| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 7.8% | -0.7% | 3.7% |
Bell Global Equities Fund declined 1.5% in December 2025, underperforming the MSCI World ex-Australia Index by 0.6%. The fund faced headwinds from a prolonged risk-on market environment that favored momentum and sentiment over fundamentals, impacting their Quality at a Reasonable Price (QARP) approach. Key contributors included Old Dominion Freight Line, which benefited from improving cycle indicators and attractive valuations, while detractors included Tractor Supply due to sector rotation preferences. The team made strategic portfolio adjustments, exiting long-term winners American Express and HCA Healthcare due to elevated valuations, while adding W.W. Grainger and LPL Financial at attractive entry points. Looking ahead to 2026, Bell sees an increasingly supportive backdrop for quality investing as valuations across high-quality businesses appear compelling and markets may transition toward earnings-driven leadership. The portfolio's weighted upside potential sits at the upper end of historical ranges, positioning it well for multiple pathways to stronger performance.
Bell maintains conviction in their Quality at a Reasonable Price (QARP) approach despite 2025 underperformance, believing the current environment of compelling valuations across high-quality businesses positions the portfolio well for 2026 as markets transition from narrative-driven to earnings-driven leadership.
Looking ahead to 2026, we see the backdrop as increasingly supportive for our QARP investment approach. Valuations across many high-quality businesses are compelling and the portfolio's weighted upside potential sits at the upper end of historical ranges. We expect sustained earnings delivery and evidence that challenges prevailing narratives to support a re-rating of many portfolio holdings over time. Overall, we believe the portfolio is very well positioned for 2026, with improving risk-reward, attractive entry valuations and multiple pathways to stronger absolute and relative performance.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23 2026 | 2025 Q4 | 3064.T, 6098.T, 8697.T, AAPL, ACN, AMZN, AUTO.L, AVGO, BOOT, GOOGL, GWW, JPM, LPLA, META, MSFT, NVDA, ODFL, SAP.DE, SNPS, TSCO, V | financials, Global Equities, industrials, QARP, Quality, technology |
ODFL TSCO GWW LPLA JKHY |
Bell maintains a Quality at a Reasonable Price (QARP) approach despite challenging performance in 2025. The team believes quality investing periods of underperformance often create… |
| Oct 14 2025 | 2025 Q3 | 3064 JP, ASML | AI, Global Equities, Quality, technology, valuation |
ASML SGE WM |
The fund emphasizes maintaining a disciplined quality at a reasonable price approach amid a speculative market phase favoring momentum and growth stocks. AI-related technology names… |
| Jun 30 2025 | 2025 Q2 | AIR FP, BJ, NFLX | AI, Cloud, Global Growth, semiconductors, technology | - | The letter discusses global growth investing amid strong performance from technology and communication services. AI-driven cloud infrastructure, semiconductors, and digital platforms are highlighted as key… |
| Apr 30 2025 | 2025 Q1 | 4684 JP, AUTO LN, BJ, BNZL LN, DECK, ENX FP, IT | - | - | - |
| Dec 31 2024 | 2024 Q4 | AVGO, GOOG, LULU, NVO | - | - | - |
| Jun 30 2024 | 2024 Q2 | 4684 JP, NVDA, ULVR LN | - | - | - |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q4 |
AIAI has become a dominant theme across major equity indices, with Nvidia leading the S&P 500, ASML dominating MSCI EAFE, and TSMC leading emerging markets. The fund benefited from AI-related dynamics, particularly through Samsung's memory products experiencing substantial price increases due to DRAM shortages driven by AI demand. |
Semiconductors Memory DRAM Technology Nvidia |
QualityThe portfolio has shifted toward higher quality businesses with better profitability, lower leverage, and less volatile earnings. Quality stocks underperformed significantly in 2025, creating attractive entry points for value investors. The manager maintains price discipline while seeking quality companies trading at discounts to intrinsic value. |
Quality Profitability Leverage Earnings | |
| 2025 Q3 |
Market Rotation |
|
Quality Investing |
||
Technology |
||
| 2025 Q2 |
Growth |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 14, 2025 | Fund Letters | Ned Bell | ASML | ASML Holding NV | Information Technology | Semiconductor Equipment | Bull | Euronext Stock Exchange | AI, CapEx, Euv, growth, Lithography, semiconductors, technology | Login |
