Sprucegrove All Country World Small Cap Strategy

STRATEGY OVERVIEW

MISSION

Our mission is to provide investment management advice predominantly in the specialized area of global equity management.

OBJECTIVE

Our objective is to provide our clients with above average investment performance and superior service over the long-term.

PHILOSOPHY

Our strategy employs a value approach to the management of equities. It emphasizes long-term investment, and it focuses on the selection of individual securities using a bottom-up, research driven approach. Country and sector exposures are a residual of this stock-selection process.

Portfolio holdings must meet our standards of investment quality including a history of above average financial performance, a secure financial position, reputable management, and a growth opportunity in terms of sales, earnings, and share price. Our valuation criteria includes normalized price earnings multiple, price-to-book and dividend yield.

METHODOLOGY

Value approach using a bottom-up, stock selection process with an emphasis on owning quality companies at attractive valuations.

At a Glance (as of September 30th, 2025)

Strategy AUM (Millions, USD)
Canadian Clients $ –
U.S. Clients $ 5
TOTAL $ 5
Mandate All Country World Small Cap
Inception May 1, 2025
Primary Benchmark MSCI All Country World Small Cap Index

Materials

   Fact Sheet

Investment Vehicles

U.S. Investors Commingled Funds

ERISA

Non-ERISA

CIT (ERISA)

Separate Accounts
Canadian Investors Separate Accounts
Rest of World Separate Accounts
Request Generic RFI and Sprucegrove Story

PERFORMANCE

ANNUALIZED PERFORMANCE

Representative Account: Sprucegrove All Country World Small Cap Equities
As at September 30, 2025 (% change in USD)

Representative Account (Gross)
Q3 2025
3.93
Since Inception
12.81
Representative Account (Net)
Q3 2025
3.70
Since Inception
12.39
MSCI ACW Small Cap
Q3 2025
8.07
Since Inception
20.26
MSCI AC world Small Cap Value
Q3 2025
8.14
Since Inception
18.72

DATA & STATISTICS

Representative Account: Sprucegrove All Country World Small Cap Equities
Read Full Disclosure

 

REGIONAL ALLOCATION

As at September 30, 2025

REPRESENTATIVE ACCOUNT
INDEX
17
Number of Countries
47
41
Number of Holdings
5,790
5,826
Average Market Capitalization
2,475

SECTOR ALLOCATION

As at September 30, 2025

Energy
4.7
3.9
Materials
6.6
8.3
Industrials
23.6
20
Consumer Discretionary
16.1
12
Consumer Staples
5.5
4.5
Health Care
10.3
9.5
Financials
14.2
14.6
Information Technology
8.8
12.9
Communication Services
3.7
Utilities
2.9
Real Estate
3.6
7.6
Cash
6.7

Top 10 holdings

As at September 30, 2025

COMPANY
% of Net Assets
Donaldson
3.8%
Hongkong Land
3.6%
XPEL
3.6%
Littelfuse
3.5%
Cognex
3.2%
Eagle Materials
3.1%
Acuity
3.1%
BOK Financial
3.0%
Copa Holdings
2.7%
Gentex
2.7%
Total
32.3%

93.5%

Top 50 Holdings
% of Assets

Management

Shirley Woo
BA, CFA
Director & Portfolio Manager
✕
Shirley Woo
BA, CFA
Director & Portfolio Manager
Shirley has over 30 years investment experience, all with Sprucegrove and its predecessor firm. She is passionate about ensuring the legacy of Sprucegrove by championing an unwavering focus on quality investments and mentoring the investment team. Shirley is a founding shareholder of Sprucegrove, serving in 1993 as an Assistant Portfolio Manager. In 2001, she was appointed Portfolio Manager and Co-Lead of International Equities and Co-Lead of Global Equities in 2018. She has been on Sprucegrove’s Business Management Committee and Board of Directors since 2013. Shirley is a CFA Charterholder and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto.
Arjun Kumar
HBA, MBA, CFA
CEO & Portfolio Manager
✕
Arjun Kumar
HBA, MBA, CFA
CEO & Portfolio Manager
As a leader at Sprucegrove, Arjun serves to shape the investment team’s individual and collective expertise, deliver exceptional portfolio management and provide valuable perspectives to clients and consultants. Joining Sprucegrove in 2002 as an Investment Analyst, he was promoted to Senior Investment Analyst in 2010, Assistant Portfolio Manager in 2013 and Portfolio Manager and Co-Lead of International Equities in 2014 and Global Equities in 2018. He has been on Sprucegrove’s Business Management Committee since 2015 and Board of Directors since 2017. Arjun is a CFA Charterholder and earned both his Bachelor of Arts degree and MBA from the University of Toronto.
Jonathan Singer
HBA, CFA
Portfolio Manager
✕
Jonathan Singer
HBA, CFA
Portfolio Manager
With over 22 years of industry experience, including the last 16 years at Sprucegrove, Jonathan has excelled in various roles including Research Director and Assistant Portfolio Manager. Jonathan was promoted to Portfolio Manager in January 2024. As a Portfolio Manager, he contributes to the perspectives shared and decisions made in managing client portfolios. In 2008, Jonathan joined Sprucegrove following seven years at Hewitt Associates, most recently as a Consultant and Director of Manager Research for the Canadian Practice. Jonathan is a CFA Charterholder and earned his Honours Bachelor of Arts (Economics & Business) degree from York University.

