In terms of returns, the third quarter was clearly calmer than the second. The value of the Sifter Fund rose +2.0% in the third quarter, and since the start of the year the Fund has returned +21.2% (PB class, September 30, 2026).
Identifying high-quality businesses is a necessary condition for long-term investing, but it is not a sufficient one. Buy and forget is not an automatic route to good returns. Keeping the portfolio’s valuation discipline intact matters almost as much.
The second quarter was a strong one for the Fund. The Sifter Fund PB class rose 18.5%.
After a long bull market, one of the most common questions we ask ourselves as investors is whether it makes sense to postpone investing and wait for a market correction.
Sifter Fund’s 10 largest companies grew their earnings by an average of +21% in the first quarter of the year.
AI divided the market – semiconductors rose, software declined. The Sifter Fund returned +0.3%, outperforming the global equity index.
Many investors focus most of their attention on stock selection. There is rarely talk of a sale, i.e. when should an investor divest their holdings in a company?
The biggest investment mistakes rarely stem from a lack of information, but from how investors react.
Sifter Fund Annual Report 2025. Portfolio changes, the year’s top gainers and decliners, and a look ahead to 2026.
The Chairman of the Board of Sifter Capital, Henri Kulvik, together with the Board, has appointed a new Investment Committee.
With strong margins, excellent returns on invested capital, and low capital intensity, IDEXX has the qualities we look for in a long-term compounder.
Alphabet on the rise, semiconductors gaining momentum – in the video, we walk through the key events of the third quarter.
In January 2025, we invested in Cintas. On the surface it might not be the most exciting business but underneath it’s a powerful compounding machine.
In this article, I outline five essential characteristics that enable a quality company to achieve long-term growth.
The value of the Sifter Fund rose by 5.3% during the second quarter. Watch the quarterly report video.
During the April market crash, one of our investors asked an honest question: Why do we speak so positively about stocks when the news is filled with threats and uncertainty?
The past eight years have made one thing clear: timing the market doesn’t work — especially in the long run.
Over the past few years, I’ve spoken with dozens of investors who’ve expressed regret about not seizing the opportunity the last time stocks were on sale.
Market downturns are a natural part of equity investing. The value of the Sifter Fund declined by 7.9% during the first quarter of the year.
Safran is known for its Leap engines, which have gained almost a monopoly position in narrow-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
In January, the Sifter Fund rose by +5.0%. The top contributors for January were TOMRA Systems, Safran, and Lam Research.
The value of the Sifter Fund increased by +10.8% in 2024, exceeding the fund’s long-term average annual return 9.8%.
For those investing based on macroeconomic news, recent years have been exceptionally challenging. When one uncertainty fades, two new ones emerge. It often feels like there’s never a right time to invest.
Over 21 years, the fund has achieved significant excess returns, though not without annual challenges.
The third quarter of 2024 marked Sifter Fund’s first negative quarter after seven consecutive positive quarters.
The Sifter Fund portfolio management team landed at Taipei Airport on the night of September 1st. Why did we want to spend a week in Taiwan at the Taiwan Semicon 2024 event?
On August 5, 2024, the stock markets experienced a severe drop that put investors on edge.
July was anything but calm in the stock markets. The month saw several factors negatively impacting stock prices. The common denominator for these changes was uncertainty and overly optimistic market expectations regarding companies’ earnings.
The second quarter of the year continued positively for the Sifter Fund, generating a return of 3% (R-class). Since the beginning of 2024, the Fund has yielded 18.2% (Sifter Fund Global R-class, June 28, 2024).
The current valuation levels of the US markets (2024) are historically exceptionally high, suggesting that future expected returns may be significantly more modest.
Sifter Fund invested in TOMRA Systems during January 2024. In this video Alexander Järf will introduce why we decided to invest in it.
The first quarter of the year continued on an upward trajectory for the Sifter Fund, yielding a 14.7% return (Class R). There were several reasons for this excellent performance, which we will detail in our video report.
An investor called me somewhat concerned because the Sifter Fund’s performance curve over the past few months is almost vertical.
Understanding risk-adjusted return requires some effort, but in return, you get a better idea, for example, of the quality of portfolio management in an equity fund.
