Overview
Investment Objective
The Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation.
Strategy
The Fund invests primarily in the securities of companies located in developing countries. The Fund invests in several asset classes including common stocks, preferred stocks, and fixed-income securities.
The Fund’s portfolio is comprised of securities identified through a bottom-up security selection process based on fundamental research. The Fund seeks to produce a minimum long-term rate of return by investing in securities priced at a discount to their intrinsic value.
Sources of Value
Seafarer has identified seven distinct sources of value in emerging markets that may give rise to viable opportunities for long-term, value-oriented investments.
| Opportunity Set | Source of Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Balance Sheet | Balance Sheet Liquidity | Cash or highly liquid assets undervalued by the market |
| Breakup Value | Assets whose liquidation value exceeds their market capitalization | |
| Management Change | Assets expected to become more productive under a new owner or management due to changes in operations or capital allocation that enhance shareholder value | |
| Deleveraging | Shift of cash flow accrual from debt holders to equity holders | |
| Asset Productivity | Assets expected to become more productive due to changes in industry or company-specific cycles | |
| Structural Shift | Cash generative companies experiencing a shift in structural growth | |
| Income Statement / Cash Flow | Segregated Market | Productive assets trading in a less liquid public market or otherwise segregated from the mainstream of capital flows |
- Additional information is available in the white paper On Value in the Emerging Markets.
Fund Characteristics
Portfolio Management
| Paul Espinosa | Lead Manager |
| Brent Clayton | Co-Manager |
| Andrew Foster | Co-Manager |
A Value Approach to Emerging Markets
Paul Espinosa describes the structural changes that have made it possible to realize a value strategy in emerging markets. He explains how the strategy’s research process is based on Seafarer’s framework of seven distinct sources of value in emerging markets.
MoreUnderlying Portfolio Holdings
| Holdings | |
| % of Net Assets in Top 10 Holdings | |
| Weighted Average Market Cap | |
| Market Cap of Portfolio Median Dollar | |
| Gross Investment Portfolio Yield4 | |
| Price / Book Value4 | |
| Price / Earnings46 | |
| Earnings Per Share Growth45 |
- Gross expense ratio: 1
- The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Future returns may be lower or higher. 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. View the Fund’s most recent month-end performance.
Geographic Focus
Developing countries and territories including, but not limited to:
| Africa | Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Zimbabwe |
| East and South Asia | Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam |
| Emerging Europe | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine |
| Latin America | Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Middle East | Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates |
Select developed countries and territories with significant economic and financial linkages to developing countries, including, but not limited to, Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
- Sources: ALPS Fund Services, Inc., Bloomberg, Morningstar, Seafarer.
- Portfolio holdings are subject to change.
- Seafarer Capital Partners, LLC has agreed contractually to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver / Expense Reimbursements (inclusive of acquired fund fees and expenses other than acquired fund fees and expenses incurred in connection with investments in money market funds and other cash management vehicles, and exclusive of brokerage expenses, interest expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) to 1.05%, 1.15%, and 1.35% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for the Institutional, Investor, and Retail share classes, respectively. This agreement shall continue at least through August 31, 2027.
- The 12b-1 Fee is included in the Gross Expense Ratio for SFVRX.
- Shareholders who sign up for an Automatic Investment Plan can request a waiver of the Institutional Class investment minimum. View the waiver program criteria.
- Calculated as a harmonic average of the underlying portfolio holdings.
- Based on consensus earnings estimates for next year. Excludes securities for which consensus earnings estimates are not available.
- © Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The Active Share data is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; may not be copied or distributed; and 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.
Performance
Total Returns
As of (Prior Month)
| 43 | NAV / Index Level () | Annualized | Cumulative | Inception Date | Net Expense Ratio2 | Gross Expense Ratio2 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YTD | 1 Mo | 3 Mo | 1 Yr | 3 Yr | 5 Yr | 7 Yr | 10 Yr | Since Inception1 | Since Inception1 | |||||
- Gross expense ratio: 2
As of (Prior Quarter)
| 43 | NAV / Index Level () | Annualized | Cumulative | Inception Date | Net Expense Ratio2 | Gross Expense Ratio2 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YTD | 1 Mo | 3 Mo | 1 Yr | 3 Yr | 5 Yr | 7 Yr | 10 Yr | Since Inception1 | Since Inception1 | |||||
- Gross expense ratio: 2
- The rates of return are hypothetical and do not represent the returns of any particular investment.
- Fund performance is presented in U.S. dollar terms, with U.S. jurisdiction distributions reinvested on a gross (pre-tax) basis. For the Bloomberg and Morningstar indices, performance is calculated to reflect the reinvestment of dividends, capital gains, and other corporate actions net of foreign jurisdiction withholding taxes. The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Future returns may be lower or higher. 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.
- Source: ALPS Fund Services, Inc.
Return Characteristics as of
Relative to the Bloomberg Emerging Markets Large, Mid, and Small Cap Net Return USD Index except where noted.
| 3 years | Since Inception5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha | ||
| Beta | ||
| R-squared | ||
| R-squared vs. S&P 500 Index | ||
| Upside Capture Ratio | ||
| Downside Capture Ratio |
- Source: Morningstar.6
- “Since Inception” returns for the Bloomberg and Morningstar indices are as of the inception date of the Fund’s Institutional and Investor share classes.
- Seafarer Capital Partners, LLC has agreed contractually to waive and/or reimburse fees or expenses in order to limit Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver / Expense Reimbursements (inclusive of acquired fund fees and expenses other than acquired fund fees and expenses incurred in connection with investments in money market funds and other cash management vehicles, and exclusive of brokerage expenses, interest expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses) to 1.05%, 1.15%, and 1.35% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for the Institutional, Investor, and Retail share classes, respectively. This agreement shall continue at least through August 31, 2027.
- Source: Bloomberg Index Services Limited. BLOOMBERG® is a trademark and service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (collectively “Bloomberg”). Bloomberg or Bloomberg’s licensors own all proprietary rights in the Bloomberg Indices. Neither Bloomberg nor Bloomberg’s licensors approves or endorses this material, or guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, or makes any warranty, express or implied, as to the results to be obtained therefrom and, to the maximum extent allowed by law, neither shall have any liability or responsibility for injury or damages arising in connection therewith.
- The Seafarer Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar, Inc. makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the shareholders of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in the Funds or the ability of the Morningstar Emerging Markets Net Return U.S. Dollar Index to track general equity market performance of emerging markets.
- As of 5/31/16.
- © Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The data in the Return Characteristics table is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; may not be copied or distributed; and 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.
Composition
Top 10 Holdings as of
| Holding | Sector | Country | Issuer Mkt Cap ($B) | Yield1 | Price/ Book | Price/ Earnings23 | EPS Growth2345 |
|---|
- Portfolio holdings are subject to change.
- Sources: ALPS Fund Services, Inc., Bloomberg, Seafarer.
Portfolio Composition by Region as of
| All Holdings | ADRs, Common & Preferred Equities Only | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Net Assets | Price / Earnings67 | EPS Growth67 | |||||||||
| Region | # of Holdings | Fund | +/− vs. Index | Avg Mkt Cap ($B) | Gross Yield6 | Price / Book6 | Prior Year | This Year | Next Year | This Year | Next Year |
- Sources: ALPS Fund Services, Inc., Bloomberg, Seafarer.
Portfolio Composition by Sector as of
| All Holdings | ADRs, Common & Preferred Equities Only | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Net Assets | Price / Earnings67 | EPS Growth67 | |||||||||
| Sector | # of Holdings | Fund | +/− vs. Index | Avg Mkt Cap ($B) | Gross Yield6 | Price / Book6 | Prior Year | This Year | Next Year | This Year | Next Year |
- Sources: ALPS Fund Services, Inc., Bloomberg, Seafarer.
