Investor Summary
Fund Strategy
FUND PERFORMANCE AS OF 31st December 2025
| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 0.097 | -0.014 | 0.201 |
| 2025 |
|---|
| 18.4% |
| ANNUALIZED SINCE INCEPTION | QUARTERLY | YTD |
|---|---|---|
| 0.097 | -0.014 | 0.201 |
| 2025 |
|---|
| 18.4% |
Mawer's quality-oriented portfolios underperformed benchmarks in Q4 2025 as markets favored higher-risk stocks over sustainable cash-flow generators. The firm maintains focus on quality, balance, and durability amid rising valuation concerns and AI bubble risks. Key contributors included Canadian financials benefiting from strong earnings, Alphabet's continued strength, and Amphenol's AI-related growth. The portfolio narrowed its gold underweight given supportive geopolitical and monetary conditions, while defense holdings faced headwinds from diplomatic developments. Looking ahead, the manager sees economies being rewired by policy, technology, and politics, with AI innovation and fiscal largesse sustaining growth but creating dependency on policy support. Rising debt sustainability concerns and persistent inflation pressures add complexity. The firm made tactical adjustments including slight equity reduction due to valuation concerns, shifting from small to large-cap Canadian equities, and increasing U.S. exposure. As cycles mature, companies with genuine scarcity, resilient margins, and prudent capital allocation are expected to lead, reinforcing the quality-focused investment approach.
Focus on quality companies with sustainable cash-flow generation, diversification, and downside risk management while navigating an environment of rising valuations, AI bubble concerns, and policy-dependent markets.
The manager expects continued rewiring of world economies by policy, technology, and populist politics. While AI innovation, fiscal largesse, and easing monetary policy have sustained growth and market confidence, the combination of political ambition and easy liquidity has kept markets dependent on continued policy support. As the cycle matures, assets with genuine scarcity, resilient margins, and prudent capital allocation are likely to lead. The focus remains on quality, balance, and durability as cycles will turn and policies will shift.
| Date | Letter | Tickers | Keywords | Pitches | Quick Takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 13 2026 | 2025 Q4 | 000660.KS, 0700.HK, AJG, APH, ATR, BA.L, BNS.TO, COR, CSU.TO, DHR, FTT.TO, GOOGL, MFC.TO, MMC, MSFT, PNG.V, RY.TO, TD.TO, TOI.TO, WAT | AI, defense, equities, global, gold, Quality, semiconductors, Valuations | - | AI remained the dominant market narrative, yet the year's shift from a focus on computing power to concerns about data centre profitability and power supply… |
| Oct 9 2025 | 2025 Q3 | - | AI, diversification, equities, semiconductors, value | - | The letter emphasizes strong global equity markets supported by AI enthusiasm and easing rates, while maintaining focus on diversified, cash-generative businesses. Holdings like TSMC, ASML,… |
| Jul 8 2025 | 2025 Q2 | - | defense, diversification, geopolitics, International Equities, policy | - | The letter focuses on global diversification amid geopolitical uncertainty, trade tensions, and shifting fiscal priorities. Management highlights selective exposure to defense, infrastructure, and high-quality international… |
| Apr 9 2025 | 2025 Q1 | ALA CN, GIB/A CN | - | - | - |
| Jan 14 2025 | 2024 Q4 | - | - | - | - |
| Oct 8 2024 | 2024 Q3 | 005930 KR, BN, CACI, SPOT, TCEHY | - | - | - |
| Jul 9 2024 | 2024 Q2 | - | - | - | - |
| Apr 26 2024 | 2024 Q1 | - | - | - | - |
| Jan 16 2024 | 2023 Q4 | - | - | - | - |
| Oct 17 2023 | 2023 Q3 | 80TE LN, CME, MC FP, NVO | - | - | - |
| Jul 18 2023 | 2023 Q2 | - | - | - | - |
| Apr 14 2023 | 2023 Q1 | - | - | - | - |
| Oct 10 2022 | 2022 Q3 | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
Defense SpendingCanada announced significant defense spending increases to reach 2% NATO target in 2026 and 5% of GDP by 2035, representing a potential sea change in investment levels. This shift from past decade of neglecting NATO spending requirements creates substantial infrastructure investment opportunities. |
NATO Military Infrastructure Budget Equipment | |
GoldGold experienced its best annual return since 1979 driven by seemingly insatiable appetite, entering bubble territory. The precious metal drove the Small Resources index to a 45.3% increase in the December half. |
Gold Precious Metals Bubble Resources | |
SemiconductorsTaiwan Semiconductor represents the dominant manufacturer for leading fabless chip designers including NVIDIA, Apple, and Broadcom. The global arms race to develop artificial general intelligence will support multiple years of robust growth for foundries with leading-edge capabilities. |
Foundries Advanced Process AI Chips Manufacturing Technology Leadership | |
| 2025 Q3 |
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 |
DiversificationThe Fund remains purposefully diversified despite market leadership being narrow and focused on AI. This discipline reflects commitment to effective risk management and appropriate diversification, which weighed on relative performance but positions the Fund well for various market scenarios. |
Risk Management Portfolio Construction Concentration | |
ValueThe portfolio trades at significant discounts to the broad market, with P/E ratios 40-42% below the S&P 500. The manager believes many steady-growing companies are overlooked by markets focused on AI winners, creating opportunities in businesses with lower assumed margins and productivity that could benefit from AI adoption. |
Discount Multiples Undervalued Overlooked Opportunity | |
| 2025 Q2 |