The Sifter Fund has risen 110% over the past five years (29.1.2019-29.1.2024), equating to an average annual return of 16%. So, why warn about a potential decline in stock prices?
In 2023, the Sifter Fund performed exceptionally well, yielding a 31% return (R/I class).
At the end of November, the Sifter team gathered to review whether we had rejected potential investments for the right reasons.
Applied Materials is central to the technology we use daily. Why Applied Materials was added to Sifter Fund’s portfolio in 2022?
Investment risks often come to mind right after returns. Risks and returns frequently go hand in hand: as returns accumulate, risks might be overlooked, and vice versa.
The Sifter Fund has achieved a year-to-date return of 20.4%, with a third-quarter return of 3.4%. However, in September, the market lost momentum, and the fund declined by 1.4%.
Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical giant valued at over 350 billion euros, saw its stock rise a remarkable 18% in a single day.
The second quarter of the year was very strong for Sifter investors, with a return of 6.9%. Since the beginning of the year, the R-class of the fund has risen by 16.4%, the I-class by 16.5%, and the PI-class by 16.7%.
Most studies suggest that a fund’s past performance does not correlate with future performance. What can we promise to our investors?
Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha on May 6th was quite a show, with the undisputed conductor being 92-year-old Warren Buffett.
52,000 paying members visit the warehouse hall in the middle of the Omaha fields every week, and they pay an annual membership fee of $60-120 for this privilege. Why? We decided to find out.
A long-term investor wants to invest in companies with a superior edge in their business model. How to identify the competitive advantage?
The first quarter of the year was excellent for Sifter investors, producing a total rise of 9.0%. See who were the top contributors and the biggest detractors in Q1/2023.
A company with a high ROIC has the potential to reinvest its profits and grow its business, leading to long-term growth in earnings and potentially higher returns for investors.
The lesson of Sifter’s founder, Hannes Kulvik, after the 2008 financial crisis became very topical last week when Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the US fell into a crisis and waves hit the stock exchanges in Europe and Asia.
Investing with lower risk and better returns is a desirable outcome for any investor. One way to achieve this is by identifying companies with strong entry barriers.
The year 2022 was difficult for equity investors. However, the quality companies in the Sifter portfolio strengthened. Sifter’s portfolio managers review the figures and portfolio changes in the video.
West Pharmaceutical Services has dominant competitive positioning in a growing profitable industry with multiple high entry barriers.
Every year, we research dozens of companies worldwide and invest in some of them. For every investment, Hannes Kulvik, the founder of Sifter Fund, has one crucial question.
The stock market is falling, but corporate earnings expectations are still strong. Has the market again overreacted to the noise of the macro world, or are the profit forecasts too rosy?
The Sifter Fund’s return remained plus or minus zero in the 3rd quartile. Since the beginning of the year, the Fund has decreased by 16.8 percent in euros.
We conducted a case study to investigate whether share prices have increased more by the elevated valuation levels or by the improved money-making of the companies we own.
We gathered the companies’ quarterly results and evaluated their competitiveness in the current high inflation and rising interest rates environment.
Disney is one of the strongest media companies in the world. Sifter Fund invested in The Walt Disney Company in May 2022, but why?
Does macroeconomic news have any meaning for stock investors? According to respected financial author Robert R. Prechter, it is not.
The global economy’s uncertainties continued during the second quarter, and stocks were under downward pressure. The Sifter Fund made two new investments and some more minor changes to the portfolio.
Universal Music Group (UMG) is one of Sifter Fund’s latest investments. The company entered Sifter’s portfolio in January 2022, but why did Sifter invest in it?
Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman became known to the general public in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow. One of the main messages in the book was related to slow and fast thinking. But how does this relate to investing?
Home country bias is the tendency of investors to favor domestic stocks at the expense of other countries or regions.
The first quarter ended with a 6.4% decline for the Sifter Fund, which is quite a good result after a roller coaster quarter.
The prices of US tech stocks declined sharply in the first couple of months of the year. However, it would be wrong to say that all tech companies are in the same boat.
Many investors wonder which is the better approach: Lump-sum investing or Dollar-cost averaging? Vanguard published a study.
