The curated database of hedge funds that publish investor letters. Research by geography, strategy, and schools of thought.
| # | Fund | Strategy | Style | Geography | AUM | Latest Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
As of Oct 15, 2026
Akre Focus ETF delivered a net return of -0.84% (NAV) for the third quarter of 2026 (-0.98% market price), underperforming the S&P 500 Total Return of 2.30%. The fund experienced strong positive performance in July (+7.97%) and August (+7.26%) before an acute drawdown in September (-14.38%) eliminated earlier gains, bringing year-to-date net returns to -19.55% and trailing 12-month returns to -21.80%. Cash levels increased modestly from 1.7% to 2.8% of net assets as of September 30, 2026, while the portfolio maintains modest leverage across holdings with net debt-to-EBITDA of 1.54x versus 2.13x for the S&P 500. From a macroeconomic perspective, the manager critiques the extreme narrowness of broader market benchmarks, noting that the S&P 500's third-quarter advance was driven entirely by just four equities, while the remaining constituent universe was collectively negative. The strategy's underperformance over the past 15 months has been primarily driven by prevailing market anxieties surrounding generative AI disruption, which re-rated high-quality vertical market software and transactional franchises to ten-year valuation troughs despite robust underlying operational expansion, evidenced by 22% portfolio-wide free cash flow per share growth. Portfolio activity reflected selective opportunistic buying into market mispricings alongside scrutiny of idiosyncratic developments. Akre initiated small new positions in TransDigm and Rollins while reinforcing core compounders including Mastercard, Visa, Constellation Software, Topicus.com, Brookfield, and KKR. The portfolio's valuation stands at 16.3x next-twelve-months free cash flow per share—the 5th percentile of its 10-year range—providing substantial prospective valuation tailwinds alongside mid-teens projected free cash flow per share growth.
We invest in demonstrably outstanding businesses with widening economic moats, exceptional returns on invested capital, and reinvestment capacity at high hurdle rates, holding through valuation dislocations until intrinsic value reasserts itself.
The manager maintains that the fund's holdings are poised to benefit from dual tailwinds: sustained double-digit underlying operating execution and recovering valuation multiples as simplistic AI disruption narratives broaden and evolve. The portfolio is projected to generate mid-teens annualized free cash flow per share growth over the next five years, supported by 2026 free cash flow ROIC exceeding 43% and modest debt leverage of 1.54x EBITDA. Current historically depressed valuation levels (16.3x forward free cash flow per share) are anticipated to provide significant long-term upside as market breadth normalizes.
High Conviction Bullish
Market Conviction
Growth Outlook
Risk Appetite
Capital Deployment
Forward Guidance
Language Signal
Perceived Risk
Opportunity Density
Time Horizon
Top Conviction Themes
Key Catalysts
Every insight in this database connects to the original source. Read the actual thesis, see the actual concerns, and make your own call.
Buyside Digest has no business relationship, partnership, agency, sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation with Akre Focus Fund or any other manager whose content appears on the Service, except where expressly stated. We do not receive Manager Content directly from managers in most cases; content is collected from publicly available sources. Managers have not necessarily reviewed, approved, authorized, or endorsed our display of their content, our editorial commentary, our metadata extraction, or our classifications. Use of a manager’s name is for accurate attribution and identification purposes only, under principles of nominative fair use.
Buyside Digest does not independently verify the regulatory status, registrations, licensing, qualifications, credentials, or professional standing of managers whose content appears on the Service. We do not represent that managers are properly registered with applicable regulatory bodies, that their content complies with applicable securities laws, or that their performance representations are accurate. Inclusion of a manager in our database is based on the publicly available nature of their content, not on our verification of their regulatory status or content compliance. Users are responsible for conducting their own due diligence on any manager.
Performance data, returns, assets under management (“AUM”), and similar figures displayed on this page are sourced from publicly available manager communications (including investor letters), public filings, or other third-party sources. Buyside Digest does not independently verify performance figures, calculate returns, or audit manager-reported data. Such figures: May be selectively reported by the manager; May use non-standard calculation methodologies; May not reflect fees, expenses, taxes, or other costs; May be inconsistent across reporting periods; May be outdated. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance figures should not be relied upon for investment decisions without independent verification. Users should request audited performance data directly from the manager and conduct their own due diligence.