Opportunistic Values in a Volatile Market—Royce
article 06-28-2022

Opportunistic Values in a Volatile Market

Kavitha Venkatraman and Jim Harvey, CFA® discuss how they’ve been investing in our Small-Cap Opportunistic Value Strategy during turbulent times.

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What have been the biggest challenges and opportunities investing in 2022’s highly volatile small-cap market?

Kavitha Venkatraman First, I would remind readers that the Small-Cap Opportunistic Value Strategy we use in Royce Opportunity Fund is designed to take advantage of volatility and market dislocations. In that context, we have been sifting through stocks that we know well which have suffered huge price falls to identify those that appear unwarrantedly cheap. The sheer volume of stocks that fit this description has made the endeavor very exciting, making us feel like the clichéd kid in a candy store. For example, there are relatively stable industries where the long-term structural growth drivers remain intact, such as healthcare services, where many stocks have become very attractively inexpensive. Another example would be stocks in industries where the competitive landscape has undergone fundamental changes that have rewarded certain companies with higher pricing power and better growth prospects compared to history, but the market may not be recognizing these factors fully, such as in the semiconductor value chain.

Jim Harvey I’m struck by the large number of challenges and opportunities that we currently face. In fact, we may be experiencing the largest number of concurrent challenges that most investors have ever seen: inflation, supply chain disruptions, the Fed pivot to tightening, interest rate hikes, and the war in Ukraine. However, amid all of this uncertainty, we’re also seeing several positive opportunities. For our Strategy, the most relevant is the way that persistent market volatility has been allowing us to buy companies we like at low average prices. We’ve also seen many companies excessively punished despite their favorable long-term outlooks—which has provided another set of buying opportunities. In addition, we’re seeing certain secular themes in industries that are likely to not be too dramatically affected by the slowing economy, including companies involved in communications services, the shift to sustainable energy, and reshoring.

How have you been investing around companies involved in energy—which has been the strongest sector in small-cap so far in 2022?

JH Each of our E&P (“exploration & production”) names has performed well in this market. We’re mostly exposed to natural gas (as opposed to oil) and own companies that exhibit capital discipline. We’ve also had success by ranging into other industries that have benefited from the rise in oil prices, such as liquid natural gas shippers, steel and specialty alloy companies that serve the energy industry, equipment distributors, and MRO (“maintenance, repair, and operations”) companies.

KV The energy industry is in a fascinating spot in its history. While we believe that the world needs to, and will, transition to a low-carbon economy, the transition has so far been anything but smooth, and the lack of an orderly transition strategy is now widely recognized. The underinvestment in fossil fuels since the financial crisis of 2008-09 has never been more consequential than in our current oil & gas shortages, as we scramble to meet a resurgence in demand post COVID, exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The fossil fuel shortage is likely to remain an issue for a host of reasons: a) the Biden administration’s infrastructure spending has not even begun yet; b) the U.S. electrical grid requires capacity expansion to support the transition to electric vehicles and renewables; and c) the localization of supply chains has the effect of duplicating energy demand. While we are underweight in energy in the portfolio, we have increased our exposure to natural gas—as Jim mentioned—which we think is a credible transition fuel that has adequate scale. We also have our sight set on the long term and have exposure to the renewables value chain.

Are there any of the Strategy’s four themes or other areas that have been hard hit but where you’re seeing attractive long-term potential?

KV New opportunities are surfacing in growing businesses whose stocks have been beaten down primarily because of rising interest rates. We are systematically going through these to identify those which we think have sound business models that give them a competitive advantage, intact long-term growth prospects, and attractive economies of scale. Executing their business plans alone should support higher valuations for these companies, regardless of the macro environment.

“New opportunities are surfacing in growing businesses whose stocks have been beaten down primarily because of rising interest rates.” — Kavitha Venkatraman

Though not every stock that fits this description has fallen far enough to fit our valuation criteria, we are also seeing opportunities in stocks that offer higher growth, that could fall into our “Undervalued Growth” and “Interrupted Earnings” themes. One example would be software applications that advance the digitization of supply chains, back-office functions, etc. The market might take a myopic, short-term view, but digitization is an ongoing trend that will progress regardless of interest rates. Our long-term perspective serves us well in these areas as we navigate the challenges and opportunities that accompany market volatility.

Can you discuss a holding in which you have high confidence going forward?

KV A recent addition to the portfolio, IAA (NYSE, IAA), previously called Insurance Auto Auctions and spun out of KAR Global in 2018, is one of two players in a duopoly that offers salvage auctions for totaled cars consigned by auto insurers. Salvage auctions involve towing a large volume of cars from the insurers’ lots to the salvage lots, processing them, auctioning them, and finally transporting them to the buyers. We like this business because the salvage auction industry has several structural growth drivers. The most important of which is the increasing proportion of cars that are determined to be total losses, driven by the high cost of repairs due to their age, higher complexity and / or high labor costs. Increasing demand for salvage vehicles from buyers in emerging economies, who typically reuse parts and hence pay more for these vehicles than domestic buyers do, should also support future growth.

