The Royce Global Small-Cap Premier Fund, an unlisted Australian unit trust, was launched earlier this month. The portfolio extends more than a decade of success sub-advising small-cap portfolios for non-U.S. investors, for whom we currently manage nearly $2.0 billion. The new fund has been launched to meet demand from Australian investors seeking access to Royce’s established expertise as a global small-cap asset manager.

CEO Chris Clark said, “We are very excited to be collaborating with our Franklin Templeton colleagues to offer our specialized investment capabilities for the first time to Australian retail investors. Expanding the availability of our investment strategies and expertise outside the US continues to be a strategic priority for our Firm as the global small-cap asset class continues to increase in importance in investors’ asset allocation decisions.”

London-based Portfolio Manager Mark Rayner added, “We’re very excited about the opportunity to bring our Global Premier Strategy to Australia. We believe that active management offers significant opportunities in the global small-cap asset class based on the inherent inefficiencies present in this fascinating segment of the market and our proprietary, quality-centric approach to evaluating businesses.”

The portfolio management team consists of four experienced portfolio managers—Lead PMs Steven McBoyle and Mark Rayner, and PMs Lauren Romeo and Mark Fischer.

Using our Global Small Cap Premier Strategy, the Fund seeks to invest in high-quality businesses with three key differentiators:

• Exceptional franchises – companies with durable competitive advantages operating in favorable industry ecosystems
• Strong capital allocators – company management teams with histories of disciplined capital allocation
• Business with attractive reinvestment prospects – companies with opportunities to reinvest at high returns

The Fund will invest in a limited number of companies, typically holding 60- 85 positions, will not invest in securities listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and is not available to U.S. investors.

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