- 30-Day SEC Yield: ()
- The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Future returns may be lower or higher. 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. View the Fund’s most recent month-end performance.
Portfolio Composition by Asset Class as of
| Asset Class | # of Holdings | % Net Assets |
|---|
- Source: ALPS Fund Services, Inc.
Portfolio Composition by Market Capitalization as of
| Market Capitalization | # of Holdings | % Net Assets | +/− vs. Index |
|---|
- Source: ALPS Fund Services, Inc.
- Due to rounding, percentage values may not sum to 100%. Values less than 0.5% may be rounded to 0%.
- Yield = dividend yield for common and preferred stocks and yield to maturity for bonds.
- Based on consensus earnings estimates for next year.
- Consensus estimates for earnings and EPS growth are not available for this security.
- Consensus EPS Growth forecasts (produced by research arms of investment banks) suggest that this company's earnings will improve, leading to substantial percentage growth in profits; however, such consensus forecasts are subject to a very high degree of uncertainty.
- The Fund has two distinct holdings in the stock of Samsung C&T: a larger position in the company’s ordinary common shares and a smaller position in the company’s preferred shares. While the two securities are distinct (different prices, different dividends, etc.), if the two securities were aggregated, Samsung C&T would comprise the largest holding in the Fund as of 9/30/26.
- Calculated as a harmonic average of the underlying portfolio holdings.
- Based on consensus earnings estimates. Excludes securities for which consensus earnings estimates are not available.
Distributions
For More Information
Individual Investors
- (855) 732-9220 (Mon–Fri 9am–8pm ET)
- seafarerfunds@alpsinc.com
Investment Professionals
- (415) 578-5809 (Mon–Fri 9am–8pm ET)
- Send a Message
Estimates for the Fund’s year-end distributions will be available on this page the week of . To be notified when the estimates are available, sign up for Seafarer email updates.
2026 Distribution Dates
Distribution frequency: Annual
Please note: future dates are subject to change.
| Ex, Pay and |
||
|---|---|---|
| Year-end Distribution |
Historical Distributions
| Ex, Pay and | Reinvest | Ordinary | Short Term | Long Term | Total Distrib. | Cumulative Distrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIVLX (Institutional Class) | ||||||
| SFVLX (Investor Class) | ||||||
| SFVRX (Retail Class) | ||||||
For more information on the Fund’s distribution policies, please see the “Dividends and Distributions” section of the Prospectus.
Foreign Source Income
The Seafarer Overseas Value Fund has elected to pass through to shareholders the foreign taxes paid on income earned from foreign investments. These foreign taxes are reported in Box 7 of Form 1099-DIV. As a shareholder in the Fund, you may be able to claim a tax credit or an itemized deduction on your federal tax return for the amount of taxes paid to foreign countries. Please consult your tax adviser.
| Year | Foreign Source Income |
|---|---|
- Past performance is no guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee that the Fund will pay or continue to pay distributions.
Portfolio Review

Portfolio Review – Third Quarter 2026
During the third quarter of 2026, the Seafarer Overseas Value Fund returned 2.34%.12 The Fund’s benchmark indices, the Bloomberg Emerging Markets Large, Mid, and Small Cap Net Return USD Index and the Morningstar Emerging Markets Net Return USD Index, returned -2.13% and -0.87%, respectively. By way of broader comparison, the S&P 500 Index returned 2.30%.
The Fund began the quarter with a net asset value of $17.97 per share. It paid no distributions during the quarter and finished the period with a value of $18.39 per share.3
Performance
After an eventful first half of the year marked by the onset of war in the Middle East and a surge in the prices of stocks related to the build-out of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, the performance of the Value Fund and the Bloomberg emerging markets (EM) benchmark was less dramatic in the third quarter. The modest gain in the Fund and modest decline in the benchmark, however, came amidst a backdrop that was nonetheless tense. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained disrupted with an emergent risk to Red Sea shipping lanes as Houthi rebels advanced in Yemen. Brent crude oil prices rose from close to $73 per barrel on June 30, 2026, to nearly $104 per barrel by September 30, 2026, as the conflict lingered on. Market jitters surrounding the valuation and demand expectations for AI infrastructure appeared to halt the rally in the three behemoth emerging markets semiconductor manufacturing stocks. Indeed, the South Korean memory chip makers, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, saw their common shares decline in the quarter in U.S. dollar terms while the third, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), had marginally positive U.S. dollar gains in its Taiwan listing but fell in its American depositary receipt (ADR).4 Adding to the uncertainty, the U.S. Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 25 basis points in September, its first hike since 2023. This event, however, appeared to have only a muted impact on emerging market currencies. Indeed, the South Korean won appreciated against the U.S. dollar by close to 14% in the quarter, effectively reversing its depreciation from the 12 months prior to June 30, 2026.
While the magnitude of the third quarter returns was muted, the divergence in returns between the Fund and the Bloomberg EM benchmark was noteworthy in terms of the underlying drivers. The Fund had a diverse and eclectic set of return drivers, as discussed in greater detail below. Conversely, like the second quarter, the benchmark’s performance continued to be dominated by a single thematic driver: AI. The narrowness of the return drivers for the benchmark is somewhat paradoxical. It is represented by vastly more constituent securities than the Fund. Yet heading into the third quarter it was increasingly top-heavy and concentrated in stocks tied to expectations for AI infrastructure development. As of June 30, 2026, the Bloomberg EM benchmark had a technology sector weighting of 38%.5 Its aggregate weighting in the aforementioned three semiconductor manufacturers (inclusive of Samsung Electronics’ preferred shares) was 21%. In the first half of 2026, this concentration was beneficial to its performance as the soaring stock prices of the big three chip stocks accounted for roughly two-thirds of its return. Its performance in the third quarter revealed the other side of the same coin with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics representing the biggest drag on its return.
By contrast, the Fund’s underlying return drivers were more diverse. Its top contributors and detractors varied by geography, sector, and company-specific drivers. Most of them, though not all, were far removed from the changing market sentiment towards AI.
The Fund’s largest positive contributor to performance in the third quarter was Pacific Basin (Asset Productivity; the “source of value” for a Fund holding is hereafter referenced in parentheses), a dry bulk shipping company headquartered in Hong Kong. As its name suggests, it operates primarily in the Pacific Ocean basin with a commercial focus linked to trade in Asia. Disruptions to shipping from the conflict in the Middle East were a tailwind for dry bulk shipping rates. Trade routes were reoriented, which lengthened voyage distances; higher fuel prices encouraged ships to slow down to run more efficiently; and some ships became stranded in the Persian Gulf. Pacific Basin’s earnings in the first half of the year surged, with reported net profit up over 300% from the same period in the prior year.6
The Fund also benefitted from positive contributions from two of its financial sector holdings on opposite sides of the globe. Both stocks appreciated during the quarter on the heels of continued strong operational performance in their second quarter results. Lion Finance (Asset Productivity and Segregated Market), one of the two largest banks in the Republic of Georgia, reported earnings per share growth of over 20% compared to the prior year’s quarter and an annualized return on average equity of 27.1%.6 XP, Inc. (Structural Shift and Asset Productivity), an investment platform company in Brazil, reported continued growth in active clients, positive net new money to its platform, and an annualized return on average equity of 22.5%.6 The stock may have also benefitted in the third quarter from lower interest rate expectations in Brazil, not least because the central bank cut the SELIC interest rate by 50 basis points to 13.75% during the quarter.
Two Fund holdings that traded more closely with AI-related market sentiment in South Korea in the first half of the year had opposite share price reactions in the third quarter. Samsung SDI (Breakup Value and Structural Shift), a South Korean battery manufacturer, appreciated while Samsung C&T (Breakup Value), an engineering and construction company and de facto holding company for the Samsung Group, fell. Samsung SDI posted a positive return during the quarter in Korean won terms that was further bolstered in U.S. dollar terms by the 14% appreciation of the won. The company posted a turnaround in operating income in its second quarter results after losses in the same period in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.6 It noted strong demand for its smaller batteries used in data centers as well as electric vehicle batteries in Europe. It likewise reported benefiting from U.S. reciprocal tariff refunds. The company also affirmed its timeline of mass production of all-solid-state batteries in the second half of 2027 in its quarterly earnings call and the sale of a stake in a non-core asset in August.
