Portfolio Manager William Preston, FAM Dividend Focus Fund, discusses how the strategy is distinct, the fund’s performance, and a portfolio holding.
This excerpt is from our October 2021 FAM Funds Annual Shareholder Informational Meeting.
FAM Small Cap Fund Portfolio Manager Kevin Gioia provides a strategy overview, performance update, and stock story.
This excerpt is from our October 2021 FAM Funds Annual Shareholder Informational Meeting.
Before the internet boom went bust in the early 2000s and prior to FAANGs1 dominating passive investors’ portfolios, one mutual fund strategy found that the most straight forward approach led to creating long-term wealth via investing in great companies.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Fenimore’s FAM Dividend Focus Fund, which has outperformed2 with a concentrated portfolio of mid-cap names with long-term growth potential. According to the fund’s Co-Manager Paul Hogan, who has managed the fund since its inception, the fund’s strong emphasis on quality rather than riding fashionable market trends is what makes the difference. The fund’s mantra is that of Fenimore Founder Thomas O. Putnam in seeking out investments to make “the train go faster not longer.”
In searching for the right stocks, mid-caps are a fertile space because they typically grow at a faster clip than large-cap companies. For the most part, the faster a company grows, the faster it can grow its dividend to shareholders as well. The dividend provides additional yield that in turn boosts long-term portfolio gains. While there are numerous mutual funds focused on large-cap dividend paying strategies, FAM’s focus on the mid-cap sector essentially doubles the number of companies to consider.
When evaluating these companies, Mr. Hogan and Co-Manager William Preston travel extensively to meet management teams in-person to not only get a sense of the company ethos but gain insights on whether a company is best in class and has room to grow.
Trade shows too offer a unique vantage point to see a company’s potential in action. A key question Mr. Hogan and Mr. Preston seek to answer is why clients want to do business with a particular company. Such events offer confirmation. Mr. Hogan recalled that about a decade ago one of the fund’s original holdings IDEX Corporation unveiled a new battery-operated ‘jaws of life’ tool demonstrating how with little training anyone could save a life.
When we look at our investment strategy, the first thing we are always concerned about is preservation of capital,” said Mr. Hogan. “So for us it’s first preserve capital, second generate an attractive return, and third, let the compounders compound.”
1 Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX), and Alphabet (GOOG).
2 Morningstar 3, 5, 10 year periods vs. the Russell Midcap Index.
Liza Baran, Director of Shareholder Services, discusses key benefits of our service offerings and recent enhancements.
This excerpt is from our October 2021 FAM Funds Annual Shareholder Informational Meeting.
In this short educational video Shaun Fagant, Shareholder Relations, clearly defines a Roth IRA Conversion.
If you would like more information about a Roth IRA Conversion, please watch our other video, “Roth Conversions” or contact us at 800.932.3271.
FAM Small Cap Fund Portfolio Managers Andrew Boord and Kevin Gioia chat with Senior Vice President Anne Putnam about Fenimore’s relentless quest for quality small-cap stocks. This pursuit began in 1974 and continues today.
Dear Fellow Shareholder,
Since the pandemics onset, we have taken two steps forward and one step back on several occasions. This is another one of those times. Corporate earnings for 2021’s first two quarters exceeded expectations and stock prices followed upward. During the third quarter, however, we saw the economy, earnings, and stock market slow down. It happened suddenly, but it is nothing to be alarmed about from our long-term investment perspective.
A visit to your local grocery store provides a telling picture of what is going on — some shelves are sparsely stocked and more customers are wearing masks.
Earlier this year, with COVID-19 cases on the decline and federal stimulus checks in hand, consumers rushed back into the marketplace — buying homes and cars, taking vacations, and attending all sorts of events. This was great for business. Sales were up, corporate profits jumped, and stock prices rose along with them. Until companies just could not keep up.
The reason is when the economy shut down, so did production lines. Then, when consumer demand exploded, manufacturers could not ramp up fast enough or find the employees they needed. Demand is simply outpacing supply. For example, automakers cannot obtain the semiconductors they need to build cars. Homeowners looking to upgrade appliances often cannot find what they need. As a result, people are suddenly spending less.
At the same time, businesses dealing with staffing shortages are reducing hours, further dampening sales. And now the upswing in COVID-19 cases is sending more people back into the safety of their homes and impacting restaurant seatings, air travel, and other elements of the mobile economy. Combined, these economic disruptions have forced some companies to downgrade their earnings estimates and this has slowed stock market growth.
What the fall has in store for us is impossible to predict — and certainly we are concerned about the resurging health impacts of the virus — but in our view the long-term outlook remains bright. Demand for consumer products is still high and the supply chain kinks should get straightened out. Quality businesses typically adapt, continue to grow, and should be bigger and more profitable five years from now than they are today.
We believe this bodes well for the FAM Funds. Our research team seeks quality companies with solid financial footings that we think are ideally positioned to weather any storm and deliver strong results over time. We focus not on the random, day-to-day, short-term turbulence in the economy or market, but on the businesses behind the stocks.
Have there been some unanticipated changes in recent weeks? Sure. But they do not alter our long-term vision. We believe we will take another two steps forward … And the shelves will once again be completely stocked.
Fenimore Founder and Executive Chairman Tom Putnam built the framework for a long-term succession plan many years ago to ensure continuity of experience and investment philosophy for years to come. I am pleased to announce the latest step in this plan.
Longtime Fenimore Investment Research Analyst Marc Roberts has been named as a Portfolio Manager of the FAM Value Fund. Marc served successfully in the same role for the FAM Small Cap fund from 2012 to 2016 before relocating to Chicago. He returned to us last year and quickly re-established himself as a key member of our research team. Marc joins me and Drew Wilson in managing the fund.
At the same time, Tom has announced that he will transition away from being a portfolio manager on our funds at the end of 2021 to concentrate fully on his Executive Chairman role. He will continue to be a mentor and an active participant in our research process and strategic direction. The rest of our fund management teams, including those of us who have led these teams for several years, will remain in place. Paul Hogan and Will Preston manage the FAM Dividend Focus Fund and Andrew Boord and Kevin Gioia the FAM Small Cap Fund.
We look forward to continuing Tom’s well-established tradition of collaborative, team management of the FAM Funds and to working diligently every day as we seek to grow your wealth over time.
We value the personal connections we have with our shareholders. You can reach us with any questions at 800-932-3271, through the contact us section of our website, or via info@fenimoreasset.com. Our team also welcomes you to meet with us in either our Albany or Cobleskill office or via Zoom.
We hope to hear from you soon. Thank you for your continued confidence in us.
Sincerely,
John D. Fox, CFA
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER