Madison Small Cap Fund, managed by Madison Funds, released its Q1 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter is available to download here. The Madison Small Cap Fund (class I) increased by 0.10% in the first quarter, trailing behind the Russell 2000 Index (up 0.89%) and the Russell 2500 Index (up 2.04%). Despite slightly underperforming the benchmark in the quarter, core positions and IT investments showed solid performance. From a style perspective, value stocks outperformed growth, with the Russell 2000 Value Index rising ~4.5% and the Russell 2000 Growth Index falling almost 3%. The outperformance of the value is driven by weakness in speculative names aligning with the Fund’s style and preference for quality, profitable franchises. The Fund believes the market volatility, influenced by AI concerns and geopolitical tensions, presents a potential opportunity for patient investors. Please review the Fund’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Madison Small Cap Fund Strategy highlighted Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD). Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) is a leading US-based independent exploration and production company engages in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. On June 11, 2026, Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) closed at $133.74 per share. One-month return of Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) was -9.87%, and its shares gained 26.12% over the past 52 weeks. Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion.
Madison Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“We sold our position in Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) to focus on MTDR. We have high regard for CHRD and its management team and believe the company remains very attractively valued, but we view the swap into MTDR as more compelling given its more premium acreage, deeper inventory position, and higher gas/midstream exposure. The company remains at a significant discount to our intrinsic value estimate.”
Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 46 hedge fund portfolios held Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) at the end of the first quarter, up from 45 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) 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 CHORD ENERGY CORPORATION (NASDAQ:CHRD) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CHRD) and shared a bullish thesis on the company. 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.