For Samsung C&T, neither the strong growth in its operating profit in its second quarter results nor the appreciating Korean won were enough to offset its double-digit share price decline in its common shares in U.S. dollar terms in the third quarter, which made it the biggest detractor from the Fund’s third quarter performance.7 The company’s stake in Samsung Electronics accounted for over half of its total assets at the end of 2025 and, in our view, is the largest driver of the company’s intrinsic value. The aforementioned decline in Samsung Electronics in the quarter coincided with the fall in Samsung C&T’s share price.
Other detractors from the Fund’s performance during the quarter were more diffuse. The Fund saw declines in Jardine Matheson (Breakup Value and Management Change), an Asia-focused conglomerate, and DFI Retail (Management Change and Asset Productivity), a multiformat retailer focused on Hong Kong, Mainland China and Southeast Asia, which is majority owned by Jardine Matheson itself. For Jardine Matheson, a weak set of results for the first half of 2026 by its Indonesian subsidiary stood out as a negative in the third quarter, though its other large subsidiaries, including DFI Retail, performed better operationally over the same period. The Fund’s holdings in the Middle East and India also collectively were a drag on performance in the quarter. The lingering conflict with Iran and disruption to trade through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to weigh on the share prices of the Fund’s holdings in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The increase in energy prices looks to have negatively impacted market sentiment in India, a net importer of crude oil and natural gas, with the Bloomberg India Large, Mid, and Small Cap Net Return USD Index declining by mid-single-digits in the third quarter.
Allocation
During the third quarter of 2026 the Fund established two new positions and exited one holding.
The Fund added a position in Ayala Land (Breakup Value and Structural Shift), which is one of the largest real estate companies in the Philippines and majority owned by Ayala Corp, the country’s oldest conglomerate. Its core asset is its massive landbank, which is reported to be more than 9,000 hectares or approximately one and a half times the size of Manhattan. This landbank was built by the family behind Ayala Corp starting over 175 years ago with the farmland that became Makati, now Manila’s preeminent business district. Ayala Land monetizes this landbank both through property development, which is primarily focused on residential development, and through commercial real estate including malls, offices, hotels, and industrial warehouses. The company focuses on building planned estates that combine both residential and commercial leasing projects with common infrastructure and shared green spaces.
The stock commanded a market capitalization of over $13 billion at the end of 2019 after a decade of rapid growth. However, its growth faltered during the pandemic, and it faced an industry-wide supply glut in condos and offices in Manila built for foreign workers catering to the Philippines offshore gaming industry, which was banned in 2024. The growth outlook became yet murkier in 2026 as the war in the Middle East sent domestic diesel prices surging and created uncertainty over construction costs. The stock declined nearly 70% in U.S. dollar terms from the end of 2019 to September 30, 2026; its market capitalization had fallen to approximately $3.5 billion by the end of that period.
Coming to the stock with fresh eyes, we saw value in Ayala Land driven both by the Breakup Value and Structural Shift sources of value. The stock traded at a substantial discount relative to its book value as well as our estimated net asset value, with an attractive dividend yield which appears well supported by the recurring income streams of its commercial property assets. While it may no longer be a darling for growth investors, we see resiliency in the company’s underlying profitability and cash generation potential. We are also encouraged by the company’s capital allocation discipline in buying its own shares back, its restraint in slowing its pace of residential development, and its continued monetization of stakes in its commercial leasing properties through injections into its majority-owned real estate investment trust to free up capital.