| Oct 14, 2025 | Fund Letters | Ned Bell | SGE | Sage Group PLC | Information Technology | Software | Bull | London Stock Exchange | AI, cloud, growth, Margins, SaaS, SMB, Software | Login |
| Oct 14, 2025 | Fund Letters | Ned Bell | WM | Waste Management Inc. | Industrials | Environmental Services | Bull | NYSE | defensive, dividends, FCF, infrastructure, Pricing power, utilities, waste | Login |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Fund Letters | Ned Bell | ODFL | Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. | Industrials | Cargo Ground Transportation | Bull | NASDAQ | Cyclicals, Logistics, Ltl, Pricing, Trucking | Login |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Fund Letters | Ned Bell | TSCO | Tractor Supply Company | Consumer Discretionary | Specialty Retail | Bear | NASDAQ | guidance, retail, Rural, seasonality, Weather | Login |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Fund Letters | Ned Bell | GWW | W.W. Grainger Inc. | Industrials | Industrial Distribution | Bull | New York Stock Exchange | cashflow, Industrial distribution, Margins, MRO, scale | Login |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Fund Letters | Ned Bell | LPLA | LPL Financial Holdings Inc. | Financials | Investment Banking & Brokerage | Bull | NASDAQ | Advisors, Brokerage, Inflows, operating leverage, wealth management | Login |
| Jan 23, 2026 | Fund Letters | Ned Bell | JKHY | Jack Henry & Associates Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bear | NASDAQ | Capital Rotation, Core banking, Fintech, Software, valuation | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| AAPL | The largest 10 companies, by market capitalization, had reached 40.7% of the S&P 500 by the end of 2025, up from roughly 30% at the end of 2021. At the top of this list are Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Broadcom (AVGO), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA). Apple: Market capitalization near $4 trillion. A double requires creating a company larger than the size of Walmart, JPMorgan, and Pfizer combined. |
| ACN | Accenture is the world's leading IT consultant, with advantages stemming from their depth and breadth across products, geographies, and industries. Their revenue is split roughly in half between IT consulting and managed services. Over the last four years, Accenture's valuation has roughly halved. They've faced headwinds in IT spending and suffered from the perception that they are an AI loser. We believe that AI will cause deflationary pressure in parts of their business, but that it will be more than offset by the work required for enterprises to adopt AI. This is recently evidenced by partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic. The AI supplier landscape is increasingly fragmented, and corporate customers need significant help adopting these technologies at scale. We believe this will drive AI suppliers and customers into Accenture's arms. The current cyclical pressures are being attributed to structural issues, which we believe is incorrect, creating an attractive long-term set-up. |
| AMZN | We added to our holdings in Amazon.com Inc. |
| AUTO.L | Auto Trader, a UK-listed automotive classifieds platform, was the Fund's largest detractor. This reflected a combination of short-term factors unrelated to its half-year earnings release in November, which was a positive surprise. These included the rollout of its new Deal Builder product in late 2025, which triggered backlash from a small but vocal portion of its UK dealer base and threats of coordinated cancellations. While actual cancellations were well under 1% of its customer base, and management undertook rapid and extensive outreach efforts with dealers, this episode likely weighed on investor sentiment. |
| AVGO | Broadcom, a leading semiconductor company and long-term holding, continued to execute well amid strong demand for custom silicon supporting AI workloads. |
| BOOT | Boot Barn, the leader in a highly fragmented retail segment focused on western and work footwear, apparel, and accessories. Early in the quarter, Boot Barn's revenues and earnings handily exceeded estimates, with greater transaction volumes and new store openings. Boot Barn increased its guidance for the next fiscal year—including the number of new stores—and expects no disruption from planned price increases in mid-2026. Though its shares gained 6%, the underlying volatility was meaningful as sentiment began to shift. We grew concerned that the next report from Boot might include slower growth and cautious near-term guidance, so we trimmed our position, ultimately exiting entirely in early January. |
