1) Commentary
BARROW
October 2016
FUNDS
Barrow Street Advisors
Leadership
Nicholas Chermayeff
Principal
25 years of industry experience
BA Harvard College
Robert F. Greenhill, Jr.
Principal
26 years of industry experience
BA Harvard College
MBA Harvard Business School
David R. Bechtel
Principal
26 years of industry experience
BA Yale University
JD Stanford Law School
Anticipating a Comeback in Value
Principals Nicholas Chermayeff, Robert Greenhill Jr. and David Bechtel provide
their current perspective on the Barrow Funds.
1 With Barrow’s focus on Quality and Value in stock selection, what have been the
challenges of this approach over the past three years?
At Barrow Funds, we focus on finding high quality, stable businesses that possess the
following business characteristics:
Strong top line growth, as the market should reprice the stock higher as the
company grows
High returns on capital and ample cash flow, enabling companies to reinvest
cash to fuel growth
Low debt levels, as low leverage generally makes companies resilient to future
economic challenges
About Barrow Street
Barrow Street Advisors LLC is
a registered investment advisor
and is an affiliate of Barrow Street
Capital LLC which is an investment
management firm that manages
value-oriented private and public
equity strategies.
Headquartered in Stamford, CT the
firm serves pension funds, sovereign
funds, endowments, foundations,
family offices and high net worth
individuals. Since its inception,
Barrow Street Advisors LLC and
Barrow Street Capital LLC have
invested approximately $550 million,
cumulatively, of equity in private and
public equity strategies.
For More Information
(203) 391-6100
barrowfunds.com
Management teams with a high degree of ownership, as they tend to be highly
motivated and well-aligned with investors’ interests
We seek to purchase these companies at what we believe are substantial discounts to their
intrinsic values. This timeless investment philosophy can run counter to short-term market
rallies. Often, investors are influenced by macroeconomic and global geopolitical factors as
well as the extreme intervention of central bank policies. These extrinsic forces often have
little to do with the quality and value of an individual company.
While macro events present a challenge, we remain patient and focused on the intrinsic
value and quality of the company regardless of the market’s reaction. Our conviction has
been occasionally tested, but we believe our patience and diligence will be rewarded over the
long term.
2 Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has historically been an important driver
performance for Barrow Funds. Would you please discuss the current level
of
of activity?
Overall, M&A volume and dollar value have declined on a year-to-date basis in 2016 compared
to historical periods. While M&A activity tends to be cyclical, the slowdown takes the wind out
of the market as fewer buyers are willing to pay premiums for publicly traded stocks.
Regardless of the slowdown in transactions, we anticipate M&A activity will continue to
be robust. Private equity funds currently have $1.3 trillion in cash—an all-time annual high
since 2000—and a significant portion of that “dry powder” can be spent on buyouts. With an
unrealized $2.8 trillion portfolio value, private equity has a significant market presence with
respect to M&A activity.
(continued on next page)
2) Commentary
BARROW
FUNDS
October 2016
3 How has current M&A activity impacted the holdings of the Barrow Funds?
We take a private equity approach to investing, viewing the Funds’ holdings as ownership interests in underlying businesses. Due to
this approach, we often spot attractive entry levels in companies that later get identified as M&A targets. In fact, since the Barrow
Value Opportunity Fund’s inception on
Barrow Value Opportunity Fund – Holdings Takeover Timeline
December 31, 2008 through the end of
January 2009 - November 2016
September 2016, the Fund has experienced
approximately three times the level of
takeover activity compared to the
broader market.
At Barrow, we take a private equity view of companies that we believe are undervalued and have the potential to be acquired by others.
This timeline shows the companies in our Fund’s portfolio that have been the target of M&A activity since the Fund’s inception on 12/31/08.*
The activity continues through the third
quarter of 2016: In September, the Fund
experienced the seventh takeout of 2016
when German chemical company Lanxess
purchased U.S.-based Chemtura (CHMT)
at a 19% premium to the stock’s closing
price at the time of announcement.
ANNOUNCE
DATE
Jan
2009
July
2009
Jan
2010
July
2010
Jan
2011
July
2011
Jan
2012
July
2012
Jan
2013
July
2013
Jan
2014
July
2014
Jan
2015
July
2015
Jan
2016
July
2016
*Participation in a Fund with M&A activity does not guarantee positive returns for the Fund. The M&A activity includes that of the Barrow Value Opportunity Fund’s predecessor entity, Barrow Street Fund L.P., an unregistered limited partnership that was reorganized into the Institutional Class of the Fund on
August 30, 2013. The Fund has been managed in the same style and by the same portfolio managers since the Predecessor Private Fund’s inception on December 31, 2008. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
A historical list of complete takeovers can be found on barrowfunds.com
4 With growth stocks outperforming value stocks for multiple years in a row, what might indicate a market
leadership shift?
Returns of growth and value stocks have historically been cyclical, with consecutive years of outperformance by growth stocks
followed by strong periods of performance by value stocks. As shown in the charts below, large- and small-cap value appear poised
to outperform growth companies, as the difference between the trailing 10-year returns of growth and value stocks in both the small
and large cap market have hit a 15-year peak. To Barrow Funds, we believe this peak period of underperformance by value stocks
indicates a bright future ahead for value investors.
large-cap growth vs. value
small-cap growth vs. value
Annualized Trailing 10-Year Relative Total Return
Russell 1000 Growth - Russell 1000 Value
Avg.
Annualized Trailing 10-Year Relative Total Return
+2 StDev.
-2 StDev.
Avg.
Russell 2000 Growth - Russell 2000 Value
8%
6%
+2 StDev.
-2 StDev.
4%
2%
4%
3.0%
2%
2.4%
0%
-2%
0%
-4%
-2%
-6%
-4%
-8%
-6%
-10%
-8%
-10%
-12%
‘88
‘91
‘94
‘97
‘00
‘03
‘06
‘09
‘12
‘15
-14%
‘88
‘91
‘94
‘97
‘00
‘03
‘06
‘09
‘12
‘15
Source: Strategas Research Partners
Important Information
Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be
considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the Fund and may be obtained by
calling 1-877-767-6633. Read it carefully before investing. Distributed by Ultimus Fund Distributors, LLC.
Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results.
Investment in the Funds are subject to stock market risk, large-cap risk, mid-cap risk, small-cap risk, exchange traded funds risk, management style risk, value investing
risk, and short sale risk (including more information about the risks listed above), please read the prospectus.
As of 9/30/16, the Fund held 0.00% in net assets of Lanxess. Fund holdings and sector allocations are subject to change and should not be considered recommendations
to buy or sell any security.
The Russell 1000 Growth Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of companies in the Russell 1000 Index considered to have a greater than average
growth orientation. The Russell 1000 Value Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of companies in the Russell 1000 Index considered to have less
than average growth orientation. The Russell 2000 Growth Index is a capitalization weighted broad based index of 2,000 small capitalization US stocks considered to have
a greater than average growth orientation. The Russell 2000 Value Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of companies in the Russell 2000 Index
with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. It is not possible to invest directly in indexes which are unmanaged and do not incur fees and charges.