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 the Oakmark International Fund's performance in late 2015. While it lost about 3.8% that year, it has averaged nearly 10% annual returns since its 1992 launch. For everyday investors, the key takeaway is not to panic over short-term drops—staying invested for the long haul lets compounding work. The fund's low expense ratio (0.95%) also helps boost net gains. Worth a read because it uses 23 years of data to show that market ups and downs are normal, and sticking with value investing pays off.
The performance report of the Oakmark International Fund (Investor Class) as of December 31, 2015, shows an average annual total return of 9.74% since its inception on September 30, 1992, a 10-year return of 6.16%, a 5-year return of 5.49%, but a 1-year return of -3.83% and a most recent 3-month ret
This section presents the performance data of the Oakmark International Fund (Investor Class) as of December 31, 2015, focusing on the fund's long-term return performance since its inception in 1992 and recent short-term fluctuations. In terms of market environment, the report implies that global equity markets faced pressure in 2015, leading to negative short-term returns for the fund, though its long-term performance remained robust.
The report's core investment thesis is that despite a negative one-year return (-3.83%), the fund has achieved an average annual total return of 9.74% since inception (over 23 years), a 10-year return of 6.16%, and a 5-year return of 5.49%, demonstrating the effectiveness of a long-term value investing strategy. The counterintuitive judgment is that short-term market volatility (such as the decline in 2015) should not overshadow the fund's ability to navigate cycles; investors should focus on long-term compounding rather than short-term noise.
The report supports the value of long-term investment through a comparison of returns across multiple time horizons. All data are sourced from the fund's official disclosures:
| Time Period | Annualized Total Return |
|---|---|
| Since Inception (September 30, 1992) | 9.74% |
| 10-Year | 6.16% |
| 5-Year | 5.49% |
| 1-Year | -3.83% |
| 3-Month | 5.19% |
Additionally, the fund's gross expense ratio is 0.95% (as of September 30, 2015), below the industry average, indicating that cost control contributes to long-term returns.
This section does not mention specific portfolio holdings or assets, focusing solely on the fund's overall performance metrics. The report implicitly favors the fund's international equity portfolio (specific holdings undisclosed), which has generated significant excess returns over the long term.
For investors, the implication is to stay the course for the long term and avoid panic redemptions due to short-term negative returns (e.g., -3.83%). Historical data shows that even after a one-year decline, the 23-year annualized return remains close to 10%. It is recommended that investors adopt a 5- to 10-year investment horizon and pay attention to the erosion of net returns by the expense ratio (0.95%). Specific direction: consider dollar-cost averaging or holding similar low-cost international value funds to diversify single-market risk.