We added IAA to the portfolio when its shares fell in response to some market share losses and investors’ concerns around elevated used car prices. We think its valuation does not fully reflect the structural growth drivers I described or its attractive unit economics that should shine through as volumes return to pre-COVID levels. Management’s cost rationalization actions that have been underway since 2020 are also not obvious in IAA’s reported financials, given the dislocation in its pricing and margins caused by the unusually strong used car price environment. I think IAA is a classic example of a good business available for a great price because it is out of favor on concerns that should prove temporary.

IAA (NYSE, IAA) 12/31/21-6/24/22

 12/31/22: $50.62. 6/24/22: $35.61.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results

JH I would highlight Daseke (Nasdaq, DSKE), which is the largest flatbed and specialized transportation and logistics company in North America. This is a turnaround candidate where new management joined two-and-half years ago, introducing transformation initiatives and better capital discipline while cutting costs and ushering in new technology. The new team also developed a more disciplined M&A strategy, which is important in its highly fragmented industry. Demand for Daseke’s services is tied exclusively to industrial activity—whereas traditional trucking companies have more exposure to consumer goods. We also like the fact that roughly 20% of its revenues are countercyclical (the Department of Defense is a customer) and see its industrial concentration as helping its business to benefit from the Infrastructure Bill. Yet its stock price has been brought down with the rest of the trucking sector, despite its markedly different profile and its ability to continue raising rates for its services. Finally, we see advantages in its below average driver turnover—which is especially relevant in the tight labor market—and strong balance sheet.

Daseke (Nasdaq, DSKE) 12/31/21-6/24/22

12/31/22: $10.04. 6/24/22: $6.45.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Important Disclosure Information

Average Annual Total Returns as of 3/31/22 (%) 

  1Q221 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR 15YR 20YR SINCE INCEPT. DATE
Opportunity Fund -4.71 -0.3 20.95 13.40 21.68 9.16 10.54 12.60 11/19/96
Russell 2000 Value -2.40 3.32 12.73 8.57 10.54 6.91 8.55 9.56 N/A
Russell 2000 -7.53 -5.79 11.74 9.74 11.04 7.99 8.72 8.72 N/A

Annual Operating Expenses: 1.23

1 Not annualized.

All performance information reflects past performance, is presented on a total return basis, reflects the reinvestment of distributions, and does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate, so that shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when redeemed. Shares redeemed within 30 days of purchase may be subject to a 1% redemption fee, payable to the Fund which is not reflected in the performance shown above; if it were, performance would be lower. Current month-end performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted and may be obtained at www.royceinvest.com. Operating expenses reflect the Fund's total annual operating expenses for the Investment Class as of the Fund's most current prospectus and include management fees and other expenses.

Ms. Venkatraman’s and Mr. Harvey’s thoughts and opinions concerning the stock market are solely their own and, of course, there can be no assurance with regard to future market movements. No assurance can be given that the past performance trends as outlined above will continue in the future.

The performance data and trends outlined in this presentation are presented for illustrative purposes only. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Historical market trends are not necessarily indicative of future market movements.

Percentage of Fund Holdings As of 3/31/2022 (%)

  Royce
Opportunity
Fund

IAA

0.0

Daseke

0.3

Company examples are for illustrative purposes only. This does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock. There can be no assurance that the securities mentioned in this piece will be included in any Fund’s portfolio in the future.

Sector weightings are determined using the Global Industry Classification Standard ("GICS"). GICS was developed by, and is the exclusive property of, Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC ("S&P") and MSCI Inc. ("MSCI"). GICS is the trademark of S&P and MSCI. "Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)" and "GICS Direct" are service marks of S&P and MSCI.

Frank Russell Company (“Russell”) is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company. Neither Russell nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the Russell Indexes and / or Russell ratings or underlying data and no party may rely on any Russell Indexes and / or Russell ratings and / or underlying data contained in this communication. No further distribution of Russell Data is permitted without Russell’s express written consent. Russell does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication. The Russell 2000 is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of domestic small-cap stocks. It measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest publicly traded U.S. companies in the Russell 3000 index. The Russell 2000 Value and Growth indexes consist of the respective value and growth stocks within the Russell 2000 as determined by Russell Investments. The performance of an index does not represent exactly any particular investment, as you cannot invest directly in an index.

This material is not authorized for distribution unless preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. Smaller-cap stocks may involve considerably more risk than larger-cap stocks. (Please see "Primary Risks for Fund Investors" in the prospectus.) The Fund’s broadly diversified portfolio does not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss.

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