Royce Premier Fund (RYPRX, RPFFX, RPRCX, RPFIX, RPRRX)
8

At a Glance

Why invest in Premier?

  • Small-cap core fund that seeks to invest in "premier" small-cap companies, those Royce sees having discernible competitive advantages, high returns on capital, and a sustainable franchise. Small-cap stocks' market caps are less than the largest stock in the Russell 2000® Index.
  • Focuses on leading quality companies, those with low debt, the ability to generate excess cash flow, and attractive prospects that are selling at prices Royce believes do not fully reflect these attributes.
  • Average annual total return of 11.2% since inception (12/31/91) through 9/30/24.

Morningstar Overall Rating TM

Based on risk-adjusted returns out of 563 Small Blend Funds as of 9/30/24

As of 09/30/24

  • Small-Cap
    Core Approach
    $5.38B
    Avg. Market Cap
  • Low
    Volatility
    97%
    Active Share
  • Fund
    Longevity
    32+
    Years of History

Portfolio Management

"We look for small-cap companies with high returns on invested capital that we believe can compound value by reinvesting their current earnings back into the business at high rates of return over the long run."
—Lauren Romeo

Manager Tenure

Manager Tenure

Performance

Average Annual Total Returns (%)

Outperformed Russell 2000 for the 3-Year, 10-Year, 20-Year, 30-Year and since inception (12/31/91) periods as of 09/30/24.
QTR YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR 15YR 20YR 25YR 30YR SINCE INCEPT.
(12/31/91)
Premier 5.41 6.5119.906.319.219.0710.229.5610.7510.9611.19
Russell 2000 9.27 11.1726.761.849.398.7810.598.498.278.959.30

Annual Operating Expenses: 1.19

NOV YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR 15YR 20YR 25YR 30YR SINCE INCEPT.
(12/31/91)
Premier 8.58 12.0723.347.019.279.4310.749.4910.7711.2011.30
Russell 2000 10.97 21.5836.434.969.909.0511.548.418.399.449.55

Annual Operating Expenses: 1.19

DEC YTD 1YR 3YR 5YR 10YR 15YR 20YR 25YR 30YR SINCE INCEPT.
(12/31/91)
Premier 0.31 12.4121.446.539.519.5710.569.5110.7611.2411.31
Russell 2000 -0.01 21.5632.494.8410.129.1011.338.348.339.469.55

Annual Operating Expenses: 1.19

Important Performance and Expense Information

All performance information reflects past performance, is presented on a total return basis, reflects the reinvestment of distributions, and does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate, so that shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when redeemed. Current month-end performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted and may be obtained at www.royceinvest.com. Operating expenses reflect the Fund's total annual operating expenses for the Investment Class as of the Fund's most current prospectus and include management fees and other expenses.

Rolling Returns

On a monthly basis, the Fund outperformed the Russell 2000 in 67% of all 10-Year periods; 67% of all 5-Year periods; and 64% of all 1-Year periods.

For 100% of the periods, 10-year average annual total returns were greater than 5%; For 64% of the periods, 10-year average annual total returns were greater than 10%.

Relative Returns: Monthly Rolling Average Annual Return Periods 25 Years Through 09/30/24

periods beating
the index(%)		 fund
avg(%)		 index
avg(%)
10-year
121/181
 67 10.0 8.6
5-year
162/241
 67 10.5 8.6
1-year
185/289
 64 11.7 9.4

Absolute Returns: 10-Year Monthly Rolling Return PeriodsNumber of 10-Year Average Annual Return Periods Since the Fund’s Inception

Return Range Periods % in Range
> 10% 174 64
> 5% and ≤ 10% 100 36
> 0% and ≤ 5% 0 0
≤ 0% 0 0

The Fund averaged a 10.9% return over all 274 10-year monthly rolling return periods.

Market Cycle Performance

The Fund outperformed the Russell 2000 from the 11/8/21 index peak through current (9/30/24) and in one of the two previous full market cycle periods.
Peak-Peak - 06/23/15 - 08/31/18
Premier43.7%
Russell 200040.4%

Peak-Peak - 08/31/18 - 11/08/21
Premier44.9%
Russell 200046.2%

Peak-Current - 11/08/21 - 09/30/24
Premier8.4%
Russell 2000-4.7%

Royce defines market cycles as those that have retreated at least 15% from a previous market peak and have rebounded to establish a new peak above the previous one. 

