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 the performance of the Oakmark International Fund from its start in 1992 to early 2017. Over the long term, it returned about 10% per year, but in the last year it jumped 21.68%, while the 10-year average was only 4.59% annually. For regular investors, this means the fund can make money over time, but short-term ups and downs are big—don't just focus on recent good results. It's worth reading because it reminds us to look at long-term performance, not get carried away by short-term gains.
The Oakmark International Fund (Investor Class) report as of March 31, 2017, shows that since its inception in September 1992, the fund has achieved an annualized return of 9.97%, with a one-year return of 21.68% and a three-month return of 9.43%. The core argument of the report emphasizes the effec
This section presents the performance data of the Oakmark International Fund (Investor Class) as of March 31, 2017, aiming to demonstrate the fund's long-term return track record since its inception in 1992 and to serve as a performance benchmark for subsequent investment strategy discussions.
The report implicitly argues that the fund has achieved steady excess returns across multiple time horizons through a long-term value investment strategy, with particularly strong performance over the past one-year and three-month periods validating the effectiveness of its stock selection capabilities. A counterintuitive observation is that despite a one-year return as high as 21.68%, the 10-year annualized return stands at only 4.59%, indicating that short-term high returns have not fully masked the moderate nature of long-term returns.
All return data are sourced from the fund's official disclosures, as detailed below:
| Time Horizon | Annualized Return |
|---|---|
| Since Inception (September 30, 1992) | 9.97% |
| 10-Year | 4.59% |
| 5-Year | 8.98% |
| 1-Year | 21.68% |
| 3-Month | 9.43% |
This section does not mention specific companies or assets, focusing solely on the fund's overall performance data.
For investors, the fund's historical performance indicates that long-term holding (over 10 years) can yield an annualized return close to 10%, but short-term volatility (e.g., 21.68% over one year vs. 4.59% over 10 years) must be factored into risk considerations. It is recommended to examine the fund's sector and geographic distribution of holdings to assess the sustainability of recent high returns.