Third Avenue Management, an investment management company based in New York City, released its “Third Avenue Value Fund” first-quarter 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund returned 7.28% in the first quarter compared to the MSCI World Index (Net) at -3.57%, and the MSCI World Value Index (Net) at 1.18%. It had a strong three- and five-year annualized return of 16.26% and 15.38%. The letter noted that before the U.S. and Israeli military campaign in Iran, non-U.S. equities outperformed U.S. equities, value strategies performed well, and the U.S. dollar weakened. The Fund excelled then, but the subsequent outbreak of war led to a significant drop in equities. While the Fund performed better in the former environment. The firm aims to build a portfolio of undervalued, well-capitalized businesses capable of building shareholder wealth over time. The value-oriented approach has invested mostly outside the U.S. and in smaller companies in recent years. During the quarter, global markets deteriorated, creating opportunities for the Fund to add to existing holdings and initiate new positions. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Third Avenue Value Fund highlighted Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI). Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) is a leading staffing and consulting company. On June 18, 2026, Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) closed at $31.59 per share. One-month return of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) was 15.67%, and its shares lost 21.63% over the past 52 weeks. Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion.
Third Avenue Value Fund stated the following regarding Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“During the quarter ending March 31, 2026, the Fund initiated new positions in OSAKA Titanium Technologies Co., Ltd, Harley-Davidson, Inc. and Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI).
Robert Half is a professional staffing company specializing in temporary placements in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, and administrative and customer support. Robert Half also operates Protiviti, which provides consulting in a variety of fields including risk management and internal audit. The U.S. staffing industry has experienced three consecutive years of muted activity following a period of unusually strong labor demand after the pandemic, when U.S. unemployment fell to multi-decade lows. As companies have been digesting excessive prior hiring of permanent employees, the use of temporary labor has suffered a significant cyclical downturn, leaving temporary workers at a historically low share of the overall workforce.
Beyond cyclical pressures, current investor concerns center on the potential for artificial intelligence to reduce demand for certain roles and automate aspects of the recruiting process. An alternative view holds that disciplines such as tax and audit require considerable professional judgment and risk assessment that extend beyond historical data and rules based implementation, sustaining the need for human expertise. Further, proprietary information relating to individual temp employee performance in various roles, which has been accumulated by the likes of Robert Half over decades, may prove to be a valuable asset to employers in a world in which AI renders it difficult to discern fact from fiction. Additionally, although barriers to entry in staffing may seem low, Robert Half benefits from an extensive two-sided professional network, long-running proprietary candidate data and expertise in matching specific skill sets to defined client needs…” (Click here to read the full text)
Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 36 hedge fund portfolios held Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) at the end of the first quarter, compared to 38 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ROBERT HALF INC. (NYSE:RHI) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) and shared the list of best dividend stocks yielding at least 7% according to hedge funds. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
