NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Needham Investment Management, a specialized growth equity manager, today announced that Needham Aggressive Growth Fund has won the 2024 LSEG Lipper Fund Award in the Small-Cap Growth Fund category for delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to its peers over five-year period ended November 30, 2023.
The fund, managed by John Barr since 2010, seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing early in companies in emerging areas of rapid growth and staying with those companies as they become leaders in established growth markets.
“We’re honored that the LSEG Lipper Awards have recognized Needham Aggressive Growth Fund’s performance,” said Mr. Barr. “We believe that our style of active small cap stock picking has long-term advantages over passive investing, and the results speak for themselves. We invest in companies when they are small or microcaps and available at a margin-of-safety price, and we patiently hold over many years as they grow into “Quality Compounders.” Our average holding period is currently over 12 years. Right now, we’re excited about the investment opportunities in the U.S. Our major investment theme remains the importance of infrastructure—the lesser known “pick and shovel” providers. Our companies sell into data centers, life sciences labs, semiconductor and other manufacturing plants, roads, airports, airbases, power plants, and more. The U.S. has underinvested in these areas, so there could be long tail winds.”
“The 2024 LSEG Lipper Fund Awards are recognizing perhaps the most dramatic three-year period that the markets have seen in decades. Fund managers being recognized have steered their investors through a pandemic, a mild recession, a war, skyrocketing inflation and dramatic central bank intervention,” said Robert Jenkins, Global Head of Research, Investment & Wealth LSEG Lipper. “Whether you’ve been investing for just the past 15 years and have seen only the easy money environment following the Financial Crisis – or you’ve been an investor for 50 years and feel as if you’ve seen it all, there is no way to have foreseen the range of fundamental and non-financial factors that impacted the markets these past few years. We applaud the 2024 LSEG Lipper Fund Award winners such as Needham Aggressive Growth Fund for delivering outperformance and the accompanying comfort of consistency to investors’ portfolios through a cross-current of global market disruptions.”
About Needham
The Needham Group, Inc. is an independent, employee-owned firm with consistent leadership for 36 years. Needham has two subsidiaries, Needham & Company, LLC and Needham Investment Management, LLC. Needham & Company was co-founded by George Needham in 1985 as an investment bank focused on small and midcap companies, with deep sector expertise in technology – namely semiconductors, software, and life sciences. Needham & Company offers investment banking, sales, trading and publishes equity research on over 450 public companies in 20 sectors.
Needham Investment Management was founded in 1992 to invest long-term in small and mid-cap companies. As of December 31, 2023, Needham had over $711 million in assets under management across three 1940 Act mutual funds.
Fund Award:
LSEG Lipper Awards United States Winner, Needham Aggressive Growth Fund, Best Small-Cap Growth Fund for Five Years among 162 funds in the peer group.
About LSEG Lipper Fund Awards:
For more than 30 years and in over 17 countries worldwide, the highly-respected LSEG Lipper Awards have honored funds and fund management firms that have excelled in providing consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers and focus the investment world on top-funds. The merit of the winners is based on entirely objective, quantitative criteria. This coupled with the unmatched depth of fund data, results in a unique level of prestige and ensures the award has lasting value. Renowned fund data and proprietary methodology is the foundation of this prestigious award qualification, recognizing excellence in fund management. Find out more at www.lipperfundawards.com.
The LSEG Lipper Fund Awards Methodology:
The merit of the winners is based on objective, quantitative criteria. The influential and prestigious LSEG Lipper Fund Awards are based on our Lipper Leaders Rating for Consistent Return. Individual classifications of three, five, and 10- year periods, as well as fund families with high average scores for the three-year period, are also recognized. The awards are based on LSEG Lipper’s proven proprietary methodology, which can be viewed here.
Definitions and Disclosures
The information presented is not intended as personalized investment advice and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell a particular security or other investments. This message is not an offer of the Needham Growth Fund, the Needham Aggressive Growth Fund, or the Needham Small Cap Growth Fund (each a “Fund” and collectively, “the Funds”). Shares are sold only through the currently effective prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully and consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before you invest. The prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund. Current month-end performance and a copy of the prospectus are available at www.needhamfunds.com or by contacting the Fund’s transfer agent, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC at 1-800-625-7071. Investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, and when redeemed, shares may be worth more or less than their original cost. Past performance does not guarantee future results and current performance may be higher or lower than these results. Total return figures include reinvestment of all dividends and capital gains. Needham & Company, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, is the distributor of The Needham Funds, Inc.
All three of the Needham Funds have substantial exposure to small and micro capitalized companies. Funds holding smaller capitalized companies are subject to greater price fluctuation than those of larger companies. Also, all the of the Needham Funds are permitted to engage in short sales, options, futures, and leveraged trading strategies. The Funds’ use of short sales, options, futures strategies, and leverage may result in significant capital loss.