The Causeway Global Value Fund (“Fund”), on a net asset value basis, underperformed the Index during the month, due primarily to stock selection. On a gross return basis, Fund holdings in the capital goods, consumer durables & apparel, and media & entertainment industry groups detracted from relative performance. Holdings in the semiconductors & semi equipment and banks industry groups, as well as an underweight position in the energy industry group, offset some of the underperformance relative to the Index. The largest detractor was rolling stock, signaling, and services provider for the rail industry, Alstom SA (France). Additional notable detractors included multinational luxury conglomerate, Kering SA (France), and diversified pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., Inc. (United States). The top contributor to return was semiconductor company, Renesas Electronics Corp. (Japan). Other notable contributors included semiconductor company, Infineon Technologies AG (Germany), and technology conglomerate, Alphabet, Inc. (United States).
Investment Outlook
The conflict in the Middle East has cast a shadow over economically sensitive sectors, weighing on the valuations of many cyclical stocks. Even after the US ultimately disengages from Iran, geopolitical risk is likely to remain elevated for several quarters. At this stage, the conflict has not prompted reductions to our two-year price targets for portfolio companies, as we view the associated disruptions as temporary and continue to anchor our valuations in longer-term fundamentals. A satisfactory resolution could support a rebound in portfolio holdings.
Separately, structural pressures continue to reshape parts of the market. Software and services stocks remain out of favor, as rising competition from generative AI-native entrants raises questions about the resilience of incumbents.
Cyclical concerns and structural shifts require even greater precision in stock selection. Consistent with Causeway’s longstanding approach, we use unjustified share price weakness to add to existing positions where our investment thesis remains intact, while market dislocations have created additional opportunities to initiate new positions in high-quality businesses at more attractive valuations.
International Small Cap Fund
Portfolio Attribution
The Causeway International Small Cap Fund (“Fund”), on a net asset value basis, underperformed the Index during the month. To evaluate stocks in our investible universe, our multi-factor quantitative model employs five bottom-up factor categories –valuation, sentiment, technical indicators, quality, and corporate events – and two top-down factor categories assessing macroeconomic and country aggregate characteristics. Alpha factor performance was mixed in April. Among our bottom-up factor groups, our sentiment and technical factors posted the most positive monthly returns, and technical is the best-performing factor group over the last twelve months. However, returns to our value, quality, and corporate events factor groups were negative in April. Returns to our macroeconomic factors were positive in April as countries exhibiting more attractive characteristics (such as Korea and Taiwan) outperformed those with relatively weaker characteristics. However, our country aggregate factors delivered negative monthly returns. All factor groups remain positive on an inception-to-date basis.
Investment Outlook
Amid a backdrop of elevated energy prices, the new chair of the US Federal Reserve (“Fed”), Kevin Warsh, faces a challenge. He needs to determine if the rising prices are transitory as he seeks to balance inflation and growth considerations. Rising US interest rates driven by inflation concerns and a flight to safety amid market volatility have contributed to falling international currencies.
Causeway’s International Small Cap portfolio continues to trade at a substantial discount to the Index while simultaneously exhibiting more favorable growth, quality, momentum, and positive estimate revisions than the Index. We believe that this highly attractive combination of characteristics better insulates our portfolio from future volatility.
We believe another attractive feature of international small caps is that they exhibit greater valuation dispersion than large caps on both a forward earnings yield and B/P basis. This indicates more information content in the valuation ratios of small caps. In addition to exhibiting greater valuation dispersion, small caps exhibit a higher long-term earnings per share growth trend.
We continue to monitor the fluid conflict in the Middle East and the Fund remains underweight stocks in the EMEA and Developed Middle East regions due primarily to bottom-up considerations.
International Opportunities Fund
Portfolio Attribution
The Causeway International Opportunities Fund (“Fund”) on a net asset value basis, underperformed the Index during the month. On a gross return basis, Fund holdings in the consumer durables & apparel, capital goods, and telecommunication services industry groups detracted from relative performance. Positioning in semiconductors & semi equipment, technology hardware & equipment, and energy contributed to relative performance. The largest detractors from absolute returns included rolling stock, signaling, and services provider for the rail industry, Alstom SA (France), multinational luxury conglomerate, Kering SA (France), and communication services provider, Deutsche Telekom AG (Germany). The greatest contributors to absolute returns included semiconductor company, Renesas Electronics Corp. (Japan), integrated circuit manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Taiwan), and semiconductor company, SK hynix, Inc. (South Korea).
We use a proprietary quantitative equity allocation model that assists the portfolio managers in determining the weight of emerging versus developed markets in the Fund. Our allocation relative to the weight of emerging markets in the Index is currently overweight. We identify five primary factors as most indicative of the ideal allocation target: valuation, quality, earnings growth, macroeconomic, and risk aversion. Our valuation, earnings growth, and macroeconomic factors are positive for emerging markets. Our quality metric, which includes such measures as profit margins and return on equity, is also positive. Our risk aversion factor is a positive indicator as well.
Investment Outlook
The conflict in the Middle East and partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz increased oil prices and inflation risks, reducing growth expectations. Global equities fell in March, and traditional safe havens offered limited diversification. Energy stocks benefited from supply concerns, while other sectors struggled. Two of the portfolio’s largest EM country overweights, South Korea and Taiwan, are importers of oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (“LNG”). We continue to identify, in our view, attractive investment opportunities in these countries, due to compelling bottom-up and top-down characteristics. Amid a backdrop of rising energy prices, the new chair of the US Federal Reserve (“Fed”), Kevin Warsh, faces a challenge. He needs to determine if the rising prices are transitory as he seeks to balance inflation and growth considerations. Rising US interest rates driven by inflation concerns and a flight to safety amid market volatility have contributed to falling EM currencies.
The conflict in the Middle East has cast a shadow over economically sensitive sectors, weighing on the valuations of many cyclical stocks. Even after the US ultimately disengages from Iran, geopolitical risk is likely to remain elevated for several quarters. At this stage, the conflict has not prompted reductions to our two-year price targets for portfolio companies in the developed markets portion of the portfolio, as we view the associated disruptions as temporary and continue to anchor our valuations in longer-term fundamentals. A satisfactory resolution could support a rebound in portfolio holdings. Separately, structural pressures continue to reshape parts of the market. Software and services stocks remain out of favor, as rising competition from generative AI-native entrants raises questions about the resilience of incumbents. Cyclical concerns and structural shifts require even greater precision in stock selection. Consistent with Causeway’s longstanding approach in the developed markets portion of the portfolio, we use unjustified share price weakness to add to existing positions where our investment thesis remains intact, while market dislocations have created additional opportunities to initiate new positions in high-quality businesses at more attractive valuations.
Emerging Markets Fund
Portfolio Attribution
The Fund, on a net asset value basis, outperformed the Index in April 2026. We use both bottom-up “stock-specific” and top-down factor categories to forecast alpha for the stocks in the Fund’s investable universe. Our bottom-up growth and technical (price momentum) factors were positive indicators while competitive strength was neutral during the month. Valuation and corporate events were negative indicators. Our top-down macroeconomic and currency were positive indicators while country/sector aggregate was a negative indicator in April.
Investment Outlook
The conflict in the Middle East remains fluid and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has been limited. This has fueled volatility in energy prices and global equity markets. Two of the Fund’s largest country overweights, South Korea and Taiwan, are importers of oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (“LNG”). Rising energy prices heavily impacted stock returns in these markets in March, but hopes for an end to the Middle East conflict and structural tailwinds helped them rebound in April. We continue to identify, in our view, attractive investment opportunities in these countries, due to compelling bottom-up and top-down characteristics. The Fund was underweight Indian equities as of quarter-end due in part to valuation considerations, which diversifies the portfolio’s energy exposure as India is also an oil importer. The Fund was also underweight Gulf Cooperation Council (“GCC”) countries as of quarter-end. We believe the conflict in the Middle East will eventually wind down and some semblance of normalcy will return for most economies. However, this path to normalcy may be longer for the GCC countries as some have suffered significant infrastructure damage. The conflict should further incentivize energy-importing countries to diversify away from the Middle East. While the valuations of stocks in GCC countries are increasingly attractive, we do not believe this adequately compensates for the increased risks. Amid a backdrop of rising energy prices, the new chair of the US Federal Reserve (“Fed”), Kevin Warsh, faces a challenge. He needs to determine if the rising prices are transitory as he seeks to balance inflation and growth considerations. Rising US interest rates driven by inflation concerns and a flight to safety amid market volatility have contributed to falling EM currencies.
International Value Fund
Portfolio Attribution
The Causeway International Value Fund (“Fund”), on a net asset value basis, underperformed the Index during the month. On a gross return basis, Fund holdings in the consumer durables & apparel, capital goods, and telecommunication services industry groups detracted from relative performance compared to the Index. Holdings in the semiconductors & semi equipment and pharmaceuticals & biotechnology industry groups, as well as an underweight position in the energy industry group, offset some of the underperformance. The largest detractor was rolling stock, signaling, and services provider for the rail industry, Alstom SA (France). Additional notable detractors included multinational luxury conglomerate, Kering SA (France), and communication services provider, Deutsche Telekom AG (Germany). The top contributor to return was semiconductor company, Renesas Electronics Corp. (Japan). Other notable contributors included semiconductor company, Infineon Technologies AG (Germany), and pneumatic controls manufacturer, SMC Corporation (Japan).
Investment Outlook
The conflict in the Middle East has cast a shadow over economically sensitive sectors, weighing on the valuations of many cyclical stocks. Even after the US ultimately disengages from Iran, geopolitical risk is likely to remain elevated for several quarters. At this stage, the conflict has not prompted reductions to our two-year price targets for portfolio companies, as we view the associated disruptions as temporary and continue to anchor our valuations in longer-term fundamentals. A satisfactory resolution could support a rebound in portfolio holdings.
Separately, structural pressures continue to reshape parts of the market. Software and services stocks remain out of favor, as rising competition from generative AI-native entrants raises questions about the resilience of incumbents.
Cyclical concerns and structural shifts require even greater precision in stock selection. Consistent with Causeway’s longstanding approach, we use unjustified share price weakness to add to existing positions where our investment thesis remains intact, while market dislocations have created additional opportunities to initiate new positions in high-quality businesses at more attractive valuations.
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