Management & Investment Process

Management

The investment team leverages high degrees of experience and knowledge within a disciplined investment process. Learn more about the Team.
  • Christopher Smith
  • Portfolio Manager
  • 21Years Investment
    Experience

Investment Process

The team’s investment approach is based on idea generation, a systematic framework for analyzing companies and proactive risk management. Utilizing this approach, the team seeks to construct a focused portfolio designed to maximize alpha while limiting downside risk over the long term.

Idea Generation

  • Identify inflections in multi-year trends caused by changes in supply/demand dynamics, societal behavior, market conditions, technology, laws/regulations and business models, among other variables—these can lead to powerful re-ratings of industries and companies
  • Find areas where the team’s views on industry fundamentals differ from consensus estimates—a key element in alpha generation

Systematic Analytical Framework

  • Apply a systematic framework for analyzing companies across sectors and themes, creating a repeatable and methodical decision-making process
  • Focus on multi-year earnings power differentiation, expected outcome scenario analysis, return on invested capital and discounted cash flow valuations using the team’s proprietary company models
  • Utilize internally developed visual outputs to consistently evaluate positions across the portfolio

Proactive Risk Management

  • Incorporate risk management into all stages of the investment process
  • Evaluate metrics including crowding, correlation, volatility, stress tests, liquidity, factor analysis and macro drivers, in order to inform portfolio construction and position sizing
  • Where appropriate, use various instruments, such as options, in an effort to magnify alpha and minimize downside

Other Strategies Managed

Investment Results (% USD)

As of 30 November 2024 QTD YTD 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr Inception
Composite — Gross 6.17 37.19 41.49 8.40 15.22 19.37
Composite — Net 6.00 35.97 40.12 7.32 14.08 18.20
S&P 500® Index 4.91 28.07 33.89 11.43 15.75 14.98
As of 30 September 2024 QTD YTD 1 Yr 3 Yr 5 Yr 10 Yr Inception
Composite — Gross 7.04 29.22 44.33 8.58 14.92 18.89
Composite — Net 6.78 28.28 42.93 7.50 13.78 17.72
S&P 500® Index 5.89 22.08 36.35 11.90 15.96 14.60

Annual Returns (% USD)

Trailing 12 Months Ended 30 September 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Composite — Gross 22.92 27.44 -19.55 10.26 44.33
Composite — Net 21.71 26.20 -20.37 9.17 42.93

Calendar Year Returns (% USD)

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Composite — Gross 34.10 30.81 25.17 -24.90 17.08
Composite — Net 32.80 29.53 23.95 -25.67 15.93
S&P 500® Index 31.49 18.40 28.71 -18.11 26.29
Returns for periods less than one year are not annualized. 

Past performance does not guarantee and is not a reliable indicator of future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance shown. Composite performance has been presented in both gross and net of investment management fees. The Antero Peak Strategy’s investments in initial public offerings (IPOs) made a material contribution to performance. IPO investments may contribute significantly to a small portfolio’s return, an effect that will generally decrease as assets grow. IPO investments may be unavailable in the future. 

Investment Risk: Investments will rise and fall with market fluctuations and investor capital is at risk. Investors investing in investment vehicles denominated in non-local currency should be aware of the risk of currency exchange fluctuations that may cause a loss of principal. These risks, among others, are further described in the Important Disclosures section which should be read in conjunction with this material. 
Top 5 Issuers
(% of net assets as of 30 November 2024)
NVIDIA Corp (Transformation of the Enterprise) 7.3
General Electric Co (Aero Normalization) 6.3
Equinix Inc (Network Infrastructure Modernization) 4.8
Nasdaq Inc (Data Monetization) 4.6
Apollo Global Management Inc (Data Monetization) 4.5
Total 27.5%
Portfolio Statistics
(as of 30 November 2024)
Number of Companies 28
Non-US Companies (% of net assets) 10.0%
Weighted Avg. Market Cap (Billions) $696.5
Weighted Avg. ROE 26.5%
Weighted Avg. LT EPS Growth Rate (3-5 Yr) 20.6%
Weighted Avg. P/E (FY2) 31.5X
Active Share 81.3%
Market Cap Distribution
(% of net assets as of 30 November 2024)

$ USD in billions
75.0+ 76.1
25.0–75.0 21.9
5.0–25.0
0.0–5.0
Not Applicable
TOTAL 98.0%
Portfolio Exposure by Theme
(% of net assets as of 30 September 2024)
Transformation of the Enterprise 22.2
Aero Normalization 15.0
De-Globalization 14.7
Digitization of User Experience & Commerce 14.5
Medical Innovations 10.6
Data Monetization 10.0
Network Infrastructure Modernization 8.2
Total 95.2%

Sector Diversification
(% of net assets as of 30 November 2024)

% of net assets represents the portfolio's exposures based on the economic value of investments and options are delta-adjusted. Categories “Other” and “N/A” may include ETFs, ETF/Index options and other securities which have not explicitly been classified. Cash and cash equivalents represented 3.9% of the total portfolio.
  • Peak Insights: An Exclusive Conversation with Chris Smith and DraftKings
  • Watch Now
  • Peak Insights: HBM Opportunity Within Memory
  • View PDF
  • Peak Insights: Aerospace—Consolidated Secular Growth
  • View PDF
Non-diversified portfolios may invest larger portions of assets in securities of a smaller number of issuers and performance of a single issuer may have greater impact to the portfolio's returns. Use of derivatives may create investment leverage and increase the likelihood of volatility and risk of loss in excess of the amount invested. High portfolio turnover may adversely affect returns due to increased transaction costs and creation of additional tax consequences. Securities of small- and medium-sized companies tend to have a shorter history of operations, be more volatile and less liquid and may have underperformed securities of large companies during some periods. International investments involve special risks, including currency fluctuation, lower liquidity, different accounting methods and economic and political systems, and higher transaction costs. These risks typically are greater in emerging and less developed markets, including frontier markets. The costs associated with an investment will impact your return over time. These risks, among others, are further described in Artisan Partners Form ADV, which is available upon request. 

Unless otherwise indicated, strategy characteristics relate to that of a representative account managed within the investment composite. It is intended to provide a general illustration of the investment strategy and considerations used by Artisan Partners in managing that strategy. Individual accounts managed to the strategy may differ, at times significantly, from the reference data shown due to varying account restrictions, fees and expenses, and longevity periods, among others. Where applicable, this information is supplemental to, and not to be construed with, a current or prospective client's investment account information.

Performance Source: Artisan Partners/S&P®. Net-of-fees composite returns were calculated using the highest model investment advisory fees applicable to portfolios within the composite. Fees may be higher for certain pooled vehicles and the composite may include accounts with performance-based fees. All performance results are net of commissions and transaction costs, and have been presented gross and net of investment advisory fees. Dividend income is recorded net of foreign withholding taxes on ex-dividend date or as soon after the ex-dividend date as the information becomes available to Artisan Partners. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Performance results for the Index include reinvested dividends and are presented net of foreign withholding taxes but, unlike the portfolio's returns, do not reflect the payment of sales commissions or other expenses incurred in the purchase or sale of the securities included in the indices. 

Idiosyncratic Positions are issuers held outside of a theme. Theme categorizations are at the sole discretion of the team. Themes and constituents are as of the date indicated and subject to change. Portfolio sector classifications are defined by the investment team and may differ substantially from the Global Industry Classification System (GICS) classifications. Upon request, Artisan Partners will provide the portfolio’s sector breakdown according to GICS methodology. 

Data & Statistics Sources: Artisan Partners/Bloomberg/GICS. Artisan Partners may exclude outlier data and certain securities which lack applicable attributes, such as private securities when calculating portfolio statistics. If information is unavailable for a particular security Artisan may use data from a related security to calculate portfolio statistics. Securities of the same issuer are aggregated to determine a holding’s weight in the portfolio. Cash weighting includes cash and cash equivalents. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 

The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®) is the exclusive intellectual property of MSCI Inc. (MSCI) and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC (S&P). Neither MSCI, S&P, their affiliates, nor any of their third party providers (“GICS Parties”) makes any representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to GICS or the results to be obtained by the use thereof, and expressly disclaim all warranties, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The GICS Parties shall not have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of such damages.

S&P 500® Index measures the performance of 500 US companies focused on the large-cap sector of the market. The index(es) are unmanaged; include net reinvested dividends; do not reflect fees or expenses; and are not available for direct investment. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P DJI”) and/or its affiliates and has been licensed for use.  Copyright © 2024 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, Inc. All rights reserved. Redistribution or reproduction in whole or in part are prohibited without written permission of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. S&P® is a registered trademark of S&P Global and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”). None of S&P DJI, Dow Jones, their affiliates or third party licensors makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and none shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein.

Exposure Pct Assets represents the portfolio's exposures based on the economic value of investments (including delta-adjusting options exposures). Delta-adjusted options exposure is a measure of the market exposure created by the options and accounts for the sensitivity of options to changes in price of the underlying security. In comparison, measuring the exposure of an option at the market value of the option or notional value can understate or overstate, respectively, the economic exposure and risk. This estimate of portfolio exposure is only an approximation of the portfolio at a point in time. 

Market Cap (USD) is the aggregate value of all of a company's outstanding equity securities. Weighted Average is the average of values weighted to the data set's composition. The Antero Peak portfolio Weighted Avg. P/E is a Weighted Harmonic Average. Weighted Harmonic Average is a calculation of weighted average commonly used for rates or ratios. Return on Equity (ROE) is a profitability ratio that measures the amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity. LT EPS Growth Rate is the average of the 3-5 year forecasted EPS growth rate of a company. Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) measures how expensive a stock is. Earnings figures used for FY1 and FY2 are estimates for the current and next unreported fiscal years. Active Share is defined as the percentage of a portfolio that differs from its benchmark index. Active Share can range from 0% for an index fund that perfectly mirrors its benchmark to 100% for a portfolio with no overlap with an index. Active Share is not delta-adjusted and includes cash, cash equivalents, ETFs and ETF/Index options.