Taking Advantage of Volatility to Add to Positions

In this letter we share some thoughts from the Portfolio Managers at Broad Run Investment Management, LLC, the Fund’s sub-advisor.

April 2026
  • David Rainey
    David Rainey, CFA
    Co-Portfolio Manager
  • Brian Macauley
    Brian Macauley, CFA
    Co-Portfolio Manager
  • Ira Rothberg
    Ira Rothberg, CFA
    Co-Portfolio Manager

April 2026 

Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance of the fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data current to the most recent month end, and standardized performance can be obtained by viewing the fact sheet or by clicking here. Neither forward earnings nor earnings growth is a measure of a fund’s future performance.

During the first quarter, we used excess cash to add to two existing positions: Altus Group and Brookfield Asset Management.

Altus Group

We added to Altus Group in February during the sharp sell-off in software stocks. AI seems likely to have a significant impact on software businesses, lowering programming costs, reducing the barriers to entry and unleashing new competition. We think that many software businesses will be harmed by AI, but some will be big net winners through cost efficiencies and increased innovation.

We used the sell-off to revisit many software businesses that we admire. Our conclusion was that AI’s emergence has made it too difficult for us to predict the long-term fundamentals at most of these businesses. In the few cases where we could have some confidence about the future, valuations were not sufficiently attractive to warrant an investment.

This review highlighted for us, again, the attractiveness of Altus Group’s business. Altus is a software provider, through its industry leading Argus application, but this software is increasingly integrated with critical data, analytics, and related services. Further, this software is the operating platform / system of record for its CRE users and is the common “language” of the industry, with models shared across asset owners, brokers, lenders, and other service providers. A new entrant using AI to replicate Argus software will fall well short of matching its full value proposition. We believe Altus’s AI risk is quite low, yet its AI opportunity – through more cost effective and rapid innovation – is quite high. With Altus stock down more than 30% from recent highs, we added about 1.4% to our position, bringing the overall position size to 2.6% of assets.

We recently attended Altus’s Connect conference in California, a three-day event for key clients. This gave us an opportunity to demo new products, better understand the product roadmap, and engage in discussions with customers, employees, and senior level management. We came away with increased confidence in Altus’s leadership position, AI resilience, and opportunity to develop and sell compelling new solutions to its captive customer base.

Brookfield Asset Management

A collateral casualty of the “software apocalypse” has been private credit. While the primary concern is private lending to software businesses, this has increased scrutiny on private credit overall. Brookfield and the broader alternatives managers came under pressure during the quarter on the basis of these fears. Brookfield’s private lending leans heavily on property and infrastructure, leveraging its industry expertise and internally generated credit flow. Software-related lending exposure is tiny at Brookfield – 1-2% of the overall credit book – and much lower than most of its peers. In addition, Brookfield has been conservative in managing terms and liquidity in its retail products, limiting exposure to negative private credit flows. We used the 30% sell-off in the first quarter to add to our Brookfield Asset Management position, buying 1.8% to bring the position up to 4.9% at quarter end.

Click here for a full listing of Holdings.

Click here for full, standardized Fund performance.

You might also like

Get insights and news delivered to you.

Sign up for updates

Learn how Hennessy approaches investing.

Our Philosophy

Let's work together to get you on your way.

Start Investing
Contact Us
Hennessy Funds
7250 Redwood Boulevard, Suite 200
 Novato, CA 94945
Follow Us

The Funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the investment company. Please read it carefully before investing. A hard copy of the prospectus can be requested by calling 1-800-966-4354.

Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted and can be found here. Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained from HennessyFunds.com Hennessy Funds Standardized Performance

Neither forward earnings nor earnings growth is a measure of a fund’s future performance.

Mutual fund investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. Current and future holdings are subject to risk. Small and medium-sized companies may have more limited liquidity and greater price volatility than larger companies. Investments in foreign securities may involve political, economic, and currency risks, greater volatility, and differences in accounting methods. The Focus, Total Return, Balanced, Large Cap Financial, Small Cap Financial, and Midstream Funds are considered non-diversified funds. A non-diversified fund, which may concentrate its assets in fewer individual holdings than a diversified fund, is more exposed to individual stock volatility than a diversified fund. A fund that concentrates its investments within one country, one sector, or a small group of industries, such as Japan, Technology, Financials, or Energy, may be subject to a higher degree of market risk. Investments in debt securities typically decrease in value when interest rates rise. The risk is greater for longer-term debt securities. Investments in lower-rated and non-rated securities present a greater risk of loss to principal and interest than higher-rated securities. Mortgage- and asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk, which is the risk that the borrower will prepay some or all of the principal owed to the issuer. Funds that invest in pooled investment vehicles (including ETFs) may experience higher fees. The formula-based strategy employed by some Funds may cause those Funds to buy or sell securities at times when it may not be advantageous.

ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of an ETF’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to its net asset value, an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact a Fund’s ability to sell its shares. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.

Sustainability Investing Risk: (STNC) The risk that applying sustainable investment analysis to the Portfolio Managers’ investment decisions regarding the Fund’s portfolio may forgo certain investment opportunities otherwise available to the Fund. The Fund intends to invest in companies with measurably high sustainability ratings relative to their sector peers, and screen out particular companies that do not meet its sustainability criteria. The Fund believes that these sustainability factors are material to its assessment of the risk-return profiles of companies in which it invests. The relevance and weighting of sustainability criteria may vary significantly among issuers and third-party data providers. Sustainability is a subjective assessment and it is not uniformly defined. Sustainability data may be incomplete, delayed, inaccurate, or unavailable, which could lead to an incorrect assessment of a company’s sustainability characteristics. The Fund’s returns may be lower than other funds that do not seek to invest in companies based on sustainability ratings or screen out certain companies or industries. The Fund seeks to identify companies that it believes may have higher sustainability ratings, but investors may differ in their views of sustainability characteristics. As a result, the Fund may invest in companies that do not reflect the beliefs and values of any particular investor. Regulatory changes regarding the definition or use of sustainability criteria could have a material adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to invest in accordance with its sustainability strategy.

Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) and MLP investments have unique characteristics. A Fund does not receive the same tax benefits as a direct investment in an MLP.

The prices of MLP units may fluctuate abruptly and trading volume may be low, making it difficult for a Fund to sell its units at a favorable price. MLP general partners have the power to take actions that adversely affect the interests of unit holders. Most MLPs do not pay U.S. federal income tax at the partnership level, but an adverse change in tax laws could result in MLPs being treated as corporations for federal income tax purposes, which could reduce or eliminate distributions paid by MLPs to the Fund. If the Energy Transition Fund’s MLP investments exceed 25% of its assets, it may not qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation, which could substantially reduce its net assets and its distributions to shareholders. The Midstream Fund is treated as a regular corporation, or “C” corporation, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and therefore, is subject to U.S. federal income tax on its taxable income at the graduated rates applicable to corporations (currently a maximum rate of 21%) as well as state and local income taxes. The Midstream Fund will not benefit from current favorable federal income tax rates on long-term capital gains, and Fund income and losses will not be passed on to shareholders. The Midstream Fund accrues deferred income taxes for future tax liabilities associated with the portion of MLP distributions considered to be a tax-deferred return of capital and for any net operating gains as well as capital appreciation of its investments. This deferred tax liability is reflected in the daily NAV, and as a result, the Fund’s after-tax performance could differ significantly from the underlying assets even if the pre-tax performance is closely tracked.

Glossary of Terms contains definitions and additional information.

To view the top 10 holdings of a Fund, please click the Fund name: Cornerstone Growth, Focus, Cornerstone Mid Cap 30, Cornerstone Large Growth, Cornerstone Value, Total Return, Equity and Income, Balanced, Energy Transition, Midstream, Gas Utility, Japan, Japan Small Cap, Large Cap Financial, Small Cap Financial, Technology. Fund holdings are subject to change and not recommendations to buy or sell any security.

Opinions expressed are subject to change at any time, are not guaranteed, and should not be considered investment advice.

News and Media Page:

To view the Morningstar ratings for the Japan Fund, please click here. (Media - TD Ameritrade)

To view the Morningstar ratings for the Focus Fund, please click here. (Media - CNBC-B. Macualey).

1 USD = 105.36 Yen as of 07/27/2020 (Media - Ticker - M. Takeda)

Tom White is a TD Ameritrade Network contributor and is not affiliated with the Hennessy Funds. Content is not investment advice, or a recommendation of any security, strategy, or account type. Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors as the special risks inherent to options trading may expose investors to potentially rapid and substantial losses.(Media - TD Ameritrade-Rothberg)

To view the Morningstar ratings, please click here.

The Hennessy Funds are offered only to United States residents, and information on this web site is intended only for such persons. Nothing on this web site should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell shares of any Hennessy Fund in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

Quasar Distributors, LLC, Distributor.

Subscribe for Updates

*Required Fields