficiaries of biotech R&D, with a concentrated, scalable Cincinnati campus and culture that has already delivered a client capital double for the fund. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2} |
| Jan 29 2024 | 2023 Q4 | - | CashFlow, management, Resilience, SmallCaps, valuecreation |
WOSG LN MEDP FEVR LN HYQ GR JLG AU AGYS YETI |
Global smaller companies benefit from proactive management teams executing counter-cyclical capital allocation, cost discipline, and strategic hiring during dislocation. Volatility presents opportunities as macro noise overshadows idiosyncratic value creation within cash-rich, high-return franchises. Small caps continue to deliver superior long-term outcomes through operational execution independent of macro conditions. |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 |
LuxuryNew investment in Swatch represents exposure to luxury watch brands including Omega, Longines, Tissot, and others. The investment thesis is based on tangible assets including Swiss real estate and the potential for operating leverage when luxury demand recovers from current structural pressures. |
Watches Swiss Brands Premium Recovery |
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 | |
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 Q3 |
FinancialsEuropean banks have been rehabilitated after years in purgatory, with returns of 77% in 2025. Return on equity has normalized above 12% following exit from ultra-low rates, while capital positions have been rebuilt. However, supportive factors are well-appreciated by markets, reflected in significant valuation re-rating. |
Banks Return On Equity Interest Rates Capital Valuations |
| 2025 Q2 |
ActivismShareholder activism continues to grow with 152 campaigns in North America in 2025, a 20.6% increase from 2024. The strategy has evolved from stigmatized to accepted and now necessary as passive investing increases. Non-activist managers are resorting to activism to realize intrinsic value as fewer investors buy and sell based on fundamentals. |
Shareholder activism Proxy contests Board representation Value creation Catalyst |
| 2025 Q1 |
MediaWarner Bros Discovery was the top contributor as multiple parties submitted acquisition offers, with Netflix acquiring the Streaming and Studios business while Global Networks spins to shareholders. Paramount Skydance made a $30 per share offer for the entire company, creating a bidding war that unlocked shareholder value. |
Streaming M&A Content Entertainment Bidding |
| 2024 Q4 |
Alternatives |
|
| 2024 Q3 |
Innovation |
|
| 2024 Q2 |
MediaWarner Bros Discovery was the top contributor as multiple parties submitted acquisition offers, with Netflix acquiring the Streaming and Studios business while Global Networks spins to shareholders. Paramount Skydance made a $30 per share offer for the entire company, creating a bidding war that unlocked shareholder value. |
Streaming M&A Content Entertainment Bidding |
| 2024 Q1 |
Beverage |
|
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 | |
Retail |
||
| 2023 Q4 |
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 |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2025 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | HYQ GR | Hypoport SE | Financials | Diversified Financial Services | Bull | - | Fintech, Germany, Mortgages, Platforms, Upside | Login |
| Jul 1, 2025 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | JLG AU | Johns Lyng Group Limited | Industrials | Construction & Engineering | Bull | NYSE | Catastrophe, Insurance, recurring revenue, Restoration, take-private | Login |
| Jul 1, 2025 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | AGYS | Agilysys, Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bull | NASDAQ | cloud, hospitality, recurring revenue, SaaS, vertical software | Login |
| Sep 30, 2025 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | YETI | YETI Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | Leisure Products | Bull | NYSE | Brand, buybacks, compounder, expansion, Margins, premiumization | Login |
| Jan 14, 2026 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | YETI | YETI Holdings, Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | Leisure Products | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Branding, Directtoconsumer, Freecashflow, Inventory, Margins, Outdoor | Login |
| Jan 14, 2026 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | WOSG LN | Watches of Switzerland Group plc | Consumer Discretionary | Specialty Retail | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | compounding, Inventory, Luxury, Margins, retail, ROIC | Login |
| Jan 14, 2026 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | BUR LN | Burford Capital Limited | Financials | Specialty Finance | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | Cashrealization, diversification, Litigationfinance, Optionality, valuation | Login |
| Apr 17, 2024 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | WOSG LN | Watches of Switzerland Group PLC | Consumer Discretionary | Specialty Stores | Bull | London Stock Exchange | Eps, Franchises, Luxury, Re-rating, retail, Volatility | Login |
| Apr 17, 2024 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | MEDP | Medpace Holdings, Inc. | Health Care | Life Sciences Tools & Services | Bull | NASDAQ | Biotech, Cro, growth, Headcount, Outsourcing, Scalability | Login |
| Jan 30, 2025 | Fund Letters | Greg Dean | FEVR LN | Fever-Tree Drinks plc | Consumer Staples | Brewers | Bull | London Stock Exchange | Brand, growth, Margins, Mixers, premium | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| BUR.L | Burford has compounded book value per share and realized cash proceeds from litigation matters settled and adjudicated ahead of my original underwriting assumptions. The best measure of fundamental progress of the core business ex YPF is the cash 'run-off' value of the existing book of claims, which incorporates both realizations (cash in) and deployments (cash out) as well as a rate of return assumption on those deployments. My estimate of that value has increased from c. $9 to c.$12.50 per share. Meanwhile the share price is essentially unchanged from our original purchase price of $9.50. |
| CSWI | CSW Industrials was mentioned as one of the largest contributors in Q4 alongside YETI and Watches of Switzerland Group. |
| WOSG.L | The fifth largest contributor was Watches of Switzerland (+29.5% +62 bps), the British dealer of luxury watches and Rolex's most important authorized dealer. Again, political developments helped sentiment after US tariffs on Swiss goods officially reduced to 15% (from 39%)—a move applied retroactively from mid-November 2025 that provides meaningful relief for Swiss watch exports. |
| YETI | Over the quarter the largest contributors were an overweight position in YETI (YETI US, +33%) |
| 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 | |||