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AlgerOn theMoney
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​Par for the Course?

Performance setbacks are common in results-oriented fields, including investing. How often and to what severity do investment managers underperform their benchmarks in the short-run, only to outperform in the long-run?

For anyone in a results-focused occupation – from athletes to sales professionals – periods of performance setbacks are common. The same can happen with professional investors, given the inevitable ebbs and flows of the market environment. How often do investment managers experience relative drawdowns — the maximum loss in performance compared to their benchmark — and how severe have they been in the past?
​
​​​​Chart showing % of Outperforming Funds Experiencing Various Drawdowns Relative to Their Benchmark​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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  • In a recent study in the Journal of Investing, the authors analyzed equity fund performance, net-of-fees, and calculated the periods of relative underperformance by equity funds with at least a 10-year track record that outperformed their benchmark from 1995 through 2019 (“the sample period”).​1 In the chart above, the magnitude of drawdown for each fund refers to the cumulative peak-to-trough loss in performance relative to its benchmark.
  • Their findings reveal that nearly all of the funds that outperformed during the sample period, experienced drawdowns of at least 10% relative to their benchmark. In fact, more than half experienced drawdowns of at least 20%, and almost a third of managers experienced a drawdown in excess of 30%. Moreover, the study also found that these drawdowns can be lengthy, with managers experiencing, on average, one continuous drawdown lasting two years or more.
  • ​While periods of relative underperformance can be frustrating to investors, they are common, as evident in the chart above. We have written that evaluating managers based on short-term performance may not be prudent. We believe that investors may be well served by assessing specific fund characteristics, such as long-term performance2​ and manager independence3​ (i.e., lack of affiliation with investment banks, reducing potential conflicts of interest in holding a disproportionate amount of a company’s shares).

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The views expressed are the views of Fred Alger Management, LLC (“FAM”) and its affiliates as of September 2023. These views are subject to change at any time and may not represent the views of all portfolio management teams. These views should not be interpreted as a guarantee of the future performance of the markets, any security or any funds managed by FAM. These views are not meant to provide investment advice and should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell securities.

Risk Disclosures: Investing in the stock market involves risks, including the potential loss of principal. Growth stocks may be more volatile than other stocks as their prices tend to be higher in relation to their companies’ earnings and may be more sensitive to market, political, and economic developments. Local, regional or global events such as environmental or natural disasters, war, terrorism, pandemics, outbreaks of infectious diseases and similar public health threats, recessions, or other events could have a significant impact on investments. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. ​ Investors whose reference currency differs from that in which the underlying assets are invested may be subject to exchange rate movements that alter the value of their investments. Investing in innovation is not without risk and there is no guarantee that investments in research and development will result in a company gaining market share or achieving enhanced revenue. Companies exploring new technologies may face regulatory, political or legal challenges that may adversely impact their competitive positioning and financial prospects. Also, developing technologies to displace older technologies or create new markets may not in fact do so, and there may be sector-specific risks as well. As is the case with any industry, there will be winners and losers that emerge and investors therefore need to conduct a significant amount of due diligence on individual companies to assess these risks and opportunities.
​
Important Information for US Investors: This material must be accompanied by the most recent fund fact sheet(s) if used in connection with the sale of mutual fund and ETF shares. Fred Alger & Company, LLC serves as distributor of the Alger mutual funds.

Important Information for UK and EU Investors: This material is directed at investment professionals and qualified investors (as defined by MiFID/FCA regulations). It is for information purposes only and has been prepared and is made available for the benefit investors. This material does not constitute an offer or solicitation to any person in any jurisdiction in which it is not authorized or permitted, or to anyone who would be an unlawful recipient, and is only intended for use by original recipients and addressees. The original recipient is solely responsible for any actions in further distributing this material and should be satisfied in doing so that there is no breach of local legislation or regulation.

Certain products may be subject to restrictions with regard to certain persons or in certain countries under national regulations applicable to such persons or countries.
​
Alger Management, Ltd. (company house number 8634056, domiciled at 78 Brook Street, London W1K 5EF, UK) is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Au¬thority, for the distribution of regulated financial products and services. FAM and/or Weatherbie Capital, LLC, U.S. registered investment advisors, serve as sub-portfolio manager to financial products distributed by Alger Management, Ltd.

Alger Group Holdings, LLC (parent company of FAM and Alger Management, Ltd.), FAM, and Fred Alger & Company, LLC are not authorized persons for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 of the United Kingdom (“FSMA”) and this material has not been approved by an authorized person for the purposes of Section 21(2)(b) of the FSMA.

Important information for Investors in Israel: This material is provided in Israel only to investors of the type listed in the first schedule of the Securities Law, 1968 (the “Securities Law”) and the Regulation of Investment Advice, Investment Marketing and Investment Portfolio Management Law, 1995. The Fund units will not be sold to investors who are not of the type listed in the first schedule of the Securities Law. ​

© 2023 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. A subscription fee is paid to Morningstar to access research, ratings, rankings and other investment tools.

1The study took the oldest share class for all US-domiciled actively managed open-end equity funds in the Morningstar Direct database (including surviving and obsolete funds) during the 25 years ended December 31, 2019. The study then removed any fund with fewer than 10 holdings or less than 10 years of returns, along with any fund not categorized in the traditional US Morningstar nine-box style factors, emerging markets, foreign large capitalization, or foreign small-/mid-cap categories during the sample period, which produced a sample of 2,593 funds. Next, using each fund’s relevant Morningstar style benchmark, each fund’s cumulative net excess return over the sample period was calculated. Funds with a positive cumulative return, net of expense ratio, were labeled “outperformers,” resulting in 1,173 funds that outperformed. By category, the sample was made up of 83 US large-cap blend, 192 US large-cap growth, 88 US large-cap value, 27 US mid-cap blend, 85 US mid-cap growth, 24 US mid-cap value, 97 US small-cap blend, 156 US small-cap growth, 61 US small-cap value, 235 foreign large-cap, 48 foreign small-/mid-cap, and 77 diversified emerging market funds.

2Donoho, Crenian, Scanlan, 2010.

3Hao, Q., and X. Yan. “The Performance of Investment Bank-Affiliated Mutual Funds: Conflicts of Interest or Informational Advantage?” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2012.

Alger pays compensation to third party marketers to sell various strategies to prospective investors.​

Fre​d Alger & Company, LLC 100 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10004 / www.alger.com​​ ​/ 800.305.8547 (Retail) / 800.223.3810 (Institutional)​

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ETF Investors

This ETF is different from traditional ETFs.

Traditional ETFs tell the public what assets they hold each day. This ETF will not. This may create additional risks for your investment. Specifically:

You may have to pay more money to trade the ETF’s shares. This ETF will provide less information to traders, who tend to charge more for trades when they have less information.

The price you pay to buy ETF shares on an exchange may not match the value of the ETF’s portfolio. The same is true when you sell shares. These price differences may be greater for this ETF compared to other ETFs because it provides less information to traders.

These additional risks may be even greater in bad or uncertain market conditions.

The differences between this ETF and other ETFs may also have advantages. By keeping certain information about the ETF confidential, this ETF may face less risk that other traders can predict or copy its investment strategy. This may improve the ETF’s performance. If other traders are able to copy or predict the ETF’s investment strategy, however, this may hurt the ETF’s performance. For additional information regarding the unique attributes and risks of this ETF, please refer to the prospectus.

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