Longleaf Partners Fund’s Q2 2019 Investor Letter

Longleaf Partners Fund, a Memphis-based fund under Southeastern Asset Management, recently released its Q2 2019 Investor Letter – a copy of which can be downloaded below. Southwestern Asset Management was founded in 1975 by Mason Hawkins. Hawkins holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a master’s degree from the University of Georgia. He has over 47 years of experience in the investment field.

In its recent Fund Commentary, Longleaf Partners Fund reported a 2.87% decline in Q2 2019 and an 8.67% year-to-date gain.

“Longleaf Partners Fund declined -2.87% in the second quarter following the Fund’s strong absolute return in the first three months of 2019. The Fund’s 8.67% year-todate (YTD) gain exceeded our absolute annual goal of inflation plus 10%. The S&P 500 Index added 4.30% in the second quarter and gained 18.54% YTD. As the largest shareholder group in the Fund, we are not pleased with results in the quarter or over the last year. We are heavily engaged with our corporate partners to pursue opportunities to build and gain recognition of value. We anticipate productive activity at the Fund’s holdings that could deliver solid results in the second half of 2019.

The Index’s performance in the quarter continued to be driven primarily by Information Technology, a sector where the Fund had no exposure. Additionally, the dominance of Growth stocks over Value stocks continued. Anticipated rate cuts by the Federal Reserve turned a May market decline into a June rally. Over half the companies in the portfolio rose. The Fund’s primary performance detractors fell for unrelated, company-specific reasons that we do not believe impact the long-term cases for owning these businesses. Our appraisals remained steady even as the Fund’s net asset value (NAV) declined, and the divergence between the two pushed the portfolio’s price.”

You can download a copy of Longleaf Partners Fund’s Q2 2019 Investor Letter here:

Longleaf Partners Fund’s Q2 2019 Investor Letter

You can also see the list of our 2019 Q2 investor letters and download them on this page.