Builders Fund

September 30, 2024

Fund Overview

• The Builders Fund is a fund-of-funds that invests mainly in Steadyhand’s four stand-alone equity funds — Steadyhand Equity Fund, Steadyhand Global Equity Fund, Steadyhand Small-Cap Equity Fund, and Steadyhand Global Small-Cap Equity Fund. Its an all-stock portfolio designed for growth-oriented investors.
  
• The underlying fund mix is managed by Chief Investment Officer Salman Ahmed, with Chair and co-founder Tom Bradley as co-manager.
  

Portfolio Specifics

• The fund rose 6.0% in the quarter and is up 14.3% year-to-date. Its performance was ahead of the global index but trailed the Canadian market.
  
• Investments are allocated roughly two-thirds towards foreign businesses and one-third towards companies based in Canada. The bias to foreign companies reflects a broader opportunity set outside of Canada, particularly in important industries like healthcare, technology, and consumer products & services.
  
• The largest area of investment, industrial goods & services (30% of the portfolio), includes a diverse mix of companies such as railways CN Rail and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Oshkosh (specialty vehicles and access equipment), Casella Waste Systems (waste management) and Savaria (home elevators and mobility products). Performance of the group was mixed in the quarter.
  
• Financial services companies make up 18% of the fund. Large holdings include Visa, S&P Global, and TD Bank. We also own a group of leading insurance companies, including RenaissanceRe, AIA Group, and Steadfast. CME Group (derivatives marketplace), TMX Group (market exchanges), and FirstCash Holdings (pawn stores) provide additional diversification. Many of these holdings were strong performers in Q3.
  
• The technology sector is another important area of investment, comprising 15%. Our focus is on established industry leaders such as Microsoft. Other investments include Qualcomm (chips for smartphones), Samsung Electronics (diversified technology), Constellation Software (software), and Onto Innovation (semiconductor inspection tools). It was a weak quarter for tech stocks in general, including our holdings (Constellation Software being an exception).
  
• The portfolio has modest exposure to resource stocks (6%), including Torex Gold Resources (gold producer), Capstone Copper (copper miner), TotalEnergies (oil & gas), Interfor (lumber), and Cameco (uranium), but commodity companies represent a smaller component of the fund due to their inherent cyclicality. That said, these stocks have been some of our strongest performers this year.
  

Positioning

• Refer to the underlying funds for details on their positioning.
  

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Important information about the Steadyhand funds is contained in our Simplified Prospectus. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated.