Skip to main content

Small Cap Strategy

We are long-term, intrinsic value investors who treat each share of stock as a true ownership interest. We look to buy what we believe are good businesses we can understand at a discount to our estimate of intrinsic value.

Composite Fact Sheet
Composite Commentary
All strategy documents

Team

Group Item Count: 2
set at runtime

Aaron Monroe, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Group Item Count: 2
set at runtime

Kristen Sheffield, CFA, CIPM

Portfolio Specialist

Philosophy and process highlights

Under our intrinsic value philosophy, we:

Treat every investment as a partial ownership interest in that company

Seek to always invest with a margin of safety

Possess a long-term investment temperament

Recognize that market price and intrinsic value tend to converge over a reasonable period of time

Our approach to sustainability

Related insights

Small Cap Composite

Returns

Period and Annualized Total Returns (%) As of 30 Sep 2024
Since Inception
(31 Dec 2000)		 20Y15Y10Y5Y3Y1YYTD3MOSep
Gross of Fees 11.18 9.34 10.78 8.47 12.13 9.38 30.82 12.97 8.70 1.54
Net of Fees 10.10 8.28 9.72 7.45 11.12 8.39 29.65 12.21 8.45 1.47
Russell 2000 Index 8.09 8.49 10.59 8.78 9.39 1.84 26.76 11.17 9.27 0.70
Russell 2000 Value Index 8.58 7.74 9.80 8.22 9.29 3.77 25.88 9.22 10.15 0.06
Swipe or scroll right for more data
Period and Annualized Total Returns (%) As of 30 Sep 2024
Since Inception
(31 Dec 2000)		 20Y15Y10Y5Y3Y1YYTD3Q24
Gross of Fees 11.18 9.34 10.78 8.47 12.13 9.38 30.82 12.97 8.70
Net of Fees 10.10 8.28 9.72 7.45 11.12 8.39 29.65 12.21 8.45
Russell 2000 Index 8.09 8.49 10.59 8.78 9.39 1.84 26.76 11.17 9.27
Russell 2000 Value Index 8.58 7.74 9.80 8.22 9.29 3.77 25.88 9.22 10.15
Swipe or scroll right for more data

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Composite results reflect the reinvestment of dividends, capital gains and other earnings when appropriate. Net returns are calculated by reducing the gross returns by the highest stated fee in the composite fee schedule. Only transaction costs are deducted from gross of fees returns. Prior to 30 September 2022, actual fees were used in calculating net returns. All net returns were changed retroactively to reflect the highest fee in the composite fee schedule. To view a GIPS Report for all composites, click here.

Calendar Year Returns (%)

Year Gross of Fees Net of FeesRussell 2000 IndexRussell 2000 Value Index
2023 24.47 23.35 16.93 14.65
2022 -13.90 -14.67 -20.44 -14.48
2021 34.17 32.97 14.82 28.27
2020 0.77 -0.14 19.96 4.63
2019 22.92 21.82 25.52 22.39
2018 -14.03 -14.85 -11.01 -12.86
2017 12.05 10.93 14.65 7.84
2016 15.61 14.45 21.31 31.74
2015 -2.44 -3.42 -4.41 -7.47
2014 5.99 4.93 4.89 4.22
2013 41.64 40.22 38.82 34.52
2012 14.32 13.18 16.35 18.05
2011 -5.90 -6.84 -4.18 -5.50
2010 24.76 23.51 26.85 24.50
2009 30.96 29.65 27.17 20.58

Peer Group Quartile Rankings1 As of 30 Sep 2024

Diamond
Hill
Percentile
82nd
40th
25th
13th

Statistics

Portfolio Characteristics vs Benchmark2 As of 30 Sep 2024

  Small Cap Composite Russell 2000 IndexRussell 2000 Value Index
Inception 31 Dec 2000 ——
Status Open ——
Median Forward P/E 15.3x 16.7x14.8x
Median Trailing P/E 18.7x 18.8x16.4x
Median Price/Book 2.1x 1.8x1.4x
Median Price/Sales 1.7x 2.0x1.8x
Median Market Cap. $2.6B $1.0B$0.8B
Weighted Average Market Cap. $3.5B $3.5B$2.8B
Portfolio Turnover (5-Year) 30% ——
Active Share vs Core/Value Benchmark 97%/98% ——
Upside/Downside Capture Ratio vs Core Benchmark 89%/82% ——
Upside/Downside Capture Ratio vs Value Benchmark 92%/85% ——

Stay current on your favorite topics and receive portfolio updates direct to your inbox.

Subscribe to Email Newsletters

Portfolio

Portfolio Guidelines

  • Typically 50–80 positions
  • Maximum position size is 7%
  • Top 10 holdings are typically greater than 25% of net assets
  • Maximum industry exposure is 20%
  • Maximum sector exposure is 30%

Market Capitalization

The portfolio typically invests in companies with a market capitalization below $3.0 billion (or, if greater, the maximum market capitalization of companies generally within the capitalization range of the Russell 2000 Index) at the time of purchase.

Top Ten Equity Holdings3 As of 30 Sep 2024

  Sector % of Net Assets
Red Rock Resorts, Inc. (Cl A) Cons. Discretionary 5.7
First Advantage Corp. Industrials 4.8
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. Financials 4.4
Enovis Corp. Health Care 4.4
Mr. Cooper Group, Inc. Financials 3.6
United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. Materials 3.5
Triumph Financial, Inc. Financials 3.3
Ashland Global Holdings, Inc. Materials 3.3
Bank OZK Financials 3.2
Allegiant Travel Co. Industrials 3.2
Total as % of Net Assets 39.5%
Total number of equity holdings 58

Sector Allocation4 (%) As of 30 Sep 2024

Russell 2000 Index
Russell 2000 Value Index

1 Source: eVestment Analytics. Ranking within eVestment US Small Cap Value Equity universe based on monthly returns gross of fees. Ranking data calculated on 16 Oct 2024 (as of 30 Sep 2024) and is subject to change as additional firms within the category submit data. Diamond Hill pays an annual fee to eVestment to access their platform and to use their data, including peer group rankings, in marketing materials. Diamond Hill does not pay for the ranking.

2 Source: FactSet. Active Share: Active share measures the difference between portfolio holdings and the benchmark. The higher the active share, the greater the difference. The Russell 2000 Index is the core benchmark. The Russell 2000 Value Index is the value benchmark. Upside/Downside Capture: Source: eVestment Analytics based on monthly returns (gross of fees) from 1 Jan 2001 – 30 Sep 2024.

3 Securities referenced may not be representative of all portfolio holdings. The reader should not assume that an investment in the securities was or will be profitable.

4 Cash & Other may include cash, treasuries, money market funds and short duration fixed income funds.

Index data source: London Stock Exchange Group PLC. See diamond-hill.com/disclosures for index definitions, data sources and other definitions.

DIAMOND HILL® CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC. | DIAMOND-HILL.COM | 855.255.8955 | 325 JOHN H. MCCONNELL BLVD | SUITE 200 | COLUMBUS, OHIO 43215