Oakmark Fund: Third Quarter 2022 and Fiscal Year-End

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.

Bill Nygren、David Herro · 1991 · 美国芝加哥Deep value / contrarian long-term

Theme and Background

This section presents the average annual total return and expense ratio data for the Oakmark Fund (Investor Class) as of September 30, 2022. The market environment was in a period of significant global equity corrections in 2022, during which the fund's short-term performance was notably pressured, though long-term returns remained positive.

Core Thesis

The author's core investment argument is that despite the short-term (1-year) performance being heavily dragged down by market volatility (-17.73%), the fund's long-term annualized return since inception (August 5, 1991) still stands at 11.94%, and its 10-year return remains at 11.09%, highlighting the effectiveness of its long-term investment strategy. The counterintuitive judgment is that investors should not dismiss the fund due to short-term losses, as long-term performance is the core metric for evaluation.

Key Arguments and Data

Robust Long-Term Performance: Annualized return of 11.94% since inception and 11.09% over 10 years, both significantly above the average market level for the same periods.
Sharp Short-Term Drawdown: The 1-year return was -17.73%, reflecting the impact of the systemic decline in global equity markets in 2022.
Reasonable Expense Ratio: The expense ratio is 0.91%, which is in the mid-to-low range for actively managed funds and has not excessively eroded long-term returns.

Time Horizon	Average Annual Total Return
Since Inception (08/05/1991)	11.94%
10-Year	11.09%
5-Year	6.93%
1-Year	-17.73%
3-Month	-1.88%

Companies/Assets Involved

Oakmark Fund (Investor Class): The subject fund of the report. Role: investment vehicle. Key data: annualized return of 11.94% since inception, 1-year return of -17.73%, expense ratio of 0.91%. The author is bullish on its long-term investment value.

Investment Implications

Long-Term Holding Strategy is Effective: Investors should ignore severe short-term (1-year) fluctuations and adhere to long-term holding to achieve annualized returns similar to 11.94%.
Focus on Expense Ratio: The 0.91% expense ratio is reasonable for an active fund, but investors should compare it with similar products to ensure fees do not erode long-term gains.
Avoid Panic Redemption: The short-term -17.73% decline is due to systemic market risk, not a failure of the fund's strategy; redeeming at this point may lock in losses.