Investment Strategies

Setting the Standard of Quality

For more than 30 years, we have focused on investing in quality businesses. Small caps, mid caps and large caps. Core, value and growth. All market environments. For KAR, quality is not a fad. It is our heritage and the standard to which we hold ourselves.

 

Contact KAR today to speak with our team.

All Strategies
Asset Class
Style
Geography
  • Small Cap Core Portfolio
  • Small Cap Quality Select Portfolio
  • Small Cap Quality Value Portfolio
  • Small Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio
  • Small-Mid Cap Core Portfolio
  • Small-Mid Cap Quality Value Portfolio
  • Small-Mid Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio
  • Mid Cap Core Portfolio
  • Mid Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio
  • International Small Cap Portfolio
  • International Small-Mid Cap Core Portfolio
  • Emerging Markets Small Cap Portfolio
  • Global Small Cap Portfolio
  • Large Cap Quality Value Portfolio
  • Large Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio
  • All Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio
  • Equity Income Portfolio
  • Global Dividend Yield Portfolio
  • Long-Short Portfolio

High Quality, High Conviction Investing

Our equity strategies are actively managed, well diversified portfolios of approximately 25-50 domestic stocks.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick uses its research and screening methods to discover high-quality companies that typically exhibit consistent and sustainable earnings growth, profitability superior to their industry peers, and, importantly, do so from debt-free or underleveraged balance sheets.

Asset Class

Small cap, mid cap, and large cap stocks… Quality counts no matter the company size.

We offer investment strategies that cover the market-cap spectrum. Regardless of the size of the company, the goal remains the same: Identify companies with sustainable, competitive protections and purchase them at a reasonable price.

Style

Quality defines our style. But there are nuances that we look for to determine if a company is a “value” or “growth” investment.

We define Quality Value as self-funding companies that produce a solid free-cash-flow stream and have limited (if any) need for external capital in order to grow. These companies tend to operate in more mature markets where business reinvestment opportunities are limited so excess cash is returned to shareholders in the form of regular cash dividends and consistent share repurchases.

We define Sustainable Growth as companies that are growing fast and, thus, the cash flow stream is not typically paid out in the form of dividends but rather reinvested in the company to sustain growth.

We define Core as a blend of both value and growth companies.

Geography

A high-quality business is a high-quality business no matter where it is located.

We harness the knowledge we’ve garnered from investing in high-quality domestic companies over the past 30 years and we apply the same rigorous bottom-up fundamental research to companies around the globe.

Small Cap Core Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic small-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Small Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell 2000 Index
Inception Date: April 1, 1992
Portfolio Managers: Todd Beiley, CFA; Jon K. Christensen, CFA
Holdings Range: 20-40
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

 

Listen to the latest episode of our stock market podcast, KayneCast, for more insights on our Small Cap Core portfolio. 

Small Cap Core Fact Sheet
Thinking Beyond the Benchmark - Small Cap Core
Outsmarting Volatility - Small Cap Core

Small Cap Quality Select Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A concentrated “best ideas” portfolio that invests in high-quality companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Small Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell 2000 Index
Inception Date: November 1, 2006
Portfolio Manager: Todd Beiley, CFA
Holdings Range: 6-12
Sector Constraint: No sector constraints

Small Cap Quality Value Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic small-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality value companies and purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Small Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell 2000 Value Index
Inception Date: June 1, 1998
Portfolio Managers: Julie Kutasov; Craig Stone
Holdings Range: 20-35
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

 

Listen to the latest episode of our stock market podcast, KayneCast, for more insights on our Small Cap Quality portfolio. 

Small Cap Quality Value Fact Sheet
Thinking Beyond the Benchmark - Small Cap Quality Value
Outsmarting Volatility - Small Cap Quality Value

Small Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic small-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality growth companies and purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Small Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell 2000 Growth Index
Inception Date: January 1, 1998
Portfolio Managers: Todd Beiley, CFA; Jon K. Christensen, CFA
Holdings Range: 20-40
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Small Cap Sustainable Growth Fact Sheet
Thinking Beyond the Benchmark - Small Cap Sustainable Growth
Outsmarting Volatility - Small Cap Sustainable Growth

Small-Mid Cap Core Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic small and mid-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Small-Mid Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell 2500 Index
Inception Date: April 1, 1992
Portfolio Managers: Jon K. Christensen, CFA; Julie Kutasov; Craig Stone
Holdings Range: 25-35
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

 

Listen to the latest episode of our stock market podcast, KayneCast, for more insights on Small Mid Cap Core portfolio performance.

Small-Mid Cap Core Fact Sheet
Thinking Beyond the Benchmark - Small-Mid Cap Core

Small-Mid Cap Quality Value Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic small and mid-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality value companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Small-Mid Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell 2500 Value Index
Inception Date: January 1, 2008
Portfolio Managers: Julie Kutasov; Craig Stone
Holdings Range: 25-35
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Small-Mid Cap Quality Value Fact Sheet

Small-Mid Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic small and mid-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality growth companies and purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Small-Mid Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell 2500 Growth Index
Inception Date: August 1, 2018
Portfolio Managers: Julie Biel, CFA, Chris Wright, CFA
Holdings Range: 20-35
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Small-Mid Cap Sustainable Growth Fact Sheet

Mid Cap Core Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic mid-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Mid Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell Mid Cap Index
Inception Date: January 1, 2000
Portfolio Managers: Jon K. Christensen, CFA; Craig Stone
Holdings Range: 25-35
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

 

Listen to the latest episode of our stock market podcast, KayneCast, for more insights on Mid Cap Core portfolio performance.

