Portfolio attribution

Causeway International Small Cap Fund (“Fund”) underperformed the Index during the month. To evaluate stocks in our investable universe, our multi-factor quantitative model employs four bottom-up factor categories – valuation, earnings growth, technical indicators, and quality – and two top-down factor categories assessing macroeconomic and country aggregate characteristics.

From a sector perspective, Fund holdings in the information technology, health care, and utilities sectors detracted the most from performance relative to the Index. Fund holdings in the financials, materials, and communication services sectors offset a portion of the underperformance. Relative performance for the month can be mostly attributed to stock selection. The largest detractor from performance was electronics manufacturer, Radiant Opto-Electronics Corp. (Taiwan). Additional top detractors included water utility, Compania de Saneamento Do Paraná (Brazil), circuit board manufacturer, Daeduck Electronics Co., Ltd.(South Korea), electric utility, Companhia Paranaense de Energia (Brazil), and information and communications technology services company, NEC Networks & System Integration Corp. (Japan). The top contributor to performance was cement & concrete manufacturer, Huaxin Cement Co (China). Additional top contributors included online trading platform, Plus500 Ltd.(United Kingdom), electronics retailer, JB Hi-Fi Ltd. (Australia), real estate company, Open House Co., Ltd. (Japan), and insurance group, ASR Nederland NV (Netherlands).

Investment outlook

Though we analyze many different stock selection factors in our alpha model, value factors receive the largest weight on average. As of August 31, the Small Cap Growth Index traded at a 23.2x forward price-to-earnings multiple compared to 14.7x for the Small Cap Value Index. This 58% premium is well above the 27% average premium over the last 15 years. We believe that value’s relative performance should improve once COVID-19 uncertainty abates, especially given the discount offered by value stocks currently. However, the sheer breadth of the international small cap universe means that the typical tradeoffs in portfolio characteristics do not necessarily apply. In addition to value, we look for favorable growth, momentum, and quality characteristics. We believe that at most points in time our portfolio has exhibited more attractive metrics relative to the Index across all factor categories simultaneously. Smaller cap equities are currently exhibiting a higher long-term earnings-per-share growth trend than larger cap equities. Additionally, international smaller cap equities have exhibited greater valuation dispersion than larger cap equities on both a forward-earnings-yield basis and a price-to-book value basis, indicating more information content in valuation ratios for these equities. This characteristic has allowed us to construct a portfolio with lower valuation ratios relative to the Index without, in our view, compromising quality.

We continue to observe several intriguing features in the smaller cap landscape. We believe the intersection of international equities and smaller cap companies creates a recipe for inefficiency. Additionally, international smaller cap stocks are an underappreciated asset class that we believe can offer meaningful diversification benefits with the potential to reduce portfolio volatility. Finally, smaller cap stocks are typically less exposed to the potential risk of rising barriers to trade, given their home country revenue exposure. Despite the potential benefits, we believe many investors may be underallocated to the asset class despite its meaningful growth and diversification prospects. Causeway’s international small cap strategy combines the flexibility and breadth of quantitative analysis with our global industry knowledge, which we believe will benefit long-term investors in the Fund.

The market commentary expresses the portfolio managers’ views as of the date of this report and should not be relied on as research or investment advice regarding any stock. These views and the fund holdings and characteristics are subject to change. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Any securities identified and described in this report do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold or recommended for client accounts. The reader should not assume that an investment in the securities identified was or will be profitable. Diversification does not protect against market loss. Current and future holdings will be subject to risk. International and emerging markets investments may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuation in currency values, from differences in generally accepted accounting principles or from social, economic or political instability in other nations. Emerging markets and smaller companies involve additional risks and higher volatility.