| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 10.6% | 4.6% | - |
Brown Advisory's Global Leaders Strategy delivered positive absolute returns in Q2 2026 but underperformed its MSCI ACWI benchmark, primarily due to underweight positions in semiconductors and technology hardware amid the AI infrastructure boom. The strategy's main error was underestimating the magnitude and duration of AI infrastructure build-out, though it has now repositioned with a June initiation of Nvidia after observing robust demand signals across the supply chain. The manager eliminated software exposure aside from Microsoft due to rising AI substitution risk, exiting Autodesk and Workday. Market concentration reached extreme levels with only 27% of benchmark companies outperforming in Q2, creating a difficult environment for active managers. Despite near-term headwinds, the manager sees a rare opportunity with the ready-to-buy list at Covid-era highs and average portfolio IRRs of 12-13%. New positions include Siemens Energy for electrification infrastructure, Progressive for insurance exposure, and Compass Group replacing Unilever. The strategy maintains conviction in quality investing focused on durable cash flows and valuation discipline, with 15.9% AI infrastructure exposure plus large hyperscaler holdings.
The Global Leaders Strategy invests in a concentrated portfolio of companies that uniquely solve problems for customers and generate attractive economics for shareholders, targeting double-digit absolute returns through quality businesses trading at discounts to intrinsic value.
The manager views the current environment as a rare moment of opportunity to underwrite high-probability five-year returns across a diverse set of investments. The ready-to-buy list is at its highest level since Covid, with many quality companies left behind in the AI infrastructure feeding frenzy now trading at attractive valuations. The average five-year absolute base-case IRR within Global Leaders is estimated at 12-13% per annum. The manager sees opportunities across differentiated business models in healthcare, aerospace, ratings agencies, and insurance. The strategy will continue to work diligently through the impact AI is having on business-model quality, striving to calibrate both opportunities and risks while maintaining focus on long-term thinking, intrinsic value, and capital preservation. The manager believes the market is still early in understanding the positions of incumbents in certain industries, and indiscriminate selling can provide opportunities for long-term investors with a differentiated view.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20 2026 | 2026 Q2 | ADSK, ASML, GOOG, MA, MSFT, NVDA, PGR, TSM, V, WDAY, ZTS | AI, Concentrated Portfolio, Global Equities, Quality, semiconductors, Software Disruption, valuation | - | Brown Advisory's concentrated Global Leaders Strategy underperformed in Q2 2026 due to semiconductor underweights during the AI infrastructure surge but has repositioned by initiating Nvidia and eliminating software exposure outside Microsoft. The manager sees exceptional opportunity with ready-to-buy lists at multi-year highs and 12-13% average portfolio IRRs. Quality investing remains core with strict valuation discipline targeting double-digit five-year returns from durable compounders. |
| May 14 2026 | 2026 Q1 | ADSK, ASML, EFX, EXPN.L, HDB, LSEG.L, MA, MELI, MSFT, TSM, V, WDAY | AI, Concentration, Drawdown, Geopolitical, global, long-term, Quality, technology | - | Global Leaders Strategy fell 8.3% in Q1 2026 as AI loser narrative hit payments, credit bureaus, and software holdings comprising one-third of portfolio. Manager added to all affected positions during drawdown reviews, maintaining conviction in business moats. Semiconductor and financial infrastructure companies outperformed. New position in MercadoLibre initiated. Opportunity set broadest since Covid with 12-13% expected IRRs. |
| Jan 26 2026 | 2025 Q4 | ADBE, ALLE, ASML, AZO, EFX, EXPN.L, GE, GOOG, ILMN, LSEG.L, MA, MRVL, MSFT, ROG.SW, RTO.L, TSM, V, WDAY, WKL.AS, ZTS | AI, Data, global, infrastructure, Quality, technology | - | Brown Advisory Global Leaders delivered 15.2% returns in 2025 but lagged benchmarks due to financials and tech underperformance. The concentrated strategy focuses on quality companies with pricing power and customer solutions. Active portfolio management included strategic moves in AI and credit bureaus. Supply-side competition, especially in AI, poses key risks while broad opportunity set supports 10%+ expected returns. |
| Nov 8 2025 | 2025 Q3 | ALLE, ASML, BBCA.JK, DB1.DE, EVD.DE, GE, GOOG, INTU, LSEG.L, MA, MSFT, SCHW, TSM, UL, V, WDAY, XP | AI, financials, global, growth, Quality, technology, value |
TSLA BBCA IJ WDAY |
