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Oakmark FundsQuarterly31 Mar 2021Source: oakmark.com

Bill Nygren Market Commentary | 1Q21

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

In plain words

This report shows a table of Oakmark Fund's performance from 1991 to March 2021. It averaged about 12.93% annual return over the long term, and a huge 87.43% in the last year. For regular investors, this means long-term holding of such active funds can beat passive indexes, but big short-term gains often lead to a pullback. The fund also keeps costs low via a fee waiver (net expense 0.91% vs. gross 0.93%), helping you keep more profits. Worth a look because the numbers are concrete and help you decide if the fund fits your portfolio.

AI SummaryAI-generated · may contain errors · verify against the original

The Oakmark Fund (Investor Class) report as of March 31, 2021 shows an average annual total return of 12.93% since its inception on August 5, 1991, with returns of 13.57%, 15.83%, 87.43%, and 15.52% over the past 10 years, 5 years, 1 year, and 3 months, respectively. The fund's gross expense ratio i

~2 min full read · 5 sections
Deep Analysis

Theme and Background

This section presents key performance and fee data for the Oakmark Fund (Investor Class) as of March 31, 2021, in a table format. The report aims to provide investors with quantitative references for investment decisions, showcasing the fund's long-term return performance since its inception in 1991, recent gains, and fee structure.

Core Thesis

The report's implicit core investment argument is that the Oakmark Fund demonstrates robust long-term compounding growth (12.93% average annual return since inception) and strong recent performance (87.43% one-year return), while its fee structure is optimized through a contractual waiver agreement (net expense ratio lower than gross expense ratio). The counterintuitive aspect is that despite exceptionally strong short-term performance (87.43% over one year), the fund has not significantly raised fees; instead, it maintains relatively low costs through the waiver agreement.

Key Arguments and Data

The report supports its long-term and short-term performance claims with multi-timeframe return data. Specific data are as follows:

Timeframe Average Annual Total Return
Since Inception (August 5, 1991) 12.93%
Last 10 Years 13.57%
Last 5 Years 15.83%
Last 1 Year 87.43%
Last 3 Months 15.52%

In terms of fees, the gross expense ratio is 0.93%, and the net expense ratio is 0.91%, the latter based on a contractual advisory fee waiver agreement effective as of January 27, 2022. This indicates that the fund retains more returns for investors by actively controlling costs.

Companies/Assets Involved

This section does not mention specific companies or assets, focusing solely on the performance and fee metrics of the Oakmark Fund (Investor Class) itself.

Investment Implications

For investors, the data suggests:

  • Long-term holding strategy is effective: The 12.93% annualized return since inception significantly outperforms most passive indices, validating the long-term value of actively managed funds.
  • Strong short-term explosive power: The 87.43% one-year return shows the fund captured excess returns during the market rebound, but investors should be wary of the risk of mean reversion after such high returns.
  • Clear fee advantage: The net expense ratio is lower than the gross expense ratio, and the waiver agreement extends to January 2022, meaning cost erosion on returns is relatively small in the short term. Investors should monitor whether fees increase after the waiver expires.