The Fund also added a position in Piraeus Bank (Asset Productivity), a commercial bank in Greece. While memories of the country’s 2010s sovereign debt crisis may linger in many investors’ minds, years of austerity and balance sheet repair have put the economy on steadier footing in 2026. The country’s long road back from crisis was marked symbolically by its return to an investment grade sovereign credit rating from S&P and Fitch in 2023 and from Moody’s in 2025. The banking system’s recovery was a painful one. Piraeus, like other large commercial banks in Greece, underwent multiple recapitalizations and restructurings stemming from the crisis. The Greek state became a controlling shareholder of Piraeus in 2013 and did not fully exit until March 2024.
Where the bank finds itself today, however, is much different. The economy is growing and outpaced the broader Eurozone in real GDP growth in 2025. Loan growth is picking up after over a decade of stagnation. Piraeus’s deposit franchise is one of its key advantages. It reported having a 28% market share of deposits as of June 2026, the largest in the Greek banking industry.6 With a loan-to-deposit ratio of just 65% as of June 2026, the bank has ample capacity to ramp up its lending.6 Its low cost of funding from these deposits looks to provide a source of resiliency to its profitability throughout the interest rate cycle. The bank’s current valuation in the market seems inconsistent with its fundamentals and long-term growth prospects.
The Fund exited its position in Tata Motors Limited (Asset Productivity), a commercial vehicles manufacturer in India. Tata Motors Limited entered the Fund through a de-merger. The Fund first purchased shares in a combined Tata Motors entity in the fourth quarter of 2023, which held a commercial vehicles manufacturing business based in India, a passenger vehicles manufacturing business based in India, as well as Jaguar Land Rover, the British automaker. In October 2025, the previous Tata Motors de-merged into two separate entities: one focused on commercial vehicles in India (which took on the corporate name Tata Motors Limited) and the other focused on passenger vehicles in India and Jaguar Land Rover (which took the name Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, and which the Fund continued to hold). Each began trading as distinct corporate entities with separate management teams. The Fund took advantage of the stock price appreciation in the commercial vehicles business in the ensuing period to exit the position and redeploy the capital elsewhere in the portfolio. In doing so, the Fund monetized a portion of the Breakup Value that we saw in the combined entity.
Outlook
The pace of the proliferation of AI since the debut of ChatGPT nearly four years ago has been astounding. Equally impressive has been the share price appreciation of companies across the AI value chain. However, one of the downsides of the emergence of AI, beyond the abundance of AI slop and the fears that the technology may herald the end of humanity, is the distortions it has rendered upon popular market capitalization-weighted equity indices. Many have become both top-heavy in a handful of large holdings and increasingly linked to growth expectations surrounding AI.
In the U.S., the top 10 holdings of the S&P 500 Index had grown to a weighting of 41% as of the start of October 2026, compared to a weighting of 18% at the start of 2015, according to J.P. Morgan.8 The same analysis noted a weighting of over 53% to AI-related industries as of September 30, 2026.8
In the emerging markets, the three largest semiconductor stocks accounted for approximately one-fifth and one-quarter of the Bloomberg and Morningstar emerging markets indices, respectively, as of the end of September 30, 2026.9 These three giants and other companies in the semiconductor supply chain have contributed to the ballooning of the technology sector weightings of the Bloomberg and Morningstar indices from 15% and 16%, respectively, on September 30, 2022 (on the eve of the ChatGPT era) to 36% and 39%, respectively, on September 30, 2026. This has served to magnify the already lopsided geographic and sector weightings in these EM indices. As of September 30, 2026, four geographies (China, Taiwan, South Korea, and India) together had a weighting of approximately 80% in each index. Likewise, the technology and financial sectors had combined weightings of 55% and 59% in the Bloomberg and Morningstar benchmarks, respectively.