Brown Advisory's Global Leaders Strategy underperformed in Q3 2025 due to AI disruption concerns affecting financial infrastructure holdings and missing the AI rally. Despite quarterly headwinds, the strategy maintains strong absolute performance with double-digit YTD returns. New investments in Workday and Bank Central Asia reflect continued focus on quality companies with superior customer outcomes and durable competitive advantages. |
| Aug 27 2025 | 2025 Q2 | AZO, B058TZ, B19NLV, B8FMRX, BKRKY, DB1.DE, GE, GOOGL, HDB, ILMN, INTU, LSEG.L, MA, MRVL, MSFT, ROG, TSM, UL, V, ZTS | aerospace, AI, concentrated, global, Quality, tariffs, technology |
EXPN.L MRVL |
Brown Advisory's concentrated Global Leaders Strategy outperformed in Q2 2025 through strong AI and aerospace positioning, led by Microsoft's recovery and GE Aerospace's resilience. The team navigated Trump tariff risks by initiating Experian during market volatility while exiting healthcare positions facing regulatory headwinds. Ten-year track record of 12.1% annual returns validates their disciplined, quality-focused approach targeting superior business models. |
| May 22 2025 | 2025 Q1 | ABNB, AMZN, BKNG, EVD.DE, GE, GOOGL, LSEG.L, NFLX, PTON, RTO.L, SHW, WKL, ZM | Capital Allocation, compounders, Concentration, global, narratives, Quality | - | Brown Advisory's Global Leaders Strategy has delivered 12.1% annual returns over ten years by investing in market-leading companies with sustainable competitive advantages. The concentrated portfolio focuses on predictable compounders in enterprise software, payments, and financial infrastructure rather than speculative turnarounds. Recent positioning includes data services and aerospace investments with double-digit IRR potential. |
| Dec 31 2024 | 2024 Q4 | 1299.HK, ASML, AZO, B3SA3.SA, BBRI.JK, BKNG, EL, EW, GOOGL, HDB, ILMN, META, MRVL, MSFT, NVDA, RHHBY, RTO.L, TSM, ZTS | AI, Concentration, emerging markets, global, healthcare, Quality, semiconductors |
ILMN ZTS AZO RTO.L |
Brown Advisory's concentrated global equity strategy delivered 14.7% in 2024, underperforming due to avoiding NVIDIA on valuation grounds. The fund increased healthcare exposure while maintaining AI infrastructure investments across four technology layers. Emerging market financials triggered drawdown reviews leading to increased positions. Portfolio fundamentals remain strong with 21.4% blended ROIC versus 8.8% benchmark, targeting continued double-digit returns. |
| Sep 30 2024 | 2024 Q3 | - | Energy Transition, Esg, Infrastructure Spending, Onshoring, small caps, sustainability, value creation | - | Brown Advisory's Sustainable Small-Cap Core Fund celebrates three years with a concentrated approach targeting companies with strong fundamentals and Sustainable Drivers. Despite challenging small-cap conditions including worst relative performance in recent history, the team identifies opportunities in US reshoring, CHIPS Act, and infrastructure spending while maintaining their disciplined, core-oriented investment philosophy. |
| Jun 30 2024 | 2024 Q2 | CRH | Building Materials, Esg, free cash flow, large cap, Quality, Recycling, sustainability, value | CRH | Brown Advisory's Large-Cap Sustainable Value strategy targets the intersection of value and sustainability, seeking companies with strong free cash flow generation, capital discipline, and attractive valuations that leverage sustainability for competitive advantages. The concentrated 35-45 position portfolio avoids exclusionary approaches, instead embracing complexity in traditional value sectors to identify high-quality franchises with sustainable cash flow advantages. |
| Mar 31 2024 | 2024 Q1 | - | Economic Indicators, Employment, Fed, Gdp, inflation, monetary policy, rates | - | Brown Advisory's bond team identifies unprecedented divergence in economic indicators, with GDP potentially overstating growth versus GDI and CPI overstating inflation versus PCE. Employment data also shows conflicting signals. The managers expect these measures to converge toward weaker economic conditions, with meaningful implications for Fed policy and bond markets. |
| Jan 17 2024 | 2023 Q4 | AAPL, AMZN, BBRI.JK, GOOGL, INTU, META, MSFT, NVDA, NVO, TSLA | Concentration, global, long-term, Quality, risk management, value | - | Brown Advisory's Global Leaders Strategy champions concentrated quality investing through a 'rejection-first' approach, arguing that avoiding losers matters more than finding winners. Despite missing opportunities like Nvidia, the managers maintain disciplined valuation standards and focus on market-leading companies with sustainable competitive advantages, recently restructuring their process to emphasize saying 'no' more often. |
| Aug 14 2023 | 2023 Q2 | ADBE, ASML, COLOB.CO, GOOGL, INTU, LSEG.L, MA, MRVL, MSFT, TSM, V, WKL | AI, global, portfolio construction, Quality, risk management, technology | - | Concentrated global strategy investing in 30-40 market leaders with high returns on capital while actively managing factor risks. Recent AI-driven opportunities in Microsoft, Alphabet, and Marvell Technology. Strict valuation discipline with 10% WACC minimum. Healthcare becoming more attractive as prices decline. Technology and financials exposure reflects current opportunity set, not permanent bias. |
| QUARTER | THEMES | TAGS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Q2 |
AIAI infrastructure build-out has been the dominant driver of market performance and portfolio positioning. The manager underestimated the magnitude and duration of AI infrastructure spending, leading to underperformance from underweight positions in semiconductors and technology hardware. The strategy now holds 15.9% exposure to AI infrastructure companies plus large investments in hyperscalers Alphabet and Microsoft, and initiated Nvidia in June after observing robust demand signals across the entire supply chain. |
Semiconductors Data Centers Cloud GPUs |
SemiconductorsSemiconductor exposure increased significantly during the quarter with the initiation of Nvidia. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 88% in Q2, and semiconductors now represent 26.1% of the MSCI ACWI benchmark. The manager holds TSMC, ASML, and newly added Nvidia, recognizing the structural demand from AI infrastructure while remaining conscious of cyclicality and supply-side risks including potential share loss in AI inference to custom ASICs. |
Nvidia TSMC ASML AI Infrastructure | |
SoftwareSoftware has become a source of significant concern due to AI substitution risk. The strategy exited Autodesk and Workday during the quarter and now holds no software exposure aside from Microsoft. The manager views software as facing meaningful uncertainty and substitution risk from AI, making it a less natural fit for the quality-focused strategy despite the industry's historical transition to attractive SaaS business models. |
SaaS Enterprise Software AI Disruption | |
QualityThe manager reaffirms commitment to quality investing focused on durable compounding engines at discounts to intrinsic value. Quality as a style has faced multiple years of headwinds, but the strategy continues to target companies that create exceptional value for customers, convert that value into durable cash flows, and generate attractive five-year returns. Valuation discipline remains central with a minimum 10% WACC assumption and double-digit five-year IRR targets. |
ROIC Free Cash Flow Valuation Discipline | |
FinancialsFinancials remain the largest sector exposure at 30.37%, focused on financial market infrastructure companies and differentiated emerging market financials plus large payment providers. Portfolio holdings including Deutsche Boerse, London Stock Exchange Group, B3, Visa, and Mastercard underperformed traditional banks during the quarter. The manager continues to avoid asset-heavy global and European banks due to lack of differentiation and commodity-like characteristics. |
Payments Exchanges Financial Infrastructure | |
Energy TransitionThe strategy initiated Siemens Energy during the quarter, recognizing it as a key architect of infrastructure electrification needed to support AI technology build-out. Siemens Energy operates in structurally attractive end markets with high barriers to entry, benefiting from electrification of industrial and consumer processes and use of gas turbines within AI-oriented data centers. The company is entering a period of free cash flow harvest as capacity-linked capex normalizes. |
Grid Upgrade Power Equipment Data Centers | |
ValuationThe manager sees a rare moment of opportunity with the ready-to-buy list at its highest level since Covid. The average five-year absolute base-case IRR within Global Leaders is estimated at 12-13% per annum. Many good companies have been left behind in the AI infrastructure feeding frenzy, creating opportunities across differentiated business models in healthcare, aerospace, ratings agencies, and insurance. The strategy added five new companies in 2026 while maintaining strict valuation discipline. |
Entry Points IRR Opportunity Set | |
Market ConcentrationMarket narrowness has been extreme with only 27% of MSCI ACWI companies outperforming the index in Q2 2026, and only 25.6% beating the benchmark since ChatGPT's release in late 2022. This historically narrow environment has been difficult for fundamental bottom-up active investors. The benchmark's semiconductor and technology hardware weighting increased from 19.8% to 26.1% in Q2 alone, creating significant factor clustering effects with momentum. |
Momentum Factor Risk Benchmark Concentration | |
| 2026 Q1 |
AIThe fund faced significant headwinds from the market's AI loser narrative affecting one-third of the strategy including payments, credit bureaus, and software companies. The manager believes these high-quality companies are mispriced and that incumbents with low customer churn are well-placed to harness AI power to drive new products and revenue. |
Artificial Intelligence Software Data Innovation Disruption |
PaymentsVisa and Mastercard were impacted by AI loser narrative and potential macro softness from geopolitical risks. The manager views AI opportunities as beneficial for payments companies, with Visa remaining critical for agentic commerce and both companies holding critical positions for enabling agentic commerce. |
Digital Payments Financial Technology Commerce Transaction Processing | |
DataCredit bureaus Experian and Equifax possess vast quantities of non-publicly accessible datasets with proprietary data moats formed through direct agreements with thousands of institutions. Their value derives from data quality and regulatory barriers, making them well-positioned against AI substitution risks. |
Credit Data Information Services Data Analytics Regulatory Moats | |
SemiconductorsTSMC and ASML benefited from AI infrastructure build-out with strong order backlogs and positive adoption indicators. TSMC benefits from leadership in leading node manufacturing allowing market share gains from strong AI infrastructure demand, while ASML maintains monopoly position in EUV lithography. |
Chip Manufacturing Technology Hardware AI Infrastructure | |
Capital MarketsFinancial market infrastructure companies like Deutsche Boerse and B3 benefited from market volatility with increased trading volumes and hedging activity. These companies have very little AI disintermediation risk and instead benefit from market volatility, contributing positively to portfolio returns. |
Financial Infrastructure Trading Market Volatility Exchanges | |
| 2025 Q4 |
Small CapsThe fund operates a concentrated Micro and Small-Cap strategy that naturally diverges from market indexes. Portfolio consists of ~60% businesses with market caps below $500M, with top five positions accounting for ~60% of the portfolio. |
Small Cap Micro Cap Concentration |
QualityManager has pivoted the portfolio more towards quality names, which was first called out in Q1-2025 letter. This represents an evolution in investment approach toward higher-quality businesses. |
Quality Evolution Investment Philosophy | |
| 2025 Q3 |
AIThe manager discusses AI's impact on their portfolio, noting underperformance from not owning AI winners like NVIDIA, Oracle, and Broadcom. They analyze AI risks to London Stock Exchange Group's data assets and explore opportunities in AI-enabled SaaS companies like Workday that can harness AI to improve customer outcomes. |
Artificial Intelligence Software Data Disruption Innovation |
Financial Market InfrastructureSignificant focus on financial market infrastructure companies, particularly London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Boerse, which combined represent about 10% of portfolio NAV. The manager discusses LSEG's data monetization challenges and engagement with management on innovation metrics. |
Exchanges Market Data Trading Infrastructure Workflows | |
SaaSDetailed analysis of Software-as-a-Service business models, particularly around AI disruption risks and opportunities. The manager initiated Workday and discusses how incumbent SaaS vendors can use AI to enhance their system of record advantages while adapting revenue models from seat-based to usage-based. |
Software Cloud Subscription Enterprise Productivity | |
SemiconductorsThe manager maintains exposure to semiconductor leaders ASML and TSMC while exiting Marvell Technology due to program concentration risks with hyperscalers. Discussion focuses on leading-edge manufacturing capabilities and AI infrastructure demand. |
Chips Manufacturing Technology AI Infrastructure Equipment | |
| 2025 Q2 |
AIThe strategy has investments driving the development of generative AI within technical infrastructure, cloud service providers and end-user applications. Microsoft's strategic investments in AI are expected to create significant value through lower cost of compute, AI monetization, and strong non-AI business cash flow growth. |
Artificial Intelligence Cloud Infrastructure Data Centers Microsoft Generative AI |
SemiconductorsActive management of exposure to technical infrastructure across TSMC, Marvell Technology and ASML. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing benefits from leadership in leading node manufacturing, taking market share from strong AI infrastructure demand. Marvell offers cost-effective alternatives to Nvidia through semi-custom ASIC solutions. |
TSMC ASML Marvell Foundries ASICs | |
Trade PolicyTariff announcements by the Trump administration represent a shifting regulatory environment posing serious risk to future cash flows. The strategy uses an 'update, recalibrate and compare' approach when sudden shifts like tariff introduction change the playing field for investments. |
Tariffs Trump Administration Regulatory Risk Trade War Policy Risk | |
AerospaceStrong performance from aerospace investments including GE Aerospace and Safran. GE Aerospace showed pricing power despite largest direct tariff exposure in the portfolio, with optimism about aerospace trade deal discussions at Paris Air Show. Safran benefited from strong air travel demand and higher CFM56 platform utilization. |
GE Aerospace Safran Commercial Aviation Defense Aftermarket | |
| 2025 Q1 |
QualityThe strategy focuses on market-leading companies that combine exceptional customer outcomes with strong leadership to generate high and sustainable returns on invested capital. These companies have secure franchises with multiple barriers to entry protecting their customer relationships. |
Moats Barriers Leadership Sustainable Franchise |
Enterprise SoftwareThe letter discusses enterprise software as one of the common narratives within Global Leaders over the years that has produced significant absolute returns. This includes vertical market software companies with steady, predictable, incremental progress over time. |
SaaS Vertical Software Enterprise Technology | |
PaymentsPayments is identified as one of the recurring business models within Global Leaders that has generated significant absolute returns. These companies benefit from steady, predictable growth patterns with clear paths to success. |
Payments FinTech Processing Financial Infrastructure | |
Capital MarketsFinancial market infrastructure is highlighted as a common narrative that has produced significant returns. London Stock Exchange Group is specifically mentioned as an investment on an improvement journey after acquiring Refinitiv data business. |
Infrastructure Data Trading Exchanges Financial | |
| 2024 Q4 |
AIThe fund invests across all four layers of the AI tech stack, from end user applications to technical infrastructure. Portfolio companies are seeing meaningful enterprise AI use cases in productivity and efficiency tools, with Google having 25% of new code written by AI and Booking Holdings improving customer service through AI chatbots. Microsoft is on track for $10bn annualized AI revenues. |
Artificial Intelligence Productivity Enterprise Automation Software |
SemiconductorsThe fund is invested in three companies within the technical infrastructure layer of AI, including Marvell Technology making custom AI accelerator semiconductors for AWS and Azure, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, and ASML. These investments should see significant ramp in 2025 as cloud providers scale AI infrastructure. |
AI Accelerators Foundries Equipment Cloud Infrastructure Custom Chips | |
HealthcareHealthcare exposure increased to highest level in eight years after finding attractively valued opportunities. New investments include Illumina for gene sequencing and Zoetis for animal health, both providing superior customer outcomes. The fund values healthcare's non-deferrable revenues for downside protection while focusing on companies with leading science. |
Gene Sequencing Animal Health Biotechnology Personalized Medicine Diagnostics | |
| 2024 Q3 |
Energy TransitionThe fund identifies small-cap companies uniquely positioned to benefit from the energy transition, focusing on those providing innovative solutions to energy challenges rather than excluding traditional energy companies based on operational legacies. |
Energy Transition Renewable Innovation Solutions Transformation |
OnshoringThe managers have identified several pockets of the small-cap asset class positioned to benefit from US reshoring trends, particularly in conjunction with the CHIPS Act and infrastructure improvements. |
Reshoring CHIPS Act Infrastructure Manufacturing Domestic | |
Infrastructure SpendingThe fund sees opportunities in small-cap companies positioned to benefit from infrastructure improvements and related government spending initiatives. |
Infrastructure Government Spending Improvements Investment Development | |
| 2024 Q2 |
ValueThe strategy targets companies that generate consistently high levels of free cash flow, exhibit capital discipline through prudent capital structures, and trade at attractive valuations. The manager emphasizes financial flexibility and protecting capital on the downside as key drivers to compounding capital over the long term. |
Free Cash Flow Valuation Capital Discipline Financial Flexibility Margin of Safety |
SustainabilityThe strategy seeks companies leveraging sustainability to drive Sustainable Cash Flow Advantage through their People, Process, and/or Product to enhance free cash flow outcomes while managing material sustainable risks. The manager views sustainability as continuous improvement that can drive differentiated performance versus peers. |
ESG Sustainable Cash Flow Continuous Improvement Material Risks Circularity | |
Building MaterialsCRH plc represents a core position as one of the largest building materials companies in North America with unrivaled size and scale. The company has repositioned its portfolio to less cyclical, faster growing markets while driving EBITDA margins higher and reducing balance sheet leverage to historic lows. |
Construction Materials EBITDA Margins Recycling Infrastructure Market Share | |
| 2024 Q1 |
InflationThe document extensively analyzes inflation measures, particularly the divergence between CPI and PCE. Core PCE is currently 1.1% lower than core CPI, moving closer to the Federal Reserve's inflation target, which may create communication challenges for Fed officials as CPI is more widely followed by the public. |
CPI PCE Core Target Divergence |
RatesThe letter discusses how what was believed to be a peak in rates that would lead to significant rate cuts in 2024 has now been called into question. Larry Summers recently suggested a 15% chance that the next FOMC move will be a rate hike rather than a cut. |
Fed FOMC Cuts Hikes Policy | |
| 2023 Q4 |
QualityThe strategy focuses on market-leading companies that combine exceptional customer outcomes with strong leadership to generate high and sustainable returns on invested capital. The managers emphasize investing in businesses that demonstrably help their customers succeed, citing examples like Intuit's QuickBooks platform and Bank Rakyat's micro lending business. |
RoIC Leadership Customer Moats Sustainable |
Risk ManagementThe letter extensively discusses the importance of avoiding losers over finding winners, using Darwinian investing principles. The managers emphasize that in a concentrated portfolio, it is the losers that kill performance, and they operate with a rejection-first mentality to minimize Type 1 errors of inclusion. |
Rejection Concentration Downside Survival Error | |
| 2023 Q2 |
AIThe managers analyze AI impact across four categories from end-user applications to technical infrastructure. They believe highest probability opportunities are in technical infrastructure and semiconductor companies with dominant market positions, followed by cloud data-center companies. Competition expected to intensify in AI models and applications. |
Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Cloud Computing Semiconductors Infrastructure |
RiskExtensive discussion of factor risk management to ensure stock-specific risk drives outcomes rather than unintended exposures to sectors, countries, or styles. The managers use quantitative tools and weekly capital allocation meetings to monitor and control factor risks while maintaining concentrated portfolio approach. |
Factor Risk Portfolio Construction Risk Management Diversification Attribution |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 8, 2025 | Fund Letters | Mick Dillon, Bertie Thomson | TSLA | Tesla, Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | Electric vehicles & energy platform | Bull | NASDAQ | Autonomy, Electric Vehicles, energy storage, growth, operating leverage, robotics, valuation, vertical integration | Login |
| Nov 8, 2025 | Fund Letters | Mick Dillon, Bertie Thomson | BBCA IJ | PT Bank Central Asia Tbk | Other | Indonesian retail & commercial banking | Bull | NYSE | credit quality, digital banking, dividends, Emerging markets, loan growth, low-cost deposits, retail banking, ROE | Login |
| Nov 8, 2025 | Fund Letters | Mick Dillon, Bertie Thomson | WDAY | Workday, Inc. | Information Technology | Application Software | Bull | NASDAQ | AI, Cloud software, financial management, Free Cash Flow, Human capital management, operating leverage, recurring revenue, SaaS | Login |
| Jun 30, 2025 | Fund Letters | Brown Advisors Global Leaders Strategy | EXPN.L | Experian plc | Industrials | Research & Consulting Services | Bull | London Stock Exchange | B2B Services, barriers to entry, Consumer Data, Credit Bureau, Data Analytics, financial services, oligopoly, ROIC | Login |
| Jun 30, 2025 | Fund Letters | Brown Advisors Global Leaders Strategy | MRVL | Marvell Technology Inc | Information Technology | Semiconductors | Bull | NASDAQ | AI data center, Asic, cloud infrastructure, hyperscalers, NVIDIA Alternative, Program Wins, semiconductors, technology | Login |
| Jan 1, 2025 | Fund Letters | Brown Advisors Global Leaders Strategy | ILMN | Illumina | Health Care Equipment & Services | Life Sciences Tools & Services | Bull | NASDAQ | biotechnology, Consumables, diagnostics, Gene Sequencing, Genomics, Healthcare Technology, Laboratory Equipment, life sciences, Medical devices, personalized medicine | Login |
| Jan 1, 2025 | Fund Letters | Brown Advisors Global Leaders Strategy | ZTS | Zoetis | Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences | Pharmaceuticals | Bull | NYSE | Animal Health, biotechnology, Companion Animals, drug development, Livestock, pharmaceuticals, Pure-Play, R&D, vaccines, Veterinary Medicine | Login |