The year 2022 opened into a sharp decline in stock prices and many investors are wondering again how to act now? What really changes when stocks fall?
The Sifter Fund Net Asset Value (NAV) increased by 34.3% in 2021. his was the best year in the Fund’s history.
Sooner or later, the stock market will fall. What kind of companies should be in the portfolio if one wants to be invested in stocks during market downturns?
Karl-Johan Lidsle, an analyst at Sifter, introduces the growth drivers and competitive advantages of Sony’s business.
The Fund’s share price has returned 20.4% from year-to-date, 2.6% in the third quarter, and decreased by 1.5% in September.
Disco is a Japanese company that manufactures and sells equipment which are critical in the manufacturing of chips. What makes Disco Corporation a good long-term investment.
Uncertainty springs from the lack of knowledge and control. How does a systematic investment process reduce uncertainties?
There has been recent speculation as to whether inflation is returning? Our analyst Alexander Järf highlights three perspectives on why we think owning quality businesses is one option even in an environment of higher inflation.
Sifter Fund’s share price has returned 17.3% from year-to-date, 4.2% in the second quarter, and continued to rise by 3.0% in June.
Costco is the world’s second-largest retail chain behind Walmart. We think the company is a great example of a quality company with an exceptionally good earnings model.
In May we saw the first slightly negative month. In the monthly report video we are introducing Verisign, a highly profitable business.
Part of the nature of the stock markets is that prices fluctuate from one day to the next. Timing the ups and downs is almost impossible. How to prepare for different market turmoil?
In April, Sifter Fund appreciated 1.3%. Companies reported their Q1 results and provided guidance. Most of the quarterly results were better than expected.
Many investors seem to have the wrong idea about monitoring stocks. They focus almost exclusively on share prices. Instead, they should focus on a company’s capacity to make money.
For years, Sifter Fund’s largest investments have been Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and Lam Research Corporation (LRCX), which operate in the semiconductor sector. Why we find them exceptionally strong, high-quality companies?
Long-term investing is a concept known to many investors. Its advantages are indisputable. Money works over time – at least in theory.
A philanthropy workshop opened Henri Kulvik’s eyes: investing creates not only monetary profits but also profits measured in wellbeing.
According to Morningstar, Sifter Fund is rated 5/5 in terms of responsibility. This score means that we are rated among the world’s most responsible funds. We wanted to take a closer look at this important theme.
Investors often believe that investing in an actively managed equity fund is expensive compared to investing directly in stocks or investing in passive funds.
One of the benefits of fund investing is risk diversification. We listed a few coronavirus losers and winners in Sifter’s portfolio.
Long-term investment and the diversification of shareholdings are two of the golden rules of equity investment. Historically, applying these principles has led to good performance.
Sifter added new quality companies to its portfolio. Read our analysts’ comments on the companies and see the price development of each stock as graphs.
Having lived through several crises, we have learned that the best thing to do when fear creeps in is to look at things rationally.
The fear of losing money creates some degree of panic in many investors and triggers irrational decisions.
During the spring, the atmosphere at Sifter was calm but determined. We decided to seize the opportunity offered by the crisis.
A quality investor must evaluate a company and its business not only through several key figures but also by weighing perspectives that are not always easily interpreted through numbers.
Jussi Kärävä, who has a long career in the service of large institutional investors, has joined the Board of the Sifter Fund. “The product is in great shape”, Kärävä says.
Varian Medical Systems meets many of the criteria for an ideal company to invest in. Read what makes Varian an excellent investment for Sifter.
The cornerstone of our approach is to always invest in businesses, not in share prices. Holding shares in high-quality businesses pays off, even during challenging times.
Many investors like to analyze the market and predict the direction that the market will go in next. Our goal is to analyze various companies to find the ones with the best revenue models.
If the price of a stock falls by 10%, most investors are likely to think that they should sell their shares. Read what Hannes thinks about value vs price.
Sifter has been awarded a perfect five-star rating by Morningstar, the world’s leading specialist in fund analysis. The five-star rating, which is familiar to many from the world of cinema, means that Sifter’s PI fund class is rated among the best in its category.
The revenue model is the engine of a company. When you understand the revenue model, you understand how the engine works. In our view, a good revenue model has three characteristics.