Mid Cap Core Fact Sheet
Discovering Mid Caps
The Case For Mid Caps

Mid Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic mid-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality growth companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Mid Cap Growth Equity
Primary Index: Russell Mid Cap Growth Index
Inception Date: January 1, 2012
Portfolio Manager: Douglas S. Foreman, CFA; Chris Armbruster, CFA
Holdings Range: 25-50
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

 

Listen to the latest episode of our stock market podcast, KayneCast, for more insights on our Mid-Cap Sustainable growth portfolio. 

Mid Cap Sustainable Growth Fact Sheet

International Small Cap Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

An international small-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality companies in developed and emerging markets and purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: International Small Cap Equity
Primary Index: MSCI ACWI ex. U.S. Small Cap Index
Inception Date: January 1, 2012
Portfolio Managers: Craig Thrasher, CFA; Hyung Kim
Holdings Range: 40-60
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Geographic Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no country constraints
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

 

Listen to the latest episode of our stock market podcast, KayneCast, for more insights on our International Small Cap portfolio. 

International Small Cap Fact Sheet

International Small-Mid Cap Core Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

The KAR International Small-Mid Cap Portfolio focuses exclusively on small and mid-cap high-quality companies located primarily in developed non-U.S. markets. It is a high-conviction strategy that utilizes a bottom-up fundamental research approach to identify what we believe are the best companies at the most attractive prices within the high-quality universe.

Asset Class: International Small-Mid Cap Equity
Primary Index: MSCI ACWI ex. U.S. Small-Mid Cap Index
Inception Date: July 1, 2019
Portfolio Managers: Craig Thrasher, CFA; Hyung Kim
Holdings Range: 30-60
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Geographic Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no country constraints
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Emerging Markets Small Cap Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

An emerging market small-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Emerging Market Small Cap Equity
Primary Index: MSCI Emerging Market Small Cap Index
Inception Date: January 1, 2014
Portfolio Manager: Craig Thrasher, CFA; Hyung Kim
Holdings Range: 30-60
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Geographic Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no country constraints
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Emerging Markets Small Cap Fact Sheet

Global Small Cap Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A global small-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality companies located both domestically and internationally and purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Global Small Cap Equity
Primary Index: MSCI ACWI Small Cap Index
Inception Date: January 1, 2016
Portfolio Managers: Todd Beiley, CFA; Craig Thrasher, CFA
Holdings Range: 40-50
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Country Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no country constraints
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Global Small Cap Fact Sheet

For Australian Wholesale Investors Only Kayne Anderson Rudnick Global Small Cap Fund (Australia)

Large Cap Quality Value Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic large-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality value companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Large Cap Equity
Primary Index: Russell 1000 Value Index
Inception Date: October 1, 1994
Portfolio Manager: Richard Sherry, CFA
Holdings Range: 25-40
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Large Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic large-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality growth companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: Large Cap Growth Equity
Primary Index: Russell 1000 Growth Index
Inception Date: January 1, 2012
Portfolio Manager: Douglas S. Foreman, CFA; Chris Armbruster, CFA
Holdings Range: 25-50
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Large Cap Sustainable Growth Fact Sheet

All Cap Sustainable Growth Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A domestic all-cap portfolio that invests in high-quality growth companies purchased at attractive valuations.

Asset Class: All Cap Growth Equity
Primary Index: Russell 3000 Growth Index
Inception Date: February 1, 2012
Portfolio Manager: Douglas S. Foreman, CFA; Chris Armbruster, CFA
Holdings Range: 80-100
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Non-U.S. Holdings: Up to 20%
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 35%

Equity Income Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A U.S. large-cap portfolio of high quality, mature companies focused on providing a high level of current income while minimizing risk and preserving capital.

Asset Class: Dividend Income
Primary Index: MSCI U.S. High Dividend Yield Index

Inception Date: May 1, 2020
Portfolio Manager: Richard Sherry, CFA
Holdings Range: 25-50
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 45%

Equity Income Fact Sheet

Global Dividend Yield Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A global large-cap portfolio of high quality, mature companies focused on providing a high level of current income while minimizing risk and preserving capital.

Asset Class: Dividend Income
Primary Index: MSCI World High Dividend Yield Index
Inception Date: January 1, 2012
Portfolio Manager: Richard Sherry, CFA
Holdings Range: 25-50
Sector Constraint: Seek broad diversification, but no sector constraints
Geographic Constraint: Typically, U.S. exposure will be 40% to 60%; No specific tolerances beyond the U.S.
Portfolio Turnover: 25% – 45%

 

Listen to the latest episode of our stock market podcast, KayneCast, for more insights on our Global Dividend Yield portfolio. 

Global Dividend Yield Fact Sheet

Long-Short Portfolio

Strategy Highlights

A long-short strategy with a long portfolio of high-quality companies and a short portfolio of low-quality businesses.

Asset Class: Long-Short
Primary Index: Russell 3000 Index
Inception Date: June 1, 2016
Portfolio Manager: Chris Wright, CFA, Julie Biel, CFA
Holdings Range: Long Portfolio: Typically 20-30; Short Portfolio: Typically 20-30
Sector Constraint: Long: No sector constraints, but seek broad diversification