COLLEGE PLANNING | ESTATE PLANNING | INVESTING | PORTFOLIO SPOTLIGHT | REAL ESTATE | RETIREMENT | TAX PLANNING
Virtus KAR Mid-Cap Core Fund
TICKER
ASSETS
VIMCX
$ 1.9 billion
PERFORMANCE |
YTD |
1 yr . |
3 yr . |
5 yr . |
10 yr . |
Institutional share class |
10.04 % |
20.24 % |
9.52 % |
9.49 % |
12.12 % |
TOP 5 HOLDINGS
AMETEK Inc .; West Pharmaceutical Services Inc .; Pool Corp .; Lamb Weston Holdings Inc .; Bentley Systems Inc .
CONTACT INFO 800-243-1574 virtus . com
TOP SECTORS ( As a % of portfolio ) Industrials 36.52 % Information Technology 17.62 % Financials 15.54 % Healthcare 13.82 % Consumer Discretionary 10.74 % Consumer Staples 4.34 % Real Estate 1.42 %
Performance and asset numbers as of 9 / 30 / 23 . Holdings as of 6 / 30 / 23 . Performance figures are for the institutional share class . Sources : Virtus Investment Partners and Morningstar .
Displaying Mid-Cap Mojo
The Virtus KAR Mid-Cap Core Fund has navigated this space with top-notch results . By Jeff Schlegel
STOCKS IN THE MID-CAPITALIZATION SPACE ARE KIND of like the overlooked middle child in a family with three children . Established large-cap stocks often receive the most attention , while small-cap stocks may offer the scintillating promise of future growth . Mid-cap stocks ? Eh , they ’ re just kind of there .
Of course , that ’ s an exaggeration . Then again , maybe not entirely . “ People seem to overlook the mid-cap space . It ’ s a part of the market that I think is highly underinvested but which has amazing opportunities ,” says Jon Christensen , coportfolio manager at the Virtus KAR Mid-Cap Core Fund .
Companies in this space typically sit between $ 2 billion and $ 10 billion in capitalization , though that ’ s not an absolute rule . Christensen ’ s definition of mid-caps includes companies north of $ 10 billion . He also notes that some investors view mid-cap companies as being already mature . He disagrees with that assessment .
“ I have this phrase , ‘ Old enough to know , young enough to grow ,’” he says . “ These companies have graduated from small caps into mid-caps , so they ’ re more stable and profitable , but they ’ re still early in their business cycle and have room for much more growth .”
That ’ s why he thinks that mid-caps deserve more investor attention . “ These are businesses just getting their mojo in terms of growth and penetrating markets ,” he says .
Christensen and co-manager Craig Stone have been at the helm of the Virtus KAR Mid-Cap Core Fund since it launched in 2009 . And they ’ ve earned their keep by producing returns that have placed the fund in the top quartile of Morningstar ’ s mid-cap growth category during the past one- , three- , five- and 10-year periods . During those times it has ranked anywhere from fourth to seventh place among the bestperforming funds in its category .
So why is a mid-cap core fund placed in the mid-cap growth category ?
As Christensen explains it , Morningstar ratings are focused
42 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2023 WWW . FA-MAG . COM