| GOOGL | I'm willing to go bankrupt rather than lose this race. Larry Page, co-founder of Google |
| GWW | One of the new entrants into the portfolio was W.W. Grainger, a North American distributor of industrial consumables, tools and supplies. We have previously owned this name in the portfolio and followed closely for many years. The driver to re-introduce to the portfolio now is an attractive valuation and view that an up-cycle seems imminent. Our modelling calls for double digit revenue growth and mid-teens EPS CAGR over the next few years, together with good potential for multiple expansion as earnings accelerate. W.W. Grainger has a solid moat allowing for pricing and market share gains on top of the industrial production growth. Its profitability (GPM, OPM, RoCE and cash conversion) is in the top-quintile relative to peers and financial leverage is low, which allows for generous shareholder returns. |
| JPM | JPMorgan (JPM) has identified 42 AI-related stocks in the S&P 500, which today represent 45% of the index's market cap. They estimate that these stocks have accounted for 78% of S&P 500 returns, 66% of earnings growth, and 71% of capital spending growth since ChatGPT launched in November 2022. As it relates to the impact on the U.S. economy, JPM estimates tech sector capital spending contributed 40%-45% of U.S. GDP growth through the first 9 months of the year, up from less than 5% during the same period in 2023. As JPM depicts to the right, tech capex in 2025 dwarfs every major historical U.S. infrastructure project as a percentage of GDP. |
| LPLA | Additionally, a position in the leading US independent broker-dealer LPL Financial was established. LPL is well positioned to benefit from the ongoing shift toward fee-based wealth management and greater adviser independence. The company has delivered impressive organic revenue growth over time, targeting the 7–13% range, reflecting strong advisor recruitment and the firm's ongoing ability to attract advisers who are switching platforms. This momentum has translated into consistent net new asset inflows and robust revenue growth, while technology investments continue to enhance their platform stickiness and operating leverage. Although LPL does possess interest rate sensitivity through its cash sweep program, which is a meaningful earnings contributor, we are comfortable that consensus and buyside expectations already embed a prudent buffer for interest rate cuts through to 2027. Trading at a reasonable valuation relative to its growth profile and capital return potential, LPL offers a compelling risk-reward profile and exposure to structural tailwinds in wealth management. |
| META | Meta was cited as a larger position that contributed little despite what I thought was positive operating progress, representing opportunity cost in the portfolio. |
| MSFT | OpenAI's well-documented 'circular' funding with its business partners (NVIDIA, Microsoft, among others) is additional cause for concern. |
| NVDA | Nvidia sits at the top of the S&P 500 as the designer in the AI ecosystem. |
| ODFL | Rotated exposure from Old Dominion Freight Line, a leading less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier. |
| SAP.DE | Germany-based global software developer for business applications |
| SNPS | Key performance contributors in the month of December included AppLovin, Synopsys, and PAR Technology Corporation. |
| TSCO | Tractor Supply, a US based speciality retailer serving rural and recreational customers, was one of the most significant detractors for the month. With no material company-specific news, the underperformance likely reflects a current preference for some of the lower quality and more cyclical areas within the Consumer Discretionary sector. Additionally, the mild winter and absence of a major storm season suggests Q4 results may track toward the lower end of guidance. Despite this, our long-term conviction remains intact, with direct sales initiatives and accelerated store rollouts expected to support top-line growth in 2026. |
| V | We added to our holdings in Visa Inc. |
| Ticker | Put/Call | Amount Bought | Shares Bought | % Change | Weight % |
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