Plumb Funds
The tumultuous 2021 has finally come to an end. Though the year was wracked with political infighting, pandemic closures, supply disruptions, inflation rearing its ugly head and rising interest rates, most major world stock market indices recorded meaningful advances.
The September quarter continued the uneven economic recovery in the United States and much of the world.
For the Plumb Balanced Fund (PLBBX) for the 2nd quarter ending June 30th, 2021, finished up 6.53% and beating our blended benchmark by a sizable total of 107 basis points. We feel confident in our positive progress after a poor relative first quarter.
The world lapped the anniversary of the initial pandemic breakout in the first quarter of 2021. We all recognize that in some ways the world will never be the same.
Stating the obvious, 2020 was an unusual year on many levels including the stock and bond markets. One would intuitively think a deadly global pandemic would naturally result in poor S&P 500 market performance.
The March 31st quarter included unprecedented worldwide economic, health and investor turmoil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its worst start of a year in its 124-year history. This decline completely offset the strong stock market returns of the previous year, putting the S&P 500 back to the levels of December 2018. The pandemic put all the worlds’ national economies, macro and micro alike, on the same downward spiral.
Despite tepid earnings growth for the average company in 2019, broad equity markets provided very attractive returns. To the casual observer, public company earning’s growth, GDP growth and stock prices appear to have decoupled. In 2018, the stock market declined despite significant earnings growth for the underlying major indices. In 2019, the stock market soared despite minimal growth in these underlying earnings.
The third calendar quarter of 2019 was generally positive for investors, but less so than the previous two quarters. Equity markets were mixed as the S&P 500 advanced 1.7% and the MSCI EAFE ex US index showed a decline of 2.5% for International equity markets.
Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.
The Funds may invest in smaller companies, which involve additional risks such as limited liquidity and greater volatility. The Funds may invest in foreign securities which involve greater volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting methods. Growth stocks typically are more volatile than value stocks; however, value stocks have a lower expected growth rate in earnings and sales. Temporary Defensive Positions: Under adverse market conditions the Fund could invest a substantial portion of its assets in US Treasury securities and money market securities which could reduce the benefit from any upswing in the markets.
The Plumb Balanced Fund will invest in debt securities, which typically decrease in value when interest rates rise. This risk is usually greater for longer-term debt securities. Investment by the Fund in lower-rated and non-rated securities presents a greater risk of loss to principal and interest than higher-rated securities. Investments in Asset Backed and Mortgage Backed Securities include additional risks that investors should be aware of such as credit risk, prepayment risk, possible illiquidity and default, as well as increased susceptibility to adverse economic developments. The Fund may engage in short-term trading, which could produce higher transaction costs and taxable distributions and lower the fund’s after-tax performance.
Diversification does not assure a profit nor protect against loss in a declining market.
Investment performance reflects fee waivers. In the absence of these waivers, returns would be reduced.
Any tax or legal information provided isn’t an exhaustive interpretation of some of the current income tax regulations. Investors must consult their tax advisor or legal counsel for advice and information concerning their particular situation. Neither the Fund nor any of its representatives may give legal or tax advice.
References to other mutual fund products should not be interpreted as offers of those securities.
The Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the Funds. You may obtain a free hard-copy version by calling 1-866.987.7888 or you may download a prospectus here. Read it carefully before investing.
The Plumb Funds are distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.
Wisconsin Capital Management, the advisor to the funds, is a registered investment advisory firm based in Madison, Wisconsin, founded in 1984. Plumb Funds is a registered trademark of Wisconsin Capital Funds, Inc.