Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies (BASC)

Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies (BASC) targets capital growth through a diversified portfolio of c. 80 US mid- and small-cap stocks. BASC’s management team, led by Chris Berrier and George Sakellaris, take a quality growth approach, focusing on companies with long-term compounding characteristics.

Since Brown Advisory began managing the trust on 01/04/2021 BASC’s NAV TR of 2% compares to the benchmark Russell 2000’s total return of 21%. A significant part of this underperformance has developed in the second half of 2025, with BASC under- or zero-weighted in several high growth stocks that have been the main drivers of the index’s performance. Some of these are pre-profitable, or have limited visibility on growth, and thus don’t meet the team’s criteria for investment. The team remain committed to the belief that, ultimately, quality growth smaller companies are undervalued compared to their own history and to large-caps and deserve a place in any diversified portfolio.

During 2025, BASC’s board introduced a tender offer mechanism, which will be triggered if the trust underperforms its benchmark over the five-year period to 30/06/2028. If triggered, investors will be able to realise up to 100% of their holding at a price close to the prevailing NAV. Management fees were also reduced and the calculation basis altered from 01/01/2025, with fees now calculated on the lower of market cap or net assets, meaning that fees adjust as the discount widens or narrows. BASC’s discount stands at around 9%, with share buybacks employed during 2024 and 2025 helping to maintain the discount below 10% after a period where the discount reached mid-teens.