active management at iva: a focus on clients’ true ... passive newsletter 2q2020.pdfeffective july...

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Active investment management has come under increased scrutiny with the rise in popularity of passive investment strategies. At IVA, we recognize that there may be a place for passive strategies in investors’ portfolios. However, we believe there is also room for genuine active managers that differentiate themselves from their benchmarks and add value through thoughtful, long-term goal oriented investment strategies. These managers are in stark contrast to ‘index huggers’ charging active management fees. We have been open about our low sympathy for these managers. They tend to be asset gatherers as opposed to money managers and the promise they make to their clients is, to us, a nearly impossible one: to try to outperform the benchmark year after year, quarter after quarter, rain or shine. At a deeper level, we believe this attempt by the majority of active managers to beat the benchmark (and by passive strategies to achieve benchmark returns) is unlikely to be in line with the genuine goals of most clients. Clients’ goals tend to be asymmetrical. Yes, they want to grow their wealth in real terms, but in order to do this they must first preserve it. As Warren Buffett said, “Never risk what you have and need for what you don’t have and don’t need.” At IVA, we are very mindful of our clients’ investment goals. Our Funds try to be as absolute return oriented as possible. We seek long term (over a full economic cycle) growth of capital, while on a shorter-term basis (a rolling 12-18 months) our attempt is to try to preserve capital. We believe that one of the most crucial goals of an active manager should be to protect on the downside. One of the risks of many passive strategies is their inability to protect on the downside. These strategies, including those tracking the S&P 500, may have too much downside volatility for many clients. For example, from September 2007 to March 2009, the S&P 500 was down 53%. Few clients would be able to stomach that kind of downturn and the extended amount of time it took to recover their losses if in fact they had the patience to remain invested. Another detrimental risk of many passive strategies, directly related to large downside volatility, is that market cap-weighted indices such as the S&P 500 or the MSCI World Index can be very top heavy at times and virtually guarantee large exposure to bubbles when they occur. For example, the MSCI World Index had a 45% allocation to Japan in late 1989 at the height of the Japanese bubble. Similarly, the S&P 500 had a huge allocation to energy in 1980, to technology, media and telecommunications stocks in March 2000 and to financials in 2007. When these bubbles popped, it was not pretty for investors with outsized allocations. Unfortunately, many investors in passive strategies do not understand these wealth threatening risks. They invest as they see markets going up and concentrate on low fees, unable to assess the embedded risks they are taking. Since the inception of our Funds, we have minimized drawdowns and delivered strong absolute returns for our clients. We have been able to achieve this by employing an investment approach that emphasizes capital preservation while still providing the capacity to outperform equity indices over the long term. We believe this approach is in line with our clients’ true investment goals and we will continue to focus on preserving and growing their wealth in real terms over time. Active Management at IVA: A Focus on Clients’ True Investment Goals IVA Worldwide Fund Class Ticker CUSIP A IVWAX 45070A107 C IVWCX 45070A503 I IVWIX 45070A206 IVA International Fund Class Ticker CUSIP A IVIOX 45070A305 C IVICX 45070A602 I IVIQX 45070A404 Investment Risks There are risks associated with investing in funds that invest in securities of foreign countries, such as erratic market conditions, economic and political instability and fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Value-based investments are subject to the risk that the broad market may not recognize their intrinsic value. June 2020 www.ivafunds.com continued to the next page

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Page 1: Active Management at IVA: A Focus on Clients’ True ... Passive Newsletter 2Q2020.pdfEffective July 13, 2020, Chuck de Lardemelle is no longer a portfolio manager of the IVA Funds

Active investment management has come under increased scrutiny with the rise in popularity of passive investment strategies. At IVA, we recognize that there may be a place for passive strategies in investors’ portfolios. However, we believe there is also room for genuine active managers that differentiate themselves from their benchmarks and add value through thoughtful, long-term goal oriented investment strategies. These managers are in stark contrast to ‘index huggers’ charging active management fees. We have been open about our low sympathy for these managers. They tend to be asset gatherers as opposed to money managers and the promise they make to their clients is, to us, a nearly impossible one: to try to outperform the benchmark year after year, quarter after quarter, rain or shine. At a deeper level, we believe this attempt by the majority of active managers to beat the benchmark (and by passive strategies to achieve benchmark returns) is unlikely to be in line with the genuine goals of most clients. Clients’ goals tend to be asymmetrical. Yes, they want to grow their wealth in real terms, but in order to do this they must first preserve it. As Warren Buffett said, “Never risk what you have and need for what you don’t have and don’t need.”

