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SouthernSun Asset Management, LLC, an investment management firm, released its “SouthernSun SMID Cap Strategy” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Election Dynamics, Federal Reserve's Policy Adjustments, Geopolitical Tensions, and China's Stimulus Measures are some of the key events that accelerated in the fourth quarter. Although aforementioned is by no means all-inclusive, it does illustrate some of the key elements affecting the state of the market today and many of the companies in the fund’s portfolio. In the fourth quarter, the strategy returned -6.13% on a gross basis (-6.24% net) compared to an 0.62% return for the Russell 2500 Index and -0.26% for the Russell 2500 Value Index. The fund returned 7.57% on a gross basis (6.83% net) over the trailing 12 months compared to 12.00% and 10.98% returns for the indexes respectively over the same period. In addition, please check the top 5 holdings of the strategy to know its best pick in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, SouthernSun SMID Cap Strategy emphasized stocks such as SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC). SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) is a publicly owned asset management holding company. The one-month return SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) was 9.16%, and its shares gained 29.39% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 6, 2024, SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) stock closed at $86.24 per share, with a market capitalization of $10.939 billion.
SouthernSun SMID Cap Strategy stated the following regarding SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
"SEI Investments Company (NASDAQ:SEIC) was the top contributor in the SMID Cap strategy. During the third quarter, SEI reported record net sales events and strong operational results, signs that the new leadership’s playbook is bearing fruit. As a reminder, CEO Ryan Hicke replaced SEI’s founder and longtime CEO Al West in 2022. Mr. Hicke’s early actions included re-organizing the leadership team, consolidating certain operations, and refocusing the company’s capital allocation and collective energy on the weightiest value-add opportunities. The company enjoys leading market positions, a strong balance sheet, a highly profitable business model, and core competencies that provide a “right to play” across a number of growth opportunities. We expect solid growth in value in the medium term, as a reinvigorated leadership team continues to execute against its strategy."
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