Oakmark is the mutual fund family launched in 1991 by Harris Associates, the Chicago deep-value firm founded in 1976 (about $105bn AUM). Bill Nygren runs the flagship Oakmark Fund and David Herro the Oakmark International Fund, buying businesses at large discounts to intrinsic value and holding them like owners — publishing quarterly fund commentaries, market commentaries and insight articles.
This report covers Oakmark Fund's performance and fees as of September 2021. The fund has done well over the long term, averaging 13.09% annual returns since 1991, and a standout 59.18% in the past year. But there's a catch: the current net expense ratio (0.91%) is slightly lower than the total (0.93%) thanks to a fee waiver that expires on January 27, 2022. After that, costs may rise. For everyday investors, this means even strong returns can be slightly eroded by higher fees later. It's worth a read because it shows how fee changes matter, even for a top-performing fund.
The Oakmark Fund (Investor Class) reported strong average annualized total returns as of September 30, 2021: cumulative return of 13.09% since inception on August 5, 1991, 16.33% over 10 years, 16.03% over 5 years, a substantial 59.18% over 1 year, and 1.85% over the most recent 3 months. The fund's
This section presents the performance and fee data of the Oakmark Fund (Investor Class) as of September 30, 2021, in a table format. The report aims to demonstrate the fund's long-term return track record since its inception in 1991 and disclose the current fee structure along with an upcoming expense waiver agreement.
The report's central argument is that the Oakmark Fund has achieved significant and sustained excess returns through its long-term value investing strategy. Its one-year return of 59.18% is particularly outstanding, far exceeding market averages, validating the effectiveness of its investment approach. A counterintuitive judgment is that despite the fund's strong performance, the net expense ratio (0.91%) is only 0.02 percentage points lower than the gross expense ratio (0.93%), and this benefit relies on a contractual waiver agreement expiring on January 27, 2022, implying that actual costs may rise in the future.
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Annualized Return Since Inception (Aug 5, 1991) | 13.09% |
| 10-Year Annualized Return | 16.33% |
| 5-Year Annualized Return | 16.03% |
| 1-Year Return | 59.18% |
| 3-Month Return | 1.85% |
| Gross Expense Ratio | 0.93% |
| Net Expense Ratio | 0.91% |
| Expense Waiver Agreement Expiration Date | January 27, 2022 |