At IVA, we are very mindful of our clients’ investment goals. Our Funds try to be as absolute return oriented as possible. We seek long term (over a full economic cycle) growth of capital, while on a shorter-term basis (a rolling 12-18 months) our attempt is to try to preserve capital. We believe that one of the most crucial goals of an active manager should be to protect on the downside.

One of the risks of many passive strategies is their inability to protect on the downside. These strategies, including those tracking the S&P 500, may have too much downside volatility for many clients. For example, from September 2007 to March 2009, the S&P 500 was down 53%. Few clients would be able to stomach that kind of downturn and the extended amount of time it took to recover their losses if in fact they had the patience to remain invested.

Another detrimental risk of many passive strategies, directly related to large downside volatility, is that market cap-weighted indices such as the S&P 500 or the MSCI World Index can be very top heavy at times and virtually guarantee large exposure to bubbles when they occur. For example, the MSCI World Index had a 45% allocation to Japan in late 1989 at the height of the Japanese bubble. Similarly, the S&P 500 had a huge allocation to energy in 1980, to technology, media and telecommunications stocks in March 2000 and to financials in 2007. When these bubbles popped, it was not pretty for investors with outsized allocations.

Unfortunately, many investors in passive strategies do not understand these wealth threatening risks. They invest as they see markets going up and concentrate on low fees, unable to assess the embedded risks they are taking.

Since the inception of our Funds, we have minimized drawdowns and delivered strong absolute returns for our clients. We have been able to achieve this by employing an investment approach that emphasizes capital preservation while still providing the capacity to outperform equity indices over the long term. We believe this approach is in line with our clients’ true investment goals and we will continue to focus on preserving and growing their wealth in real terms over time.

Active Management at IVA: A Focus on Clients’ True Investment Goals

IVA Worldwide Fund

Class Ticker CUSIP

A IVWAX 45070A107

C IVWCX 45070A503

I IVWIX 45070A206

IVA International Fund

Class Ticker CUSIP

A IVIOX 45070A305

C IVICX 45070A602

I IVIQX 45070A404

Investment RisksThere are risks associated with investing in funds that invest in securities of foreign countries, such as erratic market conditions, economic and political instability and fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Value-based investments are subject to the risk that the broad market may not recognize their intrinsic value.

June 2020

www.ivafunds.com continued to the next page

Page 2: Active Management at IVA: A Focus on Clients’ True ... Passive Newsletter 2Q2020.pdfEffective July 13, 2020, Chuck de Lardemelle is no longer a portfolio manager of the IVA Funds

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IVA Worldwide Class I Cumulative Return From MSCI ACWI Max Drawdown Peak 10/2/2008

IVA Worldwide Class I MSCI ACWI

Since inception of the IVA Worldwide Fund on October 1, 2008, the Maximum Drawdown1 of the MSCI All Country World Index (Net) (“Index”) was -40.95%. This drawdown occurred from October 2, 2008 – March 9, 2009. During that same time period, the IVA Worldwide Fund was down -8.75%. As you can see in the chart above, our ability to protect our clients’ capital in down markets has helped us outperform the Index over time.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. The performance data quoted represents past performance and current returns may be lower or higher. Returns are shown net of fees and expenses and assume reinvestment of dividends and other income. The investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed may be worth more or less than the original cost. To obtain performance information current to the most recent month- end, please call 1-866-941-4482.

Cumulative Return 10/2/2008 to 6/30/2020 n IVA Worldwide Class I

n MSCI All Country World Index (Net)

www.ivafunds.com

127.17%

105.55%

Page 3: Active Management at IVA: A Focus on Clients’ True ... Passive Newsletter 2Q2020.pdfEffective July 13, 2020, Chuck de Lardemelle is no longer a portfolio manager of the IVA Funds

Since inception of the IVA International Fund on October 1, 2008, the Maximum Drawdown of the MSCI All Country World Index Ex-US (Net) (“Index”) was -41.06%. This drawdown occurred from October 2, 2008 – March 9, 2009. During that same time period, the IVA International Fund was down -9.92%. As you can see in the chart above, our ability to protect our clients’ capital in down markets has helped us outperform the Index over time.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. The performance data quoted represents past performance and current returns may be lower or higher. Returns are shown net of fees and expenses and assume reinvestment of dividends and other income. The investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed may be worth more or less than the original cost. To obtain performance information current to the most recent month- end, please call 1-866-941-4482.

Cumulative Return 10/2/2008 to 6/30/2020 n IVA International Class I

n MSCI All Country World Index Ex-US (Net)

continued to the next page

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IVA International Class I Cumulative Return From MSCI ACWI Ex-US Max Drawdown Peak 10/2/2008

IVA International I MSCI ACWI Ex USA NR USD

88.85%57.64%

Page 4: Active Management at IVA: A Focus on Clients’ True ... Passive Newsletter 2Q2020.pdfEffective July 13, 2020, Chuck de Lardemelle is no longer a portfolio manager of the IVA Funds

www.ivafunds.com

Past performance does not guarantee future results. The performance data quoted represents past performance and current returns may be lower or higher. Returns are shown net of fees and expenses and assume reinvestment of dividends and other income. The investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed may be worth more or less than the original cost. To obtain performance information current to the most recent month- end, please call 1-866-941-4482.

The fund recently experienced significant negative short-term performance due to market volatility associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic and Market Events Risk: The impact of the outbreak of a novel coronavirus may be short term or may last for an extended period of time, result in a substantial economic downturn and could negatively affect the worldwide economy. Any such impact could adversely affect the Fund and may lead to losses on your investment in the Funds.

Effective July 13, 2020, Chuck de Lardemelle is no longer a portfolio manager of the IVA Funds. Charles de Vaulx is the sole portfolio manager of the funds and is the Chief Investment Officer of IVA, the funds’ adviser.

The expense ratios for the funds are as follows: IVA Worldwide Fund 0.91% (I shares); IVA International Fund 0.92% (I shares). Amounts redeemed within 30 days of purchase are subject to a 2.00% fee.

MSCI All Country World Index (Net) is an unmanaged index consisting of 49 country indices comprised of 23 developed and 26 emerging market country indices and is calculated with dividends reinvested after deduction of withholding tax. The Index is a trademark of MSCI Inc. and is not available for direct investment.

MSCI All Country World Index (ex-U.S.) (Net) is an unmanaged index consisting of 48 country indices comprised of 22 developed and 26 emerging market country indices and is calculated with dividends reinvested after deduction of withholding tax. The Index is a trademark of MSCI Inc. and is not available for direct investment.

Mutual fund investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. There are risks associated with investing in funds that invest in securities of foreign countries, such as erratic market conditions, economic and political instability and fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Value-based investments are subject to the risk that the broad market may not recognize their intrinsic value.

An investor should read and consider the funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. This and other important information are detailed in our prospectus and summary prospectus, which can be obtained by calling 1-866-941-4482 or visiting www.ivafunds.com. Please read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before you invest.

The IVA Funds are offered by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

Performance Information (Total Returns as of June 3 0, 2020)

Class 1 Year 3 Years* 5 Years* 10 Years*

SinceInception*(10/1/08)

IVA Worldwide Fund Class I -8.98% -1.00% 1.51% 4.93% 6.33%

MSCI All Country World Index (Net) 2.11% 6.14% 6.46% 9.16% 7.25%

IVA International Fund Class I -11.62% -3.55% -0.39% 3.36% 5.56%

MSCI All Country World Index (Ex-US)(Net) -4.80% 1.13% 2.26% 4.97% 4.01%

*Annualized

1. Maximum Drawdown is the maximum loss from a peak to a trough of a portfolio, before a new peak is attained

International Value Advisers, LLC

717 Fifth Avenue, 10th Floor

New York, NY 10022

877.874.2999

www.ivafunds.com