GIPS Disclosures

GIPS Compliance

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. (Sprucegrove) claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) and has prepared and presented this report in compliance with the GIPS standards. Sprucegrove has been independently verified for the years 1985 through 2024. The Global – Canadian/U.S. Clients composite has been examined for the years 1985 through 2020. The verification report is available upon request.

Definition of the Firm

Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. (“Sprucegrove” or the “Firm”) is an independent investment management firm.  The firm is 100% employee owned.  Sprucegrove was founded in 1993 by the global portfolio management team, formerly at Confederation Life of Canada (“Confed”).  The team has been managing international equity mandates since 1985.  Sprucegrove manages equities via a series of pooled funds and separately managed accounts.  Sprucegrove is registered as a Portfolio Manager in most provinces in Canada and an Investment Advisor with the SEC.

Sprucegrove Investment Return

Investment performance returns exclude any investment management fees paid by the investor. Investment advisory fees will reduce stated returns. Performance returns are calculated on a time weighted, total return basis which includes dividend net of withholding taxes and interest income, realized and unrealized gains or losses, transaction costs and other expenses, if any. For example, a 70 basis point fee applied to an investment with an annual gross return of 10% will provide a compounded net return of 9.24% after 1 year and a 55.53% return after 5 years. Valuations are computed and performance is reported in US dollars.

Possibility of Loss

Investors should be aware that market conditions affect performance and that investment programs carry with them the possibility of loss. It should not be assumed that investments made in the future will be profitable or will equal any results shown in this document

Fee Schedules

Pooled Fund Accounts Assets Managed Rate
First $5,000,000.00 0.70%
Next $10,000,000.00 0.65%
Next $25,000,000.00 0.55%
Next $35,000,000.00 0.50%
Next $225,000,000.00 0.25%
Balance 0.20%
CIT Accounts Invested Plan Assets Rate
Class A $0 – $15 million 0.70%
Class B $15 – $50 million 0.60%
Class C $50 – $100 million 0.55%
Class D $100 – $400 million 0.35%
Class E Over $400 million 0.25%
Separate Accounts Assets Managed Rate
First $25,000,000.00 0.70%
Next $25,000,000.00 0.60%
Next $25,000,000.00 0.50%
Next $225,000,000.00 0.25%
Balance 0.20%

 

Calculations

Returns presented are based on asset-weighting the underlying portfolio returns that reflect the beginning market values of the portfolios. Gross returns are presented before management fees and all after transaction costs and after operating expenses where applicable.

Composite net returns are calculated by deducting the respective model fee calculated based on the highest fee paid during the period.

Internal dispersion: is calculated as the difference in percentage between the highest and lowest annual portfolio gross return in the composite.

 Ex-Post Standard Deviation: The three-year annualized standard deviation measures the variability of the composite gross returns and the benchmark returns over the preceding 36-month period.

Further Information

Policies and Procedures: Policies for valuing investments, calculating performance and preparing GIPS Reports are available upon request. Also available are the list and description of composites, pooled fund descriptions for limited distribution pooled funds, and broad distribution funds.

Trademark: GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.

For further information, please contact your client service representative.

Mandate Vehicles Available Valuation Custodian
International Equities Sprucegrove International Representative Account Daily Northern Trust
Sprucegrove International CIT* Daily Brown Brothers Harriman
Separate Account Client Determines Client Determines
All Country World ex US Equities Sprucegrove All Country World ex. U.S. Representative Account Daily Northern Trust
Sprucegrove All Country World ex U.S. CIT* Daily Brown Brothers Harriman
Separate Account Client Determines Client Determines
Global Equities Sprucegrove Global CIT* Daily Brown Brothers Harriman
Separate Account Client Determines Client Determines
All Country World Small Cap  Equities Sprucegrove All Country World Representative Account Daily Northern Trust
Separate Account Client Determines Client Determines
All Country World ex U.S. Small Cap  Equities Sprucegrove All Country World ex U.S. Representative Account Daily Northern Trust
Separate Account Client Determines Client Determines

*SEI Trust Company (the “Trustee”) serves as the Trustee of the Fund and maintains ultimate fiduciary authority over the management of, and the investments made, in the Fund. The Fund is part of a Collective Investment Trust (the “Trust”) operated by the Trustee. The Trustee is a trust company organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a wholly owned subsidiary of SEI Investments Company (“SEI”). “The Sprucegrove Collective Investment Trusts are trusts for the collective investment of assets or participating tax qualified pension and profit sharing plans and related trusts, and governmental plans as more fully described in the Declaration of Trust. As bank collective trusts, the Sprucegrove Collective Investment Trusts are exempt from registration as an investment company. The Sprucegrove Collective Investment Trusts are managed by SEI Trust Company, the trustee, based on the investment advice of Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. (“Sprucegrove”), the investment advisor to the trusts.”

Indices

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) EAFE, World, ACWI ex. US , ACWI and USA Indices are presented as benchmarks for investment performance. The Indices are the arithmetical average, weighted by market value of the performance of companies representing the stock markets of Canada, the U.S., Europe, Australasia, the Far East and Emerging Markets. Returns shown assume reinvestment of dividends unless stated otherwise.

The MSCI EAFE Index (Net) is an equity Index which captures large and mid-cap representation across 21 Developed Markets countries around the world, excluding US and Canada. The Index covers approximately 85% of the free float adjusted market capitalization in each country. The MSCI World Index (Net) is an equity Index which captures large and mid-cap representation across 23 Developed Markets (DM) countries. The Index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country.  The MSCI ACWI ex US Index (Net) is an equity Index which captures large and mid-cap representation across 22 of 23 Developed Markets (DM) countries (excluding the US) and 25 Emerging Markets (EM) countries. The Index covers approximately 85% of the global equity opportunity set outside the US. The MSCI ACWI Index (Net) is an equity Index which captures large and mid-cap representation across 23 Developed and 25 Emerging Markets countries. The Index covers approximately 85% of the global investable equity opportunity set. The MSCI USA Index is designed to measure the performance of the large and mid cap segments of the US market., it  covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in the US.

Throughout this report MSCI data is provided as a comparative reference only and may not be used in any way without the express permission of MSCI.

The MSCI data is comprised of a custom index calculated by MSCI for, and as requested by, Sprucegrove. The MSCI data is for internal use only and may not be redistributed or used in connection with creating or offering and securities, financial products or indices. Neither MSCI nor any other third party involved in or related to compiling, computing or creating the MSCI data (the “MSCI Parties”) makes any express or implied warranties or representations with respect to such data (or the results to be obtained by the use thereof), and the MSCI Parties hereby expressly disclaim all warranties of originality, accuracy, completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to such data. Without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall any of the MSCI Parties have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages. (www.msci.com)

MSCI indices may include back tested information (i.e. calculations of how the index might have performed over that time period had the index existed). There are frequently material differences between back-tested performance and actual results. Past performance — whether actual or backtested — is no indication or guarantee of future performance. Back-tested performance, which is hypothetical and not actual performance, is subject to inherent limitations because it reflects application of an Index methodology in hindsight. No theoretical approach can take into account all of the factors in the markets in general and the impact of decisions that might have been made during the actual operation of an index. Actual returns may differ from, and be lower than, back-tested returns. Index returns are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent actual CIT performance.

Index information is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to imply past or future performance. Please note an investor cannot invest directly in an index. Unless otherwise noted, index returns reflect the reinvestment of income and dividends, if any, but do not reflect fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing.

Specific Recommendations

Examples of specific holdings are intended to demonstrate our investment process and should not be construed as representative of investment performance. It should not be assumed that investments made in the future will be profitable or will equal any results presented. A list of all securities purchased and sold within the past year (together with dates and prices) is available upon request.

Products and services described herein are provided by Sprucegrove Investment Management Ltd. (“Sprucegrove”). The information in this document is confidential and may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part without the prior written consent of Sprucegrove.

Certain accounts (e.g., employees/former employees) are not included in the client number count. Clients with multiple accounts, mandates or affiliated investments are aggregated and counted only once. Clients are removed once all associated assets have been liquidated.

All returns are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.

Weightings may not total 100% due to rounding in this report.

This portfolio data is “as of” the date indicated and should not be relied upon as a complete or current listing of holdings (or top holdings) of the [fund/account/composite]. The holdings are subject to change without notice, and may not represent current or future portfolio composition.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Performance data assumes reinvestment of dividends. Performance is shown gross of investment management fees, which will reduce the client’s return. For example, a 70 basis point fee applied to an investment with an annual gross return of 10% will provide a compounded net return of 9.24% after 1 year and a 55.53% return after 5 years. Our fees are described in Form ADV Part 2. Returns are calculated on a time weighted, total return basis which includes dividend and interest income, realized and unrealized gains or losses, transaction costs and other expenses, if any. Some information may be unaudited.

Index information is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to imply past or future performance. Please note an investor cannot invest directly in an index. Unless otherwise noted, index returns reflect the reinvestment of income and dividends, if any, but do not reflect fees, brokerage commissions or other expenses of investing.

This is not an offer to purchase or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or sell, any securities, any investment funds, vehicles or accounts (each, a “fund”), any investment advice, or any other service by Sprucegrove. An investment in a fund may be offered only pursuant to the fund’s offering memorandum and/or other offering materials. A fund’s offering materials will contain disclosure relating to certain risk factors, conflicts of interest and other considerations that should be carefully evaluated before making an investment in a fund or account managed by Sprucegrove. An investment in a fund or account managed by Sprucegrove is not suitable or desirable for all investors; investors may lose all or a portion of the capital invested.

The opinions, estimates and views expressed are on behalf of Sprucegrove, constitute Sprucegrove’s best judgement as of the date of this document and are subject to change at any time based on market or other conditions. Sprucegrove does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any third party data. Any predictions, opinions, data and other information contained in this report are subject to change and without notice of any kind and may no longer be true and accurate after the date this report was first completed and disseminated. Sprucegrove reserves the right to make certain adjustments to third party data and does not warrant the accuracy of the data. Any forecasts contained herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not to be relied upon as advice or interpreted as a recommendation. In addition, any forecasts are based upon subjective estimates and assumptions about circumstances and events that may not yet have taken place or may never do so. While the information set out in this document has been prepared in good faith, no representation or warranty is given, and no responsibility is accepted, by Sprucegrove in relation to its accuracy or completeness.

The information provided herein should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any particular security. The securities discussed herein are examples of Sprucegrove’s investment approach but do not represent an entire portfolio or the performance of a fund or strategy and in the aggregate may represent only a small percentage of portfolio holdings. It should not be assumed that any of the securities discussed herein were or will prove to be profitable, or that the investment recommendations or decisions made by Sprucegrove in the future will be profitable.

Any data contained herein which is attributed to a third party (“Third Party Data”) is the property of (a) third party supplier(s) (the “Owner”) and is licensed for use by Sprucegrove. Third Party Data may not be copied or distributed. Third Party Data is provided “as is” and is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. To the extent permitted by applicable law, none of the Owner, Sprucegrove or any other third party (including any third party involved in providing and/or compiling Third Party Data) shall have any liability for Third Party Data or for any use made of Third Party Data. Neither the Owner nor any other third party sponsors, endorses or promotes the portfolio or product to which Third Party Data relates.

Sustainability – Environmental, Social & governance (ESG) considerations are factored into our overall quality assessment of businesses.  While we generally do not apply ESG by exclusion, we have historically avoided investing in companies whose main activity in tobacco, casinos, gaming and/or firearms.  Additional information relation to ESG is available through our website or on request.

Transaction Summary information may exclude certain information and is not intended as a complete statement of transactions. Corporate actions, period end transaction in the process of being filled and program trades are excluded from transaction summary information. Period end transactions in the process of being filled could include when the firm has commenced adding a new position to the portfolio, but such activities did not result in the completion of the associated initial weighting prior to the period end or has begun eliminating an existing portfolio position, but such activities did not result in completion of a material portion of the order prior to the period end. A list of all securities purchased and sold within the past year (together with dates and prices) is available upon request. Please refer to your financial statement for a complete list of transactions.

This material is for informational purposes only to provide general information and is not meant to be legal or tax advice for any particular investor, which can only be provided by qualified tax and legal counsel. Please read the constating documents carefully prior to investing. Parties should independently investigate any investment strategy or manager, and should consult with qualified investment, legal, and tax professionals before making any investments.

For the purpose of analytical reporting: i) Eurozone reflects the MSCI Euro (10 Countries that use the Euro, but Large Cap names only) versus the MSCI EMU (10 Countries that use Euro currency with Large and Mid Cap companies); ii) Non-EUROZONE reflects the MSCI Europe ex EMU (Countries not using Euro currency with Large and Mid Cap companies); and  iii) Europe & Middle East reflects the MSCI Europe and Middle East (Developed Markets and Israel using Large and Mid Cap Names).

Certain accounts (e.g., employees/former employees) are not included in the client number count. Clients with multiple accounts, mandates or affiliated investments are aggregated and counted only once. Clients are removed once all associated assets have been liquidated.

GIPS Disclosures

connect with sprucegrove

Request An Introductory Call

Let's Get Started

Email Us
[email protected]

Subscribe For Updates

Receive insights and company updates from Sprucegrove.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By clicking SUBMIT, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy. We will retain your email address in order to send the requested information. You can unsubscribe at any time and your information will never be shared with other parties.

x

Please select one option