| Jan 1, 2025 | Fund Letters | Brown Advisors Global Leaders Strategy | AZO | AutoZone | Consumer Discretionary | Specialty Retail | Bull | NYSE | automotive parts, capital allocation, DIFM, DIY, Geographic Expansion, inventory management, network effects, Share Buybacks, Specialty retail, Used Car Market | Login |
| Jan 1, 2025 | Fund Letters | Brown Advisors Global Leaders Strategy | RTO.L | Rentokil | Commercial & Professional Services | Commercial Services & Supplies | Bull | LSE | acquisition integration, Commercial Services, consolidation, market leadership, Network Optimization, Non-Deferrable Services, pest control, Route Density, Scale economies, Structural Growth | Login |
| Jun 1, 2024 | Fund Letters | Brown Advisors Global Leaders Strategy | CRH | CRH plc | Materials | Construction Materials | Bull | NYSE | Building materials, capital allocation, EBITDA Margin Expansion, Free Cash Flow, North America, Recycling, Sustainability, Value | Login |
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| MSFT | Our investments across software and cloud-service providers were weak, including Microsoft, Autodesk and Workday. As of today, the Strategy no longer has exposure to software aside from Microsoft, which we feel has unique distribution power and an infrastructure role in the enterprise. |
| ADSK | Our investments across software and cloud-service providers were weak, including Microsoft, Autodesk and Workday. We exited Autodesk and Workday during the quarter. Autodesk's share price has been impacted by market concerns about increased competition from AI challengers, including the potential impact of world models replacing large parts of the 3D creation stack. Since our first-quarter drawdown review, we have continued our research and discussions around substitution risk for Autodesk, with a particular focus on the potential impact of world models replacing large parts of the 3D creation stack. The competitive environment for Autodesk is intensifying. As we see substitution risk increasing and the range of outcomes for software companies widening, we have decided to allocate capital elsewhere, funding our initiations in Nvidia and Progressive Corporation. |
| WDAY | Our investments across software and cloud-service providers were weak, including Microsoft, Autodesk and Workday. We exited Autodesk and Workday during the quarter. We exited our position in Workday during May after a relatively brief holding period of approximately eight months. Several fundamental factors have changed since our initial investment in September of last year, prompting us to revise both our growth and margin estimates for Workday. Most crucially—and the ultimate trigger for a thesis break in this case—were the recent changes in the management team. When the CEO stepped down and co-founder Aneel Bhusri was re-appointed, we expected, and already see, a change in capital allocation discipline at Workday, as evidenced by the immediate moderation of the company's margin targets. |
| V | Financials were another detractor. Our investments in financial-market infrastructure, including Deutsche Boerse, London Stock Exchange Group and B3, as well as payments companies Visa and Mastercard, trailed both the benchmark and asset-heavy global and European banks. Visa delivers strong revenue growth, with value-added services (VAS) and new payment flows being major contributors. We believe that the acceptance, security, and trust that the Visa network provides, combined with ongoing investment in innovation, can make agentic commerce and stablecoins future growth drivers for the company. |
| MA | Financials were another detractor. Our investments in financial-market infrastructure, including Deutsche Boerse, London Stock Exchange Group and B3, as well as payments companies Visa and Mastercard, trailed both the benchmark and asset-heavy global and European banks. |
| TSM | We have been invested in TSMC since the inception of the Global Leaders Strategy in 2015. As we have moved through 2026, we have continued to see TSMC raise its capex plans. We attended TSMC's Capital Markets Day in Phoenix in April, held at its new US-based fabs. These increases in capex needs are driven in part by demand from its leading customer, Nvidia. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing benefits from its leadership in advanced node manufacturing, which allows it to gain market share and benefit from strong demand for high-performance computing and AI infrastructure. As we have moved through 2026, TSMC has continued to raise its capex plans, supported in part by demand from Nvidia and other leading AI customers. |
| ASML | Another Global Leaders investment, ASML, is expecting meaningful order-book growth over the next few years, supporting our new revenue estimates further up the semiconductor supply chain at Nvidia. ASML continues to benefit from the build-out of AI infrastructure and remains a critical enabler of leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing. ASML's dominant position in Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, where it holds a monopoly in the equipment required for leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing, positions it well to benefit from continued AI-driven capacity expansion and meaningful long-term revenue growth. |
