From an email ("August 2025 update") I received this morning:
For 50 years, Southeastern Asset Management (SAM) has been a disciplined value investor through multiple market environments. We remain confident in our belief that bottom-up stock selection is the best approach to preserving capital and generating returns. Three years ago, SAM started making process improvements based on lessons we have learned over the years. As we wrote then, we had been better stock pickers than portfolio and risk managers before these changes started taking hold. Our goal has been to get back to the strong results we delivered for most of our history. We have seen meaningful signs that we are heading in the right direction on multiple fronts. Today, we are announcing additional changes:
1. We are merging the Longleaf International Fund into the Longleaf Global Fund. The go-forward Global Fund will be run in-line with our current Global approach, allowing us to focus more on our best ideas. We have seen solid returns in the Global Fund since our initial round of changes in late 2022, and we will now own more of this strategy ourselves. As part of this tax-free merger, Global Fund fees will be reduced and capped at a level commensurate with the Small-Cap Fund (95 basis points). We will be sending additional materials on this transaction to our International and Global Fund shareholders in the coming days and weeks. If approved by shareholders, the merger will be finalized December 2025 at the latest.1 Please see the August 25, 2025 Prospectus Supplement for additional information (
https://regdocs.blugiant.com/longleaf/).
2. We are closing our Concentrated Europe strategy and investing our internal funds from it into our go-forward Longleaf Funds. As we like to see at our individual investee companies, this is a meaningful insider purchase of our go-forward strategies and an increase in our focus. Our Asia Pacific strategy will continue to operate under Ken Siazon.
3. With these changes, John Woodman and Alicia Scarratt will be departing SAM at the end of September. We thank them for their time with us. Our continuing researchers have come up the curve in productivity and non-US coverage. Manish Sharma has been our best researcher outside of the US and will be gaining increased responsibility in the newly created position of Head of Non-US Research. Julio Utrera will be taking on an expanded role covering stocks in Europe, where he has done a great job for us. Separately, Peter Montgomery has recently rejoined our client service and development team to help us grow at the right times when we have qualifying investments. He was with us in the early 2010s, so he is familiar with our value approach as well as with SAM’s internal workings.
Our go-forward research team has made strong stock picks for the last 10+ years, with mid-teens-plus annualized results at a statistically significant level. We are glad to discuss this with you at a level of detail that would not fit within this note. This data lines up with our returns from our first 30 years. We have been encouraged as well with our improvements in portfolio building. While there have not been many market tests in recent times, Longleaf Partners, Small-Cap and Global Funds materially outperformed during the volatile mid-February through April period earlier this year.
“I’m excited about where SAM is heading. After delivering excess returns for the first three-plus decades of our 50-year history, we lagged our own goals and many of yours in some of the subsequent years. In recent years, Ross has taken definitive steps to improve our investing and our focus. We have an exceptionally talented analytical team. Under Ross’s portfolio management and research leadership, I’m most confident we will produce outstanding results,” said Mason Hawkins, Founder and Chairman of SAM.
“Our Business, People, Price approach to investing works over the long term because it’s rational, as the underlying numbers show. We will stay true to SAM’s Governing Principles while continuing to improve as we grow,” said Ross Glotzbach, CEO and Head of Research at SAM.
We thank you for your partnership and are looking forward to our next 50 years.
Comments
Here is the filing:
497 1 longleaf497.htm 497
Longleaf Partners International Fund
Longleaf PartnerGlobal Fund
(each a series of Longleaf Partners Funds Trust)
Supplement dated August 25, 2025
to the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated May 1, 2025
______________________________________________________________________
On August 20, 2025, the Board of Trustees of Longleaf Partners Funds Trust (the “Trust”) approved a proposed Agreement and Plan of Reorganization on behalf of the Longleaf Partners International Fund (the “Acquired Fund”) and the Longleaf Partners Global Fund (the “Acquiring Fund” and together with the Acquired Fund, the “Funds”). Pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, the Acquired Fund would transfer its assets and liabilities to the Acquiring Fund in exchange for shares of the Acquiring Fund. The Board determined that the reorganization of the Acquired Fund into the Acquiring Fund is in the best interests of each Fund.
Under the proposed reorganization, which is subject to approval by the Acquired Fund’s shareholders, the Acquired Fund’s shareholders would receive shares of the Acquiring Fund with the same aggregate net asset value as their shares of the Acquired Fund. It is anticipated that the reorganization will qualify as a tax-free event, which should result in no recognition of a gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes by Acquired Fund shareholders as a result of receiving shares of the Acquiring Fund in connection with the reorganization.
The Acquired Fund and the Acquiring Fund have the same investment objective and fundamental restrictions. Both Funds invest in equity securities of companies believed to be significantly undervalued, although the Acquiring Fund can invest a larger percentage of its assets in U.S. companies than the Acquired Fund. In connection with the reorganization, the Board has approved the reduction of the Acquiring Fund’s advisory fee to 1.00% of average daily net assets on the first $400 million and 0.75% on net assets above $400 million. The Board has also approved a reduction in the Acquiring Fund’s expense cap to 0.95% (through May 1, 2027). Such fee and expense cap changes will take effect only if shareholders approve the reorganization.
Information describing the reorganization and soliciting the vote of Acquired Fund shareholders on the reorganization is expected to be mailed in or before October 2025. If the reorganization is approved by shareholders, the reorganization is expected to occur in or before December 2025. The materials will describe the expected date of the reorganization with more specificity. As of the close of business on August 25, 2025, the Acquired Fund will close to new investors. Existing shareholders of the Acquired Fund as of such date may continue to purchase shares of, or exchange into, the Acquired Fund.
In advance of the reorganization, the Acquired Fund has already sold and could continue to sell certain portfolio securities to align the Acquired Fund’s portfolio with that of the Acquiring Fund. The Acquired Fund will invest the proceeds of such sales in cash and cash equivalents and securities that align with the Acquiring Fund until the reorganization occurs. As a result, to the extent invested in cash, the Acquired Fund may not pursue its investment objective and strategies during this period.
______________________________________________________________________
This Supplement and the existing Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information dated May 1, 2025, provide relevant information for all shareholders and should be retained for future reference. Both the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional Information dated May 1, 2025 have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are incorporated by reference and can be obtained without charge by calling the Funds at 1-800-445-9469.
Other old time favorites like Nicholas have done much better