Royce defines market cycles as those that have retreated at least 15% from a previous market peak and have rebounded to establish a new peak above the previous one. 

Calendar Year Total Returns (%)

 

Growth of Investment

Value of $10,000 invested between 12/31/91 and 09/30/24

Premier$322,704.15
Russell 2000$184,003.85

Risk

Low Volatility vs. Peer Group as of 09/30/24

The Fund has a low volatility within its peer group of 512 Small-Cap Funds based on 5-year rolling standard deviation.

Down Market Performance Comparisonas of 09/30/24

The Fund outperformed the Russell 2000 during all eight downturns of 15% or more from the index’s prior historical high since the Fund’s inception.

Market Downturns (%)

DownMarketImg
Outperformed in 12 out of 17 down quarters.

Russell 2000 Down Quarters

QUARTER ENDRUSSELL 2000 (%)PREMIER (%)SPREAD (%)
06/30/24-3.3-4.3-1.0
09/30/23-5.1-4.8+0.3
09/30/22-2.2-4.9-2.7
06/30/22-17.2-12.8+4.4
03/31/22-7.5-7.3+0.2
09/30/21-4.4-3.2+1.2
03/31/20-30.6-27.8+2.8
09/30/19-2.4+1.6+4.0
12/31/18-20.2-17.2+3.0
03/31/18-0.1+1.1+1.2
03/31/16-1.5+4.4+5.9
09/30/15-11.9-12.4-0.5
09/30/14-7.4-8.6-1.2
06/30/12-3.5-8.1-4.6
09/30/11-21.9-18.8+3.1
06/30/11-1.6-1.1+0.5
06/30/10-9.9-8.9+1.0

Capture Ratios Fund's First Full Quarter (12/31/91) to 09/30/24

Upside Capture Ratio measures a manager's performance in up markets relative to the Fund's benchmark. It is calculated by measuring the Fund's performance in quarters when the benchmark goes up and dividing it by the benchmark's return in those quarters.

Downside Capture Ratio measures a manager's performance in down markets relative to the Fund's benchmark. It is calculated by measuring the Fund's performance in quarters when the benchmark goes down and dividing it by the benchmark's return in those quarters.

Long Term Risk Measurementas of 09/30/24

Over the past 10 years, the Fund outperformed the Russell 2000 Index with lower volatility.
Over the past 5 years, the Fund produced lower volatility than the Russell 2000 Index.
Over the past 3 years, the Fund outperformed the Russell 2000 Index with lower volatility.
From the Fund's inception, the Fund outperformed the Russell 2000 Index with lower volatility.

Go to Relative Risk Spectrum Tool

Morningstar Statistical Measures as of 09/30/24

The Fund beat the Russell 2000 and performed within the top 50% of small-cap objective funds on a risk-adjusted basis, as shown by its Sharpe ratio. In addition, the Fund produced lower volatility than the Russell 2000 and 50% of small-cap objective funds, as shown by its standard deviation.
The Fund beat the Russell 2000 on a risk-adjusted basis, as shown by its Sharpe ratio. In addition, the Fund produced lower volatility than the Russell 2000 and 75% of small-cap objective funds, as shown by its standard deviation.
The Fund beat the Russell 2000 and performed within the top 50% of small-cap objective funds on a risk-adjusted basis, as shown by its Sharpe ratio. In addition, the Fund produced lower volatility than the Russell 2000 and 75% of small-cap objective funds, as shown by its standard deviation.
Sharpe RatioStandard Deviation
Premier0.4718.83
Russell 20000.4320.35
Category Median0.4420.12
Best Quartile Breakpoint0.4919.29

Category Median and Best Quartile Breakpoint based on 432 small-cap objective funds (oldest class only) with at least ten years of history.
Sharpe Ratio Standard Deviation
Premier
Russell 2000
Category Median
Best Quartile Breakpoint

Composition

Morningstar Style Map™as of 06/30/24

mstar-RYPRX

The Morningstar Style Map is the Morningstar Style Box™ with the center 75% of fund holdings plotted as the Morningstar Ownership Zone™. The Morningstar Style Box is designed to reