Small Company Fund | Brown Capital

Fund Objective

The Small Company Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. Current income is a secondary consideration in selecting portfolio investments.

Our Approach

The Small Company Fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in the equity securities of those companies with total operating revenues of $250 million or less at the time of the initial investment, (“small companies”). The Small Company Fund typically invests in common stocks. The Advisor seeks to build a portfolio of exceptional small companies with the wherewithal to become exceptional large companies. The Small Company Fund typically holds a portfolio of between 40 to 65 securities which the Advisor believes have the potential for growth.

A Portfolio Focused on Exceptional Companies

The Fund seeks to invest in exceptional companies that save time, lives, money or headaches, or provide an exceptional value proposition to consumers. The portfolio is comprised of these organizations that we believe have the potential to grow revenues and earnings significantly over a three-to-five-year investment time horizon and beyond.

Small Company Fund Investment Team

The Small Company Team oversees the Small Company Strategy and the Small Company Fund. Consistent with all Brown Capital teams, these tenured portfolio managers also serve as generalists in fulfilling their research duties. Clients benefit from the team’s practical experience resulting from decades spent working through multiple market cycles. The team’s first priority is to build the capital of clients, pursued primarily by investing in what we believe to be exceptional small growth companies. Selection of these companies is based on their capacity to grow over a three-to-five-year evaluation horizon and beyond.

Daman C. Blakeney

Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager
Damien L. Davis, CFA

Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager
Andrew J. Fones

Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager
Kempton M. Ingersol

Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager
Keith A. Lee

President, Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager
Chaitanya Yaramada, CFA

Director and Portfolio Manager/Senior Analyst

Small Company Fund News & Updates

BARRON'S "Finding Tomorrow's Star Growth Stocks Today" featuring Keith Lee and Kempton Ingersol

On November 1, 2016, Barron’s published a Q&A article entitled "Finding Tomorrow’s Star Growth Stocks Today." Interviewees Keith Lee and Kempton Ingersol, two members of the Small Company Team, offer specific insights into Brown Capital Management’s unique approach to investing in small companies.

Andrew Fones Promoted to Director and Portfolio Manager

“We are pleased to announce that Andrew J. Fones, a member of the Small Company Team, has been promoted to Director and Portfolio Manager at Brown Capital Management,” said Keith Lee, President and COO.

Small Company Fund, Investor Class Receives 2016 Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Award

Brown Capital Management is proud to announce that the Small Company Fund, Investor Class received the 2016 Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Award¹ for United States Small-Cap Growth Funds in the 10-year performance period, ranking 121 out o

Brown Capital Management's Small Company Team Named for Morningstar's U.S. Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year for 2015

Brown Capital Management (BCM) is thrilled to announce that portfolio managers Keith Lee, Robert Hall, Kempton Ingersol, Damien Davis and Andrew Fones, the firm's Small Company team, have been named Morni

Important Disclosure Information

“From Thomson Reuters Lipper Awards, ©2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this Content without express written permission is prohibited.”

The Thomson Reuters Lipper Fund Awards, granted annually, highlight funds and fund companies that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. The Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper Leader for Consistent Return rating, which is a risk-adjusted performance measure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 months. The fund with the highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return (Effective Return) value in each eligible classification wins the Lipper Fund Award. For more information, see lipperalpha.financial.thomsonreuters.com/lipper Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper.

¹The Morningstar Rating noted herein is the mutual fund’s overall Morningstar Rating as of 3/31/2020. The overall Morningstar Rating is based on the fund’s risk-adjusted returns and derived from a weighted average of the fund’s three-, five-, and 10-year metrics. The Morningstar Analyst Ratings are subjective in nature and should not be used as the sole basis for investment decisions. Analyst Ratings are based on Morningstar analysts’ current expectations about future events; risks and uncertainties unknown at the time may cause those expectations not to occur or to differ significantly from what was expected.

The Morningstar Rating for funds, or star rating, is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed products monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-,five-,and 10 year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five year rating/40%three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10 year rating/30%five-year rating/20%three year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10 year overall rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10 year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Brown Capital Management Small Company Fund were rated against the following numbers of U.S.-domiciled Small Growth funds over the following time periods as of 3/31/2020: 577 of funds in the 3-year rating and for the Overall rating, 502 of funds in the last five years, and 381 of funds in the last ten years. With respect to these Small Growth funds, Brown Capital Management Small Company Fund received a Morningstar Rating™ of four stars for the 3- year rating and five stars for 5- year rating, and five stars for ten-year rating periods, respectively.

Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund: As with all mutual funds, an investment in the Fund is subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested. There can be no assurances that the Fund will be successful in meeting its objectives. Investment in the Fund is also subject to market risk, investment style risk, investment advisor risk, market sector risk, equity securities risk, portfolio turnover risk, small companies risk, and other risks as set forth in the Fund’s Prospectus. Fund’s that emphasize investments in smaller companies generally experience greater price volatility.

*“Net Operating Expenses” are based upon actual expenses incurred by the Fund’s Investor Shares for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. The Advisor has entered into an Expense Limitation Agreement with the Small Company Fund under which it has agreed to reduce the amount of the investment advisory fees to be paid to the Advisor by the Small Company Fund and to assume other expenses of the Small Company Fund, if necessary, in an amount that limits the Small Company Fund’s annual operating expenses (other than interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the Small Company Fund’s business, and amounts, if any, payable under a Rule 12b-1 distribution plan) to not more than 1.25% until July 31, 2019. The Expense Limitation Agreement may not be terminated by either party prior to that date. Subject to certain conditions such as Fund asset levels being at certain thresholds and operating expenses for the Small Company Fund being less than the operating expense limit for the Small Company Fund, the Small Company Fund may at a later date reimburse the Advisor for fees waived or limited and other expenses assumed by the Advisor pursuant to the Expense Limitation Agreement. Reimbursement for fees previously waived are subject to Board approval and are only applicable to fees waived or limited and other expenses assumed by the Advisor in the three (3) fiscal years. See the “Management of the Funds-Expense Limitation Agreements” section in the prospectus for more detailed information.

The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher forecasted growth values.

An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund. A copy of the prospectus is available on this site or by calling Shareholder Services at 1-877-892-4226. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

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Our Approach

A Portfolio Focused on Exceptional Companies

Small Company Fund Investment Team

Daman C. Blakeney

Damien L. Davis, CFA

Andrew J. Fones

Kempton M. Ingersol

Keith A. Lee

Chaitanya Yaramada, CFA