Francis Gannon: We tend to focus on companies that have a lot of cash—at least as of late—especially on their balance sheets. How important is capital allocation for these businesses?
Steven McBoyle: Capital allocation is paramount. There's actually a wonderful book called The Outsiders written by Thorndike which I think actually is a poignant piece that speaks to just how important capital allocation is over time.
We as shareholders, and shareholders of Royce Funds, have an implicit and explicit contract with management. So day in, day out, we come in to assess whether management is making the appropriate capital allocation decisions over time.
The tools that management has are obviously buybacks, dividend policy, mergers and acquisitions, and perhaps most importantly—to the extent that we at The Royce Funds look at the entire business cycle—what they do with their own cash. Do they actually build it at the appropriate points in time in the business cycle, and do they invest it at the trough portions of the business cycle?
Francis: So how does that all fit into our view of risk management?
Steven: Risk management is critical. We are risk managers, first and foremost. We're obviously dealing with small-caps. They are fragile businesses, for sure. We at The Royce Funds are attracted to those companies that are profitable.
Interestingly enough, upwards of a third of the underlying index are businesses that don't make money. In addition to that, we obviously are quality focused. So again, we're attracted to businesses that have strong business moats and differentiated business models. These are time-tested, self-funding businesses.
So if you take those two overlays in terms of how we look at risk management, and you apply a very strict valuation parameter on top of that universe, in addition to having the downside protection in terms of strong balance sheets, we think all in all that's a wonderful way to manage risk within the zone.
Important Disclosure Information
The thoughts and opinions expressed in the video are solely those of the person speaking and may differ from those of other Royce investment professionals, or the firm as a whole. There can be no assurance with regard to future market movements.
This material is not authorized for distribution unless preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. Investments in securities of small-cap companies may involve considerably more risk than investments in securities of larger-cap companies. (Please see "Primary Risks for Fund Investors" in the prospectus.)