Such concentrations make questions of diversification and risk management more complicated. A recent Morningstar article, Emerging-Market Funds Have a Supersized Problem. Here’s How Managers Are Dealing With It, detailed the various approaches that active managers have taken to top-heavy index concentration in the emerging markets. In the Value Fund’s portfolio review for the second quarter of 2026, my colleague, Paul Espinosa, detailed the Fund’s approach to the same challenge. In short, he noted that the Fund does not define risk as tracking error, or the divergence between its performance and that of the benchmark, or even as price volatility, but rather in terms of the fundamentals underpinning the profit streams of the corporates the Fund owns. While the Value Fund’s underperformance relative to its EM benchmarks for the first nine months of 2026 is disappointing, we are staying the course – focusing on investing across the seven sources of value as explained in the white paper, On Value in the Emerging Markets, and managing risk as is appropriate for the Fund (not by what will minimize tracking error at the expense of prudent diversification).
Just as relevant as what is concentrated in the benchmarks is what isn’t concentrated in them. With close to 20% of both EM benchmarks represented by countries other than China, Taiwan, South Korea, and India, the other 20 or so countries classified as emerging markets have marginal weightings. Brazil, the next biggest country weighting after the largest four, had less than a 4% weighting in each index, followed by Saudi Arabia and South Africa with weightings below 3%. All other emerging market countries (including the likes of Mexico, Thailand, Hungary, and Indonesia) had weightings below 2%. From a sectoral standpoint, outside the technology and financial sectors, neither EM index had an individual sector weighting of more than 9% as of September 30, 2026.
For the Value Fund, the emerging markets opportunity set appears wider than the AI thematic or that of the concentrated weightings of lopsided indices. Indicative of this, the Fund established two positions in holdings based in the Philippines and Greece in the third quarter (Ayala Land and Piraeus Bank, respectively). In both the Bloomberg and Morningstar EM benchmarks the Philippines had a weighting of less than 40 basis points and Greece a weighting of less than 60 basis points as of September 30, 2026. Ayala Land comes from a sector, real estate, that was the smallest sector weighting of both EM indices as of the same date, representing approximately 1.5% of each EM index. Each investment was driven by the bottom-up fundamentals of each business and sources of value on offer. We think the two companies may offer distinct drivers of risk and return that are less positively correlated with the AI infrastructure build-out, which has driven the benchmarks in 2026. Our interest is likewise piqued in the potential value on offer in other stocks in markets and sectors that are largely neglected by the benchmarks.
Finding potential value in emerging market niches is no accident. Flows of capital do not exist in a vacuum. To the extent that finite capital crowds into AI-related stocks, it stands to reason that it may crowd out of other parts of the market. Indeed, Seafarer’s investment philosophy is underpinned by the structural inefficiencies that may exist in financial markets of most developing countries. One tenant of such inefficiency is the biases and shortcomings of benchmark indices, which may not fully represent the underlying economic and financial activity that they are supposed to track. The Value Fund’s search for value through the lens of the seven sources of value is centered around the mispricing of individual securities. A silver lining of the market’s zeal for AI may be a greater preponderance of inefficiencies elsewhere in the markets and fewer incremental dollars acting to correct the mispricing of individual securities in the short term.
It bears noting that we don’t know if or when the market’s enthusiasm for AI-linked stocks will change. The index concentrations may persist or grow. The Value Fund’s approach to investing in individual stocks over the long term seeks to look past the ebbs and flows of short-term sentiment and liquidity such that company-specific drivers have time to bear fruit. Some stocks that have fallen out of favor may remain so – we remain vigilant in identifying potential value traps. Likewise, the niches of the emerging markets are not without their own risks and sources of volatility, even if less dependent on global AI infrastructure development. As I write in late October, Indonesian stocks have plummeted in recent weeks after a major index provider warned that it may downgrade the country’s market classification, potentially removing it from the provider’s emerging market index. Likewise, Brazilian equities surged in the wake of the first round of the country’s general election in early October, only to come crashing back down as the incumbent president staged a surprising electoral victory in the second round of the election in late October. The Fund hasn’t sought to speculate on index reclassifications or elections in making its investments. Rather, the Value Fund focuses on finding individual stocks with resilience to changing macro and political winds, and where stock prices do not appear to reflect intrinsic values.
Thinking forward to the next four years of the AI era, change is inevitable. However, by continuing to chart its own course, the Value Fund strives to let the value on offer in the market dictate its direction rather than the animal spirits of the markets. We hope that this steady approach is of value to you in navigating whatever lies ahead.
Thank you for entrusting us with your capital. We are honored to serve as your investment adviser in the emerging markets.
Brent Clayton,- The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Future returns may be lower or higher. 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. View the Fund’s most recent month-end performance.
- The views and information discussed in this commentary are as of the date of publication, are subject to change, and may not reflect Seafarer’s current views. The views expressed represent an assessment of market conditions at a specific point in time, are opinions only and should not be relied upon as investment advice regarding a particular investment or markets in general. Such information does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell specific securities or investment vehicles. It should not be assumed that any investment will be profitable or will equal the performance of the portfolios or any securities or any sectors mentioned herein. The subject matter contained herein has been derived from several sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of compilation. Seafarer does not accept any liability for losses either direct or consequential caused by the use of this information.
- As of September 30, 2026, securities mentioned in the portfolio review comprised the following weights in the Seafarer Overseas Value Fund: Pacific Basin Shipping, Ltd. (2.9%), Lion Finance Group PLC (4.4%), XP, Inc. ADR (2.8%), Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (4.4%), Samsung C&T Corp. (3.8%), Samsung C&T Corp. Pfd. (1.4%), Jardine Matheson Holdings, Ltd. (2.7%), DFI Retail Group Holdings, Ltd. (1.9%), Ayala Land, Inc. (1.3%), Piraeus Bank SA (1.1%), and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited (1.0%). The Fund did not own shares in the other securities referenced in this portfolio review. View the Fund’s Top 10 Holdings. Holdings are subject to change.
- Sources: ALPS Fund Services, Inc. and Bloomberg.
- Source: Bloomberg Index Services Limited. BLOOMBERG® is a trademark and service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (collectively “Bloomberg”). Bloomberg or Bloomberg’s licensors own all proprietary rights in the Bloomberg Indices. Neither Bloomberg nor Bloomberg’s licensors approves or endorses this material, or guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, or makes any warranty, express or implied, as to the results to be obtained therefrom and, to the maximum extent allowed by law, neither shall have any liability or responsibility for injury or damages arising in connection therewith.
- The Seafarer Funds are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Morningstar, Inc. Morningstar, Inc. makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the shareholders of the Funds or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in the Funds or the ability of the Morningstar Emerging Markets Net Return U.S. Dollar Index to track general equity market performance of emerging markets.
- References to the “Fund” pertain to the Fund’s Institutional share class (ticker: SIVLX). The Investor share class (ticker: SFVLX) returned 2.40% during the quarter. The Retail share class (ticker: SFVRX) returned 2.35% during the quarter. All returns are measured inclusive of Fund distributions paid (in relation to Fund performance) or dividends paid (in relation to index performance), reinvested in full (exclusive of any U.S. taxation) on the pertinent ex-date.
- The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Future returns may be lower or higher. 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. View the Fund’s most recent month-end performance.
- The Fund’s Investor share class began the quarter with a net asset value of $17.88 per share; and it finished the quarter with a value of $18.31 per share. The Fund’s Retail share class began the quarter with a net asset value of $17.85 per share; and it finished the quarter with a value of $18.27 per share.
- The primary listings of the common shares of Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and TSMC declined in the third quarter of 2026 in both U.S. dollar and local currency terms. Samsung Electronics’ preferred shares had a positive return in U.S. dollar terms and a negative return in Korean won terms over this same period.
- The sector weightings discussed are based on the Bloomberg Industry Classification System, Bloomberg’s hierarchical industry taxonomy.
- Source: Company reports.
- Source: Company reports. Samsung C&T’s preferred shares, which the Fund also held, declined by single digits in U.S. dollar terms in the third quarter.
- Source: J.P. Morgan, “Guide to the Markets.” September 30, 2026.
- Inclusive of both Samsung Electronics common and preferred shares.