Seeking diversified exposure to international small cap companies
The Fund invests primarily in common stocks of companies with smaller market capitalizations located in developed and emerging markets outside the US. The Fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations. Smaller market capitalization companies are companies with market capitalizations that do not exceed the highest market capitalization of a company within the Fund’s benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Small Cap Index (Gross), at the time of purchase. Some of these companies, although small by US standards, might be large companies in their local markets. The Fund may continue to hold securities of a portfolio company that appreciate above the smaller market capitalization threshold and thus may from time to time hold less than 80% of its total assets in equity securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations. The Fund may invest in a wide range of industries. The Fund’s investment objective is to seek long-term growth of capital.
- YTD Return*
- +2.89%
- Nav*
- $11.74, +0.04
- Inception
- October 20, 2014
- Cusip
- 14949P703
- Benchmark
- MSCI ACWI ex USA Small Cap
- Minimum Investment
- $1,000,000
- Sales Charge
- None
- Net Expense Ratio
- 1.13%
- Gross Expense Ratio
- 1.51%
Portfolio managers
Joe Gubler, CFA
Mr. Gubler is a quantitative portfolio manager at Causeway. He joined the firm in 2005 and has been a portfolio manager since January 2014. In addition to managing quantitative portfolios and conducting alpha research, Mr. Gubler also leads the efforts to maintain and enhance Causeway’s proprietary risk models. He is also a member of the operating committee.
From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Gubler worked as a software engineer, with employers ranging from startups to established businesses such as Monster.com. From 1998 to 1999, Mr. Gubler worked as a staff scientist for News Corporation, conducting studies on the RF propagation of broadcast signals. While studying astrophysics at UC San Diego, Mr. Gubler worked as a graduate research assistant in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's stellar interferometry group.
Mr. Gubler earned a BS, cum laude, in physics from UC Irvine, an MS in physics from UC San Diego, and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management. Mr. Gubler is a CFA charterholder.
Arjun Jayaraman, PhD, CFA
Quantitative Portfolio Manager
Dr. Jayaraman is a director, quantitative portfolio manager and head of the quantitative research at Causeway and has been with the firm since January 2006. Dr. Jayaraman’s responsibilities and research include stock selection, asset allocation, risk model development, and portfolio construction.
From 2004 to 2005, Dr. Jayaraman was a portfolio manager at PanAgora Asset Management. He was the lead portfolio manager on the non-U.S. large cap core equity portfolios and was the co-portfolio manager on the global large cap core equity portfolios. From 2000 to 2004, Dr. Jayaraman managed the same portfolios at Putnam Investments, in addition to working closely with the teams that managed Putnam's traditional non-U.S. strategies. From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Jayaraman worked as a quantitative analyst at Harborview Trading Associates.
Dr. Jayaraman earned a PhD from New York University at the Stern School of Business and a BA in economics from Columbia University. Dr. Jayaraman is a CFA charterholder.
MacDuff Kuhnert, CFA
Mr. Kuhnert is a director and a quantitative portfolio manager at Causeway and has been with the firm since its inception in June 2001. Mr. Kuhnert’s responsibilities and research include stock selection, asset allocation, risk model development, and portfolio construction.
From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Kuhnert worked for the international team of the Hotchkis & Wiley division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (HW-MLIM) as a quantitative research associate. During his tenure at HW-MLIM, Mr. Kuhnert created and developed advanced quantitative models used in the international value investment process. He also helped develop the team’s first equity risk model.
Mr. Kuhnert earned a BA in chemistry from Dartmouth College. He is a CFA charterholder, a member of the CFA Society of Los Angeles, and a member of the Chicago Quantitative Alliance.
Ryan Myers
Mr. Myers is a quantitative portfolio manager at Causeway. He joined the firm in June 2013 and has been a portfolio manager since January 2021. His responsibilities include alpha research, stock selection, and portfolio construction.
From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Myers served as chief investment officer of Iron Castle Asset Management, an investment partnership focused on mid-cap U.S. equities. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Myers worked as an analyst at Canyon Partners, where he covered the cable, media, telecom and satellite sectors. From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Myers was an associate for Oaktree Capital Management in the distressed opportunities group. Mr. Myers began his professional career in 2003 as an investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs in the technology, media and telecom group.
Mr. Myers earned a BA, magna cum laude, in economics from Harvard University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. Mr. Myers currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Yosemite Conservancy, an organization dedicated to supporting projects and programs that preserve Yosemite National Park and enrich the visitor experience.
Performance
The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth less than their original cost and current performance may be lower than the performance quoted. Returns greater than one year are average annual total returns. Total returns assume reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions at net asset value when paid. All information is as of the date shown. Investment performance reflects fee waivers in effect. In the absence of such fee waivers, total return would be reduced. Gross expenses before investment adviser fee waivers are 1.51% for Institutional Class shares and 1.72% for Investor Class shares. The waivers are contractual and in effect until 1/31/2024. Investor Class shares charge up to a 0.25% annual shareholder service fee.
Portfolio (as of December 31, 2022)
Asset Allocation
| Fund | |
|---|---|
| Stocks | 98.5% |
| Cash | 1.5% |
Fund Characteristics
| Fund | Benchmark | |
|---|---|---|
| No. of holdings | 126 | 4331 |
| Weighted avg. market cap (US $MM) | $2,018 | $1,674 |
| FY2 price/earnings | 6.2 | 11.3 |
| Price/book value | 0.8 | 1.3 |
| Net assets | $95,353,413 | - |
TOP 10 ACTIVE HOLDINGS
| Security | Country | Active weight* |
|---|---|---|
| POSCO INTERNATIONAL Corp. | South Korea | 2.0% |
| Sojitz Corp. | Japan | 2.0% |
| Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. | Japan | 2.0% |
| SHIMAMURA Co., Ltd. | Japan | 1.9% |
| SSAB | Sweden | 1.8% |
| JB Hi-Fi Ltd. | Australia | 1.7% |
| Simplo Technology Co., Ltd. | Taiwan | 1.7% |
| Centrica | United Kingdom | 1.7% |
| Power Finance Corp. Ltd. | India | 1.7% |
| Radiant Opto-Electronics Corp. | Taiwan | 1.6% |
A “weighted average” measures a characteristic by the market capitalization of each stock. Price/book ratio is the weighted average of the price/book ratios of all the stocks in a portfolio. The P/B ratio of a company is calculated by dividing the market price of its stock by the company’s per-share book value. The price/earnings ratio is the weighted average of the price/earnings ratios of the stocks in a portfolio. The FY2 P/E ratio is a forward P/E ratio using a next-twenty-four months EPS estimate in the denominator.
*Active defined as Fund weight minus MSCI ACWI ex USA Small Cap Index weight. Holdings are subject to change.
SECTOR WEIGHTS
| Sector | Fund | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Industrials | 17.6% | 20.2% |
| Financials | 14.3% | 11.1% |
| Information Technology | 11.9% | 10.7% |
| Materials | 11.1% | 11.6% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 9.2% | 11.5% |
| Energy | 8.0% | 4.3% |
| Utilities | 6.3% | 3.5% |
| Consumer Staples | 6.0% | 6.3% |
| Real Estate | 5.3% | 9.9% |
| Health Care | 4.7% | 7.2% |
| Communication Services | 2.2% | 3.7% |
| Equity Funds | 1.8% | 0.0% |
TOP 10 COUNTRIES
| Country | Fund | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 22.6% | 21.1% |
| Australia | 10.1% | 6.8% |
| Canada | 7.6% | 7.3% |
| Taiwan | 6.9% | 5.1% |
| United Kingdom | 6.4% | 10.0% |
| South Korea | 5.9% | 3.6% |
| India | 5.2% | 6.0% |
| Thailand | 3.2% | 1.1% |
| Brazil | 3.1% | 1.5% |
| China | 2.9% | 2.6% |
Regional Allocation
- Pacific 35.6%
- Emerging Asia 26.9%
- Europe – other 18.4%
- North America 7.6%
- Emerging Europe, Middle East, Africa 4.5%
- Emerging Latin America 3.1%
- Multi Region All Country 1.8%
- Developed Middle East 0.4%
Distributions
| Dividends | Short-term capital gains | Long-term capital gains | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $0.3363 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 |
| 2021 | $0.4823 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 |
| 2020 | $0.4107 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 |
| 2019 | $0.4390 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 |
| 2018 | $0.3165 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 |
| 2017 | $0.3792 | $0.2375 | $0.4794 |
| 2016 | $0.2901 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 |
| 2015 | $0.2407 | $0.0000 | $0.0000 |
Distributions are per share. Distribution amounts are based on gains and losses realized and income earned by the Fund through October 31 (or earlier under certain circumstances).
Documents
Fund information:
Forms:
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Commentary (As of December 31, 2022)
Highlights
Portfolio attribution
The Causeway International Small Cap Fund (“Fund”), on a net asset value basis, modestly 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 competitive strength – and two top-down factor categories assessing macroeconomic and country aggregate characteristics. Returns to our value factors were positive in December and the quarter, and value was the best performing alpha factor group in 2022 as higher interest rates led to a derating of growth stocks. The strategy’s earnings growth alpha factors posted modestly positive returns in December but negative returns for the fourth quarter overall. Our technical factors delivered positive returns in December, but negative returns in the fourth quarter as November witnessed a change in the Fed’s posture and early signs of a China reopening, the combination of which led to an abrupt change in market leadership. Our competitive strength factor category delivered negative returns for the month and the quarter. Our macroeconomic and country aggregate factors delivered positive returns in December as countries exhibiting superior metrics (such as China and Turkey) outperformed those with relatively weaker macroeconomic characteristics (such as Brazil and Canada). All factor group returns remain positive from inception of the Fund (10/20/14) to the end of December.
Investment outlook
Signs continue to indicate an easing in U.S. inflation, which should allow the Federal Reserve to continue slowing or potentially pause interest rate hikes in the coming months. The change in expectations around U.S. monetary policy has recently led to a weakening USD. International small caps, deriving more of their revenues from local currencies compared to large caps, stand to potentially benefit from appreciating local currencies relative to the USD.
Though we analyze many different stock selection factors in our alpha model, value factors receive the largest weight on average. As of the end of December, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Small Cap Growth Index traded at a 16.0x forward P/E multiple compared to 9.4x for the MSCI ACWI ex USA Small Cap Value Index, a 70% premium.
The Fed has begun to slow the pace of rate tightening, but global monetary policy is expected to remain restrictive for some time. As long as economic growth remains intact, higher policy rates should continue to favor value stocks over longer-duration growth stocks.
International small caps exhibit greater valuation dispersion than large caps on both a forward earnings yield and B/P basis, indicating more information content in the valuation ratios of small caps. In addition to exhibiting greater valuation dispersion, small caps exhibit a higher long-term EPS growth trend.
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.