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 shows Oakmark International Fund's performance through 2011. Despite a 14% loss in the past year, it has returned 9.47% annually since its 1992 launch. For everyday investors, this means short-term drops don't ruin long-term gains—holding for 10+ years smooths out bumps. The 1.08% expense ratio is reasonable. Worth a read because it uses real numbers to remind you not to panic over temporary losses.
The Oakmark International Fund reported its performance as of December 31, 2011: an annualized return of 9.47% since its inception on September 30, 1992, 7.46% over 10 years, -1.75% over 5 years, -14.07% over 1 year, and 3.41% over 3 months. The expense ratio (as of September 30, 2010) was 1.08%. Th
This section presents the performance of the Oakmark International Fund (Investor Class) as of December 31, 2011, covering multiple time horizons from its inception (September 30, 1992) to the short term (3 months). The report aims to present the fund's returns across different market cycles to investors and emphasize the value of long-term investing.
The author's core investment argument is that, despite the fund's negative returns over the past 1 year (-14.07%) and 5 years (-1.75%), its annualized returns since inception (9.47%) and over 10 years (7.46%) remain positive, indicating that long-term holding can effectively smooth out short-term market fluctuations. The counterintuitive judgment is that short-term sharp drawdowns (e.g., -14.07% over 1 year) should not be overinterpreted but rather viewed as normal volatility within a long-term investment strategy.
The report supports its thesis with average annual total return data across multiple time dimensions, all as of December 31, 2011. Key data are as follows:
| Time Horizon | Average Annual Total Return |
|---|---|
| Since Inception (September 30, 1992) | 9.47% |
| 10 Years | 7.46% |
| 5 Years | -1.75% |
| 1 Year | -14.07% |
| 3 Months | 3.41% |
Additionally, the total expense ratio as of September 30, 2010, was 1.08%, providing investors with a cost reference and indicating that fees are within industry standards.
This section does not mention specific companies or assets, focusing solely on the fund's performance data. The fund is named Oakmark International Fund - Investor Class, an international equity fund.
For investors, the report suggests that short-term market volatility (e.g., -14.07% over 1 year) should not be a reason for panic selling; instead, attention should be paid to long-term (10 years or more) compound growth potential. The specific direction is that when investing in international equity funds, a holding period of at least 10 years should be prioritized to leverage the compounding effect and offset short-term drawdowns. At the same time, investors should note the erosion of net returns by the expense ratio (1.08%), though this level is reasonable for actively managed funds.