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Shaun Fagant

Fenimore Promotes Shaun Fagant

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in All News, Company Hightlights.

Fenimore Promotes Shaun Fagant

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    Fenimore Asset Management, an independent, Capital Region-based investment advisory firm and manager of the FAM Funds family of mutual funds, has promoted Shaun Fagant to Regional Director. In his new role, Mr. Fagant will share Fenimore’s distinctive investment approach and solutions with individuals, families, nonprofits, small businesses, and other organizations.

    “Shaun’s extensive experience in working one-on-one with investors and helping them achieve their financial goals should be a great benefit to people in our region,” said Fenimore Senior Vice President Anne Putnam. “He is dedicated to service excellence and developing caring, long-term relationships with our investors that are anchored in trust.”

    Prior to his promotion, Mr. Fagant served on the FAM Funds Shareholder Services team as a Shareholder Relations professional. Previously, he was a Team Leader at Ayco (a Goldman Sachs Company) overseeing a group of financial planners. Mr. Fagant has more than 17 years of financial planning experience and earned his master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts.

  • Shaun Fagant, Regional Director

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    Shaun Fagant, Regional Director

Founded in 1974, Fenimore Asset Management is an independent, nationally recognized investment manager with more than $4.08 billion in assets under management (as of 3/31/2023) through its Cobleskill and Albany offices. Fenimore offers both individually managed portfolios and a family of mutual funds (FAM Funds) that can be used for retirement and other long-term investment planning. The firm’s team focuses on in-depth research, investing in carefully selected quality businesses, and providing its investors with highly personalized investment services.

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Marc Roberts

MID-YEAR INVESTOR UPDATE: Resiliency amidst signs of moderation.

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in Featured News & Insights, Investment Insights, Uncategorized.

MID-YEAR INVESTOR UPDATE:
Resiliency amidst signs of moderation.

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    As we approach the middle of the year, we thought it would be appropriate to provide an update of what we are seeing, hearing, and thinking regarding the economy and your portfolios.

    Following the close of Q1, our in-house investment research team has been busy parsing through 100+ earnings calls and transcripts from the companies they follow. No doubt, we did hear signs of moderation, particularly towards the end of the quarter. This moderation is being felt across a wide range of industries including industrial distribution, technology hardware, healthcare analytical equipment, and consumer facing businesses—particularly those impacted by higher interest rates like used autos and homebuilding supplies. In some cases, moderation means that businesses in these industries will grow at a slower rate, while in other cases certain businesses may see a decline compared to the high levels of activity achieved in 2021 and 2022.

  • Marc Roberts

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    Marc Roberts, CFA®
    Portfolio Manager, FAM Value Fund

Encouragingly, despite signs of moderation, we heard an equal amount about resiliency. Consumer spending and the labor market has remained robust, despite the pace of interest rate increases aimed at combating higher levels of inflation. Resiliency was felt across several industries including insurance brokerage, health care procedures, travel, and general industrial. For some businesses, positive results are being driven by continued solid demand, while others are benefiting more from latent pricing power. Our focus on investing in businesses that possess differentiated attributes has helped with navigating this dynamic environment and we’ve been pleased with our companies ability to get the appropriate value for the products and services they provide.  

Resiliency has not only been present in the economy, but in the stock market as well.  Despite news headlines and concerns at the macroeconomic level, the broader market has achieved gains year to date. 

LOOKING AHEAD

We continue to monitor the ongoing developments in the banking and commercial real estate industries (read our latest banking update). Tightening credit standards and greater risk aversion may have been a culprit behind the moderation that corporate America began feeling late in the quarter and could serve to further moderate activity going forward.

At Fenimore, we know that we can’t predict potential macro eventuality. However, we continue to have high conviction in our ability to mitigate risk, and our approach to selecting quality, resilient businesses.  We remain confident that over the long-term, our businesses and the leadership teams behind them can drive long-term value creation, that is expected to benefit our collective portfolios.    

STAY CONNECTED

If you have any questions about your investments, you can call 800-721-5391, email us at info@fenimoreasset.com, or stop by either our Albany or Cobleskill location.

Thank you for your ongoing trust and we hope you have a safe and enjoyable summer.

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Antonio Hebert

Antonio Goodwyn Earns the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) Designation

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in All News, Company Hightlights.

Antonio Goodwyn Earns the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) Designation

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    Fenimore Asset Management is pleased to announce that Antonio Goodwyn earned the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation and is among several of the research analysts at Fenimore Asset Management, the investment advisor to FAM Funds, to become a CFA® charterholder member. The CFA® designation introduces Antonio into a select professional community of ethical financial experts around the world.

    Antonio joined Fenimore in 2019, as an Investment Research Associate, conducting firsthand, individual company research as part of Fenimore’s time-tested investment approach. Antonio graduated third in his class from Fordham University before joining Fenimore. He earned a BS in Finance with a secondary concentration in Value Investing.

    “We are very proud of Antonio for achieving this milestone,” said John Fox, Chief Executive Officer. “This designation coupled with his commitment to our investment process, intelligence, and character will continue to make a positive difference at Fenimore.”

    Congratulations, Antonio!

  • Antonio Hebert

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Junior Achievement Titan CEO Challenge Winners: Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School

Junior Achievement Titan CEO Challenge Winners: Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School with Mentor, Christian Snyder

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in All News, Community Spotlight, Featured News & Insights, Fenimore in the Community.

Junior Achievement Titan CEO Challenge Winners: Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School with Mentor, Christian Snyder

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    Junior Achievement (JA) is bringing business leadership skills and inspiration to nearly 150 Capital Region high school students this year. During the recent JA Titan CEO Challenge, Christian Snyder, J.D., CFA®, President of Fenimore, was pleased to be among the local CEO/President mentors. This Challenge included 66 teams (of 2-3 students each) competing across 5 different high schools over a period of several weeks.

    The goal of the JA Titan CEO Challenge is “…a focus on financial analysis and insights into the workforce, JA Titan brings business economics to life with decision-making across all functions of the students’ simulated companies.” Each class was paired with a mentor that shared their personal experiences related to business management, tying together first-hand knowledge and the popular simulation challenge in which students compete as business CEOs.

  • Junior Achievement Titan CEO Challenge Winners: Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School

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The results are in and congratulations to Berne-Knox-Westerlo high school and Christian for being the winning team in this year’s event!

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Welcome Home to a Hero

Welcome Home to a Hero

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in All News, Fenimore in the Community.

Welcome Home to a Hero

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    The Fenimore team worked with the Veterans & Community Housing Coalition to provide 10 ‘Welcome Home to a Hero’ baskets for women veterans that are transitioning into permanent housing. Each basket was filled with pots and pans, baking sheets, oven mitts, comforter sets, sheets, pillows, cleaning supplies, shower curtains, towels and more.  Our hope was to make ‘Home Sweet Home’ a little sweeter by allowing these veterans to spend more time enjoying this milestone and less time worrying about purchasing items they need.

    The Veterans & Community Housing Coalition, Inc assists and supports veterans in our 7 surrounding counties by providing temporary and permanent housing as well as a food pantry. These housing options include The Guardian House, which is the only supportive housing program for homeless female veterans in New York State.

  • Welcome Home to a Hero

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The Fenimore team dropped off the baskets and was able to visit and tour the Guardian House and see the incredible impact that the Veterans & Community Housing Coalition has made across our community. We want to extend a thank you to the Veterans & Community Housing Coalition for their continued work and a sincere thank you to all veterans for their service.

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Unsung Heroes

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in All News, Community Spotlight, Featured News & Insights, Fenimore in the Community.

Unsung Heroes

The Richmondville Volunteer Emergency Squad (RVES) provides emergency medical services to more than 2,600 residents in a rural Upstate New York county as well as to surrounding communities. While this rescue team is accustomed to saving others in danger, they recently had their own urgent situation.

RVES’s 2005 ambulance was in constant disrepair — a nerve-racking circumstance for first responders whose equipment can make the difference between life and death. As an all-volunteer squad that does not receive regular municipal funding, it was their turn to ask the community for help.

Fenimore’s associates were honored to support RVES’s capital campaign and thrilled when they stopped by to celebrate their new, state-of-the-art ambulance and give us a tour!

Thank you RVES for your selfless acts of service for those in need!

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Investing in the Future

Investing in the Future

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in All News, Fenimore in the Community.

Investing in the Future

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    Fenimore associates participated in several different career and investment education events for students recently as part of our ongoing commitment to investing in future generations. Highlights include:

    Middleburgh Central School District Career Day

    Fenimore was proud to be among the 40+ businesses and organizations participating in Middleburgh Central School District Career Day.

    Students in grades 7th through 12th had the opportunity to select areas of interest from different career groupings. Within each group, presenters spent time with the students discussing their organization, role within the organization, career background and required skills. During each of these sessions, Joe LeRoy, an Investor Relations professional at Fenimore, spoke to students about the tradeoffs between spending, borrowing, and investing, the importance of time in the market and the critical skills and background required to serve investors.

    Liberty Partnerships Program Career Fair at SUNY Cobleskill

    Liza Baran, Director of Shareholder Services & Operations, welcomed the opportunity to attend the Liberty Partnerships Program Career Fair at SUNY Cobleskill. The fair provided an opportunity for SUNY Cobleskill students to explore a wide variety of careers. Liza was able to meet with students as they stopped by the Fenimore table to ask questions and learn about the types of careers at Fenimore, educational requirements, and daily business activities.

  • Investing in the Future

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The Wall Street Journal Category King

WSJ Category King – FAM Small Cap Fund

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in All News, Company Hightlights, Featured News & Insights.

WSJ Category King – FAM Small Cap Fund

The FAM Small Cap Fund was recognized again as a “Category King” in The Wall Street Journal.*

“We are proud to receive this recognition,” said Andrew Boord, Portfolio Manager of the FAM Small Cap Fund. “At the same time, we don’t focus on categories or consider the portfolio to be a growth fund. Our focus is on researching and owning what we believe are quality companies that can grow and produce attractive returns over the long term.”

Learn more about the FAM Small Cap Fund

FAM SMALL CAP FUND DETAILS

THE QUEST FOR QUALITY SMALL CAP STOCKS

Andrew Boord

*The FAM Small Cap Fund (Investor Class Shares) was listed in the “Small-Cap Growth” category. “Category Kings in 9 Realms” selection criteria: “Top-performing funds in each category, ranked by one-year total returns (changes in net asset values with reinvested distributions) as of March 31, 2023; assets are as of Feb. 28. All data are final.” Year-to-date, 1-year, 3-yr, 5-year, and 10-year performance are also shown in the listing. The FAM Small Cap Fund is listed as number five on this one-year ranking out of 931 funds.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal. Before investing, carefully read the fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. FAM Funds’ prospectus or summary prospectus contains this and other important information about FAM Funds and should be read carefully before you invest or send money.

To obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus and performance data that is current to the most recent month-end for each fund as well as other information, please go to fenimoreasset.com or call (800) 932-3271.

The principal risks of investing in the fund are: stock market risk (stocks fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and to general stock market and economic conditions), stock selection risk (Fenimore utilizes a value approach to stock selection and there is risk that the stocks selected may not realize their intrinsic value, or their price may go down over time), and small-cap risk (prices of small-cap companies can fluctuate more than the stocks of larger companies and may not correspond to changes in the stock market in general).

Neither this presentation nor any of its contents may be distributed or used for any other purpose without the prior written consent of Fenimore. The description of certain aspects of the market herein is a condensed summary only. This summary does not purport to be complete and no obligation to update or otherwise revise such information is being assumed. These materials are provided for informational purposes only and are not otherwise intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase, any security or other financial instrument. This summary is not advice, a recommendation or an offer to enter into any transaction with Fenimore or any of their affiliated funds. This presentation may contain statements based on the current beliefs and expectations of Fenimore’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any references herein to any of Fenimore’s past or present investments, portfolio characteristics, or performance, have been provided for illustrative purposes only. It should not be assumed that these investments were or will be profitable or that any future investments will be profitable or will equal the performance of these investments. There can be no guarantee that the investment objectives of Fenimore will be achieved. Any investment entails a risk of loss. Unless otherwise noted, information included herein is presented as of the date indicated on the cover page and may change at any time without notice.

Securities offered through Fenimore Securities, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC, and advisory services offered through Fenimore Asset Management, Inc.

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Capital Allocation is Key

Q4 Earnings Takeaway: Strategic Capital Allocation is Key

Written by Spiral Design on . Posted in Featured News & Insights, Investment Insights.

Q4 Earnings Takeaway: Strategic Capital Allocation is Key

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    In an environment where significant free cash flow generation, strong balance sheets, and superior management teams are crucial to company performance (and even survival), we believe our focus on high-quality enterprises with solid financials is more important than ever.

    Strategic capital allocation is one of the most important activities management teams do based on our experience of nearly 50 years. We strive to invest in companies that, after paying business expenses, generate more cash than they need and in turn seek to increase shareholder value.

    With excess free cash, leadership has five capital allocation choices.

  • Capital Allocation is Key

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1. Invest in the Business

  • This includes building new plants, adding more stores, increasing inventory, and research and development.

2. Impact the Balance Sheet

  • Put cash on the balance sheet.
  • Pay down debt.

3. Conduct Mergers and Acquisitions

  • Companies can acquire businesses to accelerate their growth.
  • When they acquire another firm, this tends to increase sales, profits, and their stock price.

4. Pay a Dividend

  • We seek companies that pay a dividend and consistently increase that dividend over time. We believe dividend growth is important because only businesses that are growing their cash flow are able to consistently grow their dividends. We favor investing in businesses that are growing their dividends quickly because it means the underlying operation is expanding.

5. Buy Back Stock

  • A stock buyback is when a corporation purchases its own shares in the stock market and it demonstrates the management team’s confidence in their business.
  • A buyback reduces the number of shares outstanding and this increases earnings per share and, frequently, the stock’s value. 
  • All buybacks are not alike. Just as we seek to purchase shares at a discount to a company’s value, we prefer businesses that repurchase their shares at reasonable valuations as well.

Across Fenimore’s three mutual funds (FAM Funds), 100% of our holdings are employing one or more of these strategic tools. This bolsters our confidence in their leaders and business.

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