TIFF delivered strong 2025 performance through diversified liquid strategies while private markets lagged but showed improvement. The firm continues expanding systematic manager allocations, event-driven exposure, and AI integration across operations. With 35 years of institutional-quality solutions for nonprofits and growing international interest, TIFF remains optimistic about 2026 despite tariff concerns and private market headwinds.

LENS ETF's +56.79% inaugural year return validated the Return to Tangibles thesis as precious metals soared amid trade wars and inflation concerns. Gold and silver hit all-time highs while the fund's thematic positioning in Geopolitical & Fiscal Risk exposures drove outperformance. The manager expects 2026 to see commodity leadership broaden beyond precious metals as the secular trend continues.

Riverwater's small-cap strategy underperformed in 2025 by avoiding speculative AI and biotech investments while focusing on quality fundamentals. Energy outperformed through natural gas and nuclear themes. The manager expects 2026 to favor quality small-caps as lower-quality factors reverse and Fed rate cuts improve financing conditions for smaller companies.

Lord Abbett Short Duration Income Fund outperformed in Q4 2025 as Fed rate cuts supported fixed income markets. High yield corporates and investment grade security selection drove returns while CMBS detracted on commercial real estate concerns. The fund emphasizes carry over capital appreciation with defensive positioning across quality banks, energy, and technology names amid compelling fixed income opportunities.

The Fed's shift from quantitative tightening to $40 billion monthly asset purchases is more significant than headlines suggest, creating favorable conditions for small- and mid-cap value strategies. With inflation below target and positive yield curve signals, this accommodative stance should drive economic expansion and benefit discounted value names and Bitcoin exposure.

Wedgewood Partners endured their worst relative performance since 1993, with quality growth stocks underperforming in a speculative AI-driven market. The manager warns of bubble-like valuations exceeding tech bubble levels but remains confident their superior portfolio fundamentals and attractive relative valuations position them well for a potential reversal in 2026 when quality may reassert itself.

Riverwater's micro-cap strategy underperformed in 2025 by avoiding speculative AI and biotech themes while maintaining quality discipline. Top holding IRadimed gained 80% on FDA approval. Manager expects 2026 rotation back to fundamentals favoring quality micro-caps, supported by Fed rate cuts and improving real economy earnings. Portfolio positioned for cyclical outperformance at fundamental inflection points.

Spheria's global small cap fund underperformed in Q4 2025 as quality-focused strategies faced headwinds from markets favoring unprofitable AI-concept stocks. Strong performers included banking software provider JKHY and logistics company Expeditors, while HR software firm Paycom struggled with soft job market conditions. Managers maintain conviction in their disciplined, valuation-aware approach to high-quality businesses.

ARK believes technological convergence across AI, robotics, energy storage, blockchain, and genomics will drive 4-6% productivity growth and economic boom. Despite rolling recession since 2022, favorable policies and Fed rate cuts should catalyze recovery. Innovation space is revaluing with structural tailwinds replacing headwinds. Mixed Q4 performance with AI winners offsetting crypto weakness.

Gramercy's emerging markets debt strategy delivered positive December returns through selective high-yield sovereign exposure and South African local-currency bonds. Dollar weakness provided broad EM tailwinds while spread compression favored carry assets. Underweight positioning in lower-beta currencies and investment-grade duration exposure created modest headwinds in the volatile rate environment.

AVI Japan Opportunity Trust outperformed in December through successful activist engagement at Synchro Food and tender offer announcement for Broadmedia. The fund continues deploying capital from the Fidelity merger while maintaining its constructive engagement strategy. With Japan's corporate governance reforms accelerating and additional firepower available, AVI is positioned to unlock substantial value in under-researched small-cap Japanese equities.

49 Financial warns of growing structural risks beneath 2025's strong returns, particularly extreme U.S. market concentration and elevated valuations with suppressed volatility. The firm positions globally diversified portfolios emphasizing active risk management over passive strategies, expecting 2026 to bring higher volatility and reduced tolerance for concentration. A weaker dollar should benefit international equities while inflation risks challenge traditional fixed income.

Strong 2025 performance driven by quality stock selection in Financials and strategic positioning in secular themes like nuclear energy and data center infrastructure. Defense holdings face temporary headwinds but maintain strong fundamentals. Key focus on managing AI concentration risk while capitalizing on productivity-driven growth opportunities in an environment rich with investment potential despite geopolitical uncertainty.

Bahl & Gaynor advocates risk-managed AI infrastructure exposure while emphasizing downside protection amid elevated market concentration and valuations. The firm positions away from cap-weighted indexes toward equal-weighted and smaller cap opportunities, focusing on diversification and risk budgeting to deliver differentiated outcomes aligned with individual investor needs rather than market consensus positioning.

HMC Capital Partners delivered -9.2% in Q4 but maintains 23.5% annualized returns since inception through active value creation in Australian companies. The Fund focuses on real estate and consumer names benefiting from demographic trends, actively engaging management to unlock value. With $140m cash and elevated market valuations, positioned defensively for volatility while targeting high-conviction opportunities.

Hardman Johnston delivered solid Q4 returns despite modest benchmark underperformance, driven by Healthcare and Financials strength offset by Industrial weakness. The manager maintains conviction in defense spending themes and mining cycle recovery while managing AI concentration risk. Portfolio activity focused on quality businesses with durable advantages, viewing current geopolitical turbulence as creating rich opportunities for fundamental stock pickers.

Hardman Johnston delivered strong Q4 performance, outperforming the S&P 500 with 4.27% net returns. The firm sees opportunities rather than bubbles, benefiting from early AI investments while diversifying into transportation and consumer products. Key winners included Albemarle on lithium surge and Illumina positioned for life sciences recovery. Economic backdrop remains favorable despite political volatility.

Jemekk Hedge Fund posted 18.3% returns in 2025, capitalizing on Canadian outperformance driven by energy, precious metals, and financials. The fund is positioned for Build Canada infrastructure themes and elevated defense spending globally through holdings like Exchange Income Fund and RTX Corporation. Managers expect continued Canadian outperformance in 2026 despite macro headwinds from inflation and tariffs.

Southeastern's Small-Cap Fund delivered 7.56% returns in 2025 while maintaining disciplined value approach during market environment favoring unprofitable companies. Portfolio features quality holdings with strong balance sheets, 15.8% cash for deployment, and significantly reduced leverage versus historical periods. Manager expects inevitable reversion to favor undervalued, cash-generating businesses over current market speculation.

Lakehouse Small Companies Fund fell 7.5% in December due to concentrated portfolio volatility but maintains strong long-term track record. Magellan contributed positively as Barrenjoey investment bank reaches profitability. Cogstate showed strong contract growth despite timing issues. Managers actively added to positions during weakness, maintaining concentrated approach with 5.4% cash for opportunities.

Langdon's small-cap portfolio delivered 6.9% in 2025 despite Q4 weakness, validating their quality-focused approach during market stress. Consumer holdings like YETI and Watches of Switzerland rebounded strongly in Q4 after first-half pressure. The concentrated portfolio of high-quality businesses with strong balance sheets enters 2026 well-positioned for long-term value creation at attractive valuations.

Lakehouse Global Growth Fund focuses on concentrated positions in technology companies with network effects and intellectual property moats. Despite December underperformance and challenging 2025 returns, the fund maintains strong long-term track record with 14.6% annualized returns since inception. Portfolio spans global e-commerce, enterprise software, and payments platforms with strong competitive positioning.

Langdon's Canadian small-cap portfolio delivered 19.7% in 2025 through diversified holdings in underfollowed sub-$1 billion companies. Strong performance from specialty retail and industrial names offset real estate weakness. New position PharmaCorp exemplifies opportunities in inefficient Canadian small-cap market. Disciplined approach focuses on business fundamentals and appropriate risk-return compensation rather than macro themes.

China dominates the Electric Stack (batteries, magnets, power electronics) that powers the Next Economy while the US bets everything on AI. Green Alpha believes physical infrastructure trumps intelligence alone. The firm is moving capital toward companies building electrostate infrastructure and away from petrostate incumbents, riding proven cost curves in energy transition technologies.

Phoenician Capital posted 34% returns in 2025 by owning quality businesses outside crowded market areas. Top performers like ASA International, Mader Group, and Inter & Co. demonstrated strong operational execution and profitability growth. The fund is enhancing its proprietary AI research platform to accelerate new investment generation while maintaining disciplined, valuation-aware approach for 2026.

Horos delivered strong 2025 returns while warning of U.S. market bubble dynamics driven by AI speculation and passive investing distortions. With valuations at dot-com levels and extreme concentration, the manager avoids overpriced markets, focusing on undervalued European opportunities. Precious metals surged as inflation hedge while AI companies raise capital at unprecedented valuations without products.

The 13D Activist Fund leverages record-high shareholder activism levels, expanding internationally with first Japanese investments in Ebara and Kansai Electric Power. Despite Q4 underperformance in a large-cap market, early 2026 shows promise with the fund outperforming Russell 2000. Portfolio turnover accelerated as activism becomes necessary for value realization in an increasingly passive market.

Starvine delivered 41.6% returns in 2025 despite currency headwinds, capitalizing on spring volatility from trade tariff fears to add exposure at attractive prices. The manager emphasizes these exceptional returns are unsustainable, maintaining focus on quality companies at reasonable valuations for long-term compounding while opportunistically exploiting market dislocations.

Ennismore's European small cap fund delivered 10.7% returns in 2025 through disciplined value investing despite market preference for large-cap themes. Strong conviction in quality businesses at attractive valuations, with long positions trading at 50% discount to shorts for comparable quality. Infrastructure spending catalysts and German market recovery expected to drive stronger 2026 performance.

DKAM sees the current correction as a repeat of 2022's opportunity, with high-quality small caps trading at record cheap valuations despite strong fundamentals. The fund's holdings are set for record 2026 performance with 40% revenue growth and 56% earnings growth. Managers are positioning aggressively for a substantial rebound similar to the 325-394% gains following 2022's selloff.

Oakmark Global Select delivered solid Q4 performance driven by healthcare holdings, particularly Bayer's positive drug trial results. The fund added Sanofi during vaccine market volatility, capitalizing on strong fundamentals and Dupixent growth potential. Despite Alibaba's near-term pressure from Quick Commerce investments, managers maintain conviction in Chinese technology positioning for long-term AI-driven value creation.

Oakmark Select outperformed with 8.42% quarterly returns driven by Warner Bros Discovery's bidding war and strategic value investing. The fund added Targa Resources at attractive valuations while maintaining conviction in undervalued companies across industries. Strong performance in communication services and financials offset industrial sector weakness, demonstrating successful contrarian positioning in overlooked value opportunities.

Oakmark International Small Cap delivered strong 29% annual returns despite Q4 underperformance. The fund maintains concentrated European exposure while adding Japanese HR tech company Visional. Industrial machinery strength from Konecranes offset software weakness from TeamViewer. Managers see continued value opportunities internationally despite strong market performance, with potential geographic diversification ahead.

Mar Vista's Quality Premier strategy underperformed in Q4 despite strong AI-related holdings like Alphabet and Apple. The manager sees AI transitioning from infrastructure build-out to monetization in 2026, but warns of vulnerability from narrow market leadership and elevated mega-cap valuations. Strategy focuses on high-quality businesses with competitive advantages while maintaining valuation discipline in an increasingly late-cycle environment.

Mar Vista's Quality strategy underperformed in Q4 as mega-cap AI stocks dominated. Portfolio changes included adding Taiwan Semiconductor and Netflix while exiting Equifax and Roper. The manager sees AI transitioning to demonstrable ROI with early monetization in cloud, advertising, and semiconductors. 2026 outlook balances Fed easing and earnings growth against narrow leadership risks and elevated valuations.

FAM Value Fund declined 1.17% in Q4 as AI speculation continued driving capital away from quality companies. Ross Stores, Markel Group, and Amphenol led performance while Brown & Brown, AutoZone, and Fastenal lagged. Fenimore trimmed winners and raised cash to 3.2%, maintaining disciplined focus on quality fundamentals despite market preference for speculative investments.

Fenimore's Small Cap Fund declined 4.12% in Q4 as quality stocks lagged speculative AI-related names, similar to the late 1990s tech bubble. Despite underperformance, the firm maintains disciplined focus on high-quality businesses with strong fundamentals, believing these characteristics will eventually drive long-term returns as market speculation subsides.

Fenimore's Dividend Focus Fund underperformed in Q4 as AI speculation drove capital from quality dividend-payers to speculative stocks. Despite short-term headwinds, portfolio companies showed strong fundamentals with accelerating earnings growth and 9% dividend increases. Management used volatility to add to quality names at attractive valuations, positioning for long-term outperformance when fundamentals reassert themselves.

AVI Global Trust gained 0.4% in December, led by Chrysalis Investments on asset realisation news. Samsung C&T now represents over 5% of NAV, offering exposure to Samsung Electronics' improving HBM competitiveness and Samsung Biologics' 50% margin antibody manufacturing. South Korean governance reforms and capital allocation changes provide catalysts for discount closure.

GoodHaven runs a concentrated value strategy in 19 high-quality businesses trading at significant discounts. Key themes include digital advertising, financials with strong balance sheets, demographic-driven homebuilders, and disciplined energy companies. The upgraded portfolio under Larry Pitkowsky has delivered strong performance, ranking top decile over three years with 8.08% annualized returns since inception.

Upslope delivered +14.8% in 2025 through disciplined long/short investing amid AI-accelerated markets. Portfolio reflects defense spending normalization, industrial automation opportunities, and Japanese reforms. New positions in Booz Allen, Crown Holdings, Fanuc, and Henry Schein capitalize on secular tailwinds. Quality businesses trade at attractive valuations despite challenging macro backdrop and persistent market risk-taking behavior.

Reeves liquidated fraud-hit Intellego but maintains conviction in core growth holdings. Nu expands super app model to Mexico, MercadoLibre outcompetes major platforms, TransMedics dominates organ transplants with operational scale. New Duolingo position capitalizes on exceptional engagement metrics after 70% decline. Strategy remains focused on exceptional entrepreneurs building high-quality, fast-growing companies for long-term compounding.

Mawer's quality-focused approach underperformed in Q4's risk-on environment despite strong Canadian financials and AI beneficiaries like Alphabet and Amphenol. The firm reduced equity exposure due to valuation concerns while narrowing gold underweight. With AI bubble risks rising and policy dependency increasing, the manager emphasizes quality companies with sustainable cash flows and disciplined capital allocation as cycles mature.

Jacob Asset Management sees the AI productivity cycle as real and transformative, adding Snowflake for cloud data infrastructure exposure. Two biotech positions target gene therapy and CAR-T immunotherapy breakthroughs. Recent AI valuation cooling creates attractive entry points for multiyear themes. Smaller companies may benefit disproportionately from potential multiple expansion despite mixed economic signals.

Pender Small Cap delivered 5.7% in 2025 despite market volatility, led by defense and energy transition plays including Kraken Robotics and grid modernization specialist Tantalus Systems. After years of small-cap underperformance, managers see improved opportunity sets in quality Canadian businesses trading at compelling valuations, maintaining disciplined focus on competitively advantaged companies.

Thornburg Strategic Income delivered solid Q4 returns while maintaining defensive positioning with longer duration and higher quality bias. Despite tight credit spreads and late-cycle warning signs including bankruptcies and fraud, the fund identified selective data center project finance opportunities. Fed easing and declining inflation support the outlook, with 2026 strategy favoring high-quality fixed income and flexible diversification.

Mid-cap growth fund underperformed in 4Q25 on poor stock selection, with gaming and healthcare holdings declining while missing biotech winners. Managers remain optimistic on 2026 outlook, expecting resilient growth supported by AI innovation and broadening market leadership beyond mega-caps, though geopolitical risks warrant caution.

Generation maintains conviction in quality-focused investing despite current underperformance, believing market dynamics favoring momentum over fundamentals are temporary. Portfolio companies demonstrate faster earnings growth than benchmark while trading at attractive relative valuations. Firm continues building concentrated portfolio of sustainable businesses with strong competitive positions, particularly in AI infrastructure and digital payments platforms.