GeopoliticsTrump Administration is remaking world order with radically reset trade relations, strained alliances replaced by unilateralism, and commercial interests prioritized over strategic interests. This creates heightened uncertainty where unpredictability is seen as virtue. |
Trade Policy Unilateralism Uncertainty Alliances Diplomacy |
| Date | Pitch Type | Author | Ticker | Company | Industry | Sub Industry | Bull / Bear | Exchange | Keywords | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Elevator Pitches found | ||||||||||
| TICKER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|
| 000660.KS | SK Hynix continued its strong performance as the clear winner to date in high bandwidth memory, reporting a 62% year-over-year growth in profits in the third quarter and announcing that all of its DRAM, NAND and high bandwidth memory capacity is fully booked for 2026. SK Hynix was a top contributor over the quarter and year, with reductions made as it was among artificial intelligence-related companies that had performed well. |
| 0700.HK | Tencent was mentioned as one of the largest contributors in 2025. |
| AJG | Arthur J Gallagher faced continued negative sentiment around insurance-related companies, with shares underperforming due to a combination of investors moving away from typically more defensive stocks and company-specific factors. The company's earnings were impacted by accounting noise from the AssuredPartners acquisition and a miss on brokerage organic growth, which led to questions about growth deceleration. |
| APH | We trimmed Amphenol Corp. |
| ATR | Aptar, a specialist in drug-delivery and consumer-dispensing solutions, experienced reduced demand from pharmaceutical customers due to inventory normalization in nasal decongestants |
| BA.L | defence contractors such as the UK's BAE, Italy's Leonardo, and France's Thales, which declined on the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Russia-Ukraine war |
| BNS.TO | four of our holdings in the financials sector (TD, RBC, Scotiabank, and Manulife) posted strong stock performance on the back of stronger-than-expected earnings due to solid net interest income, resilient credit quality, healthy capital markets, and wealth-management fees |
| COR | Cencora Inc., a pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution company, gained 8%. Fiscal fourth quarter earnings outpaced the consensus as strength in the U.S. offset a miss in their international business. Management also announced that it is considering strategic alternatives for the animal health and non-core parts of its PharmaLex business. |
| CSU.TO | Broad pressure on the stocks of software companies enabled us to initiate a position in Constellation Software. This is a unique business we had on our radar for a long time but were never able to purchase due to its high valuation. At its core, the company is a permanent capital vehicle designed to acquire 'vertical market software' (VMS) businesses and hold them indefinitely. |
| DHR | After lagging through the first three quarters of 2025, Danaher's stock rebounded during Q4 as bioprocessing, life science, and diagnostics demand continued to recover from a cyclical trough. On the 3Q25 call, management established conservative 2026 growth expectations. Revenue is expected to continue to lag long-term trends at 3-6% but improve throughout the year. |
| FTT.TO | Shares of global heavy equipment distributor Finning rose after reporting quarterly results that were well above expectations |
| GOOGL | I'm willing to go bankrupt rather than lose this race. Larry Page, co-founder of Google |
| MFC.TO | four of our holdings in the financials sector (TD, RBC, Scotiabank, and Manulife) posted strong stock performance on the back of stronger-than-expected earnings due to solid net interest income, resilient credit quality, healthy capital markets, and wealth-management fees |
| MMC | We added global insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (MMC), as well as specialty chemicals manufacturer Eastman Chemicals Co (EMN). Marsh strikes us as a quintessentially good business trading at a reasonable valuation – a relatively rare combination with broad market indices trading near all-time highs. |
| MSFT | OpenAI's well-documented 'circular' funding with its business partners (NVIDIA, Microsoft, among others) is additional cause for concern. |
| PNG.V | shares of autonomous underwater vehicle technology company Kraken Robotics also benefited from increased government defence spending |
| RY.TO | The Royal Bank of Canada is Canada's largest bank, with operations across North America and globally and a workforce of more than 100,000 employees. The bank has a leading position in Canadian retail and commercial banking and multiple levers for organic growth. We expect continued acceleration in core business drivers, execution on key growth initiatives, and a supportive housing backdrop to drive resilient earnings growth and sustain dividend growth. |
| TD.TO | four of our holdings in the financials sector (TD, RBC, Scotiabank, and Manulife) posted strong stock performance on the back of stronger-than-expected earnings due to solid net interest income, resilient credit quality, healthy capital markets, and wealth-management fees |
| TOI.TO | Detracting from performance were holdings of Constellation Software and spinoff Topicus despite strong underlying earnings amid concerns that AI could affect their software offerings |
| WAT | Waters reported solid results supported by growth in Asia, and we increased the position following its acquisition of Becton Dickinson's biosciences and diagnostics business |
| 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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| No Recent Sells Data | ||||||
| Industry | Prev Quarter % | Current Quarter % | Change |
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| No industry data available | |||