| GOOG | Further up the AI technology stack again, we have witnessed Anthropic's tenfold increase in annual recurring revenue, or ARR, over five months to approximately $45 billion of ARR in May 2026, as well as the hyperscalers' AI cloud business growth. We are seeing all three leading AI cloud providers, of which we are invested in Google and Microsoft, developing internal custom ASIC semiconductors, primarily to lower the cost of inference. Alphabet continues to benefit from its full-stack position across Search, Cloud, and model infrastructure. Alphabet's recent results suggest its AI investments are bearing fruit. Alphabet's equity raise in June will support its AI capex buildout and related growth opportunities and was well received by the market. |
| NVDA | The outcome of this work on fast-evolving semiconductor end markets was the initiation of an investment in Nvidia in Global Leaders in June. Over the last four years, Nvidia has positioned itself as the leader across all parts of the technical component layer within the AI technology stack, including AI silicon, networking, cooling and total rack systems. The Compute & Networking segment at Nvidia has increased from 41% of revenue in FY2022 to roughly 90% in FY2026, with operating margins rising from 37% to over 60% over the same timeframe. The free cash flow margin has risen from approximately 30% to closer to 45% over this period. This is among the highest free cash flow margins in the S&P 500. One question we have been concerned about for Nvidia is potential share loss within AI inference, given Nvidia already dominates AI training. Nonetheless, so far this year we have seen Nvidia's share of inference increase to over 75%, despite the wider availability of rival options. We have updated our estimates right through the technical infrastructure layer, including TSMC's new capex expansion plans noted above, and they are supportive of our new base-case estimates for Nvidia to reach a double-digit five-year IRR. We initiated a position in Nvidia in June. Over the last four years, Nvidia has positioned itself as the leader across all parts of the technical component layer within the AI technology stack, including AI silicon, networking, cooling and total rack systems. Meanwhile, it has invested heavily in seeding an AI ecosystem based on Nvidia technology within the application, model and cloud compute layers, helping to drive usage of its infrastructure products. Nvidia has reshaped its business from consumer and professional GPU cyclicality toward data-centre infrastructure platform economics. |
| ZTS | We also had specific errors of commission in Zoetis and Workday, both of which have now been exited. Zoetis observed increased competition across its main franchises and most recently also saw generic competition in therapeutic categories. We exited the company during the quarter. We exited Zoetis in May. We were attracted to the investment due to its position as the largest pure-play animal health company, benefiting from significant scale in R&D and as the highest-quality marketer to veterinarians and livestock producers, which increases switching costs. Our investment in Zoetis began to face increased growth headwinds in 2025 due to incremental competition in its industry-leading dermatology and Simparica Trio products. Additionally, the launch of Librela—the first available therapy for osteoarthritis pain in dogs—underperformed our expectations. Furthermore, we have observed increased competition across Zoetis's main franchises and, most recently, Zoetis also saw generic competition in therapeutic categories. As such, we see our investment thesis in Zoetis as broken and have fully exited the position. |
| PGR | We initiated a position in Progressive Corporation in June. Progressive is a dominant property and casualty (P&C) personal insurance carrier in the US and the leading auto insurance carrier. Its scale advantage is driven by its' low-cost offering to customers, which allows it to reinvest in product enhancements, offer more competitive prices, and benefit from marketing scale. In addition, Progressive's ability to leverage data for customer segmentation has resulted in consistent market share gains, in both hard and soft insurance pricing markets, and consistent profitability. The currently soft insurance market, characterized by generally lower premium levels and greater availability of insurance, has provided us with an attractive entry point to purchase the industry leader at a double-digit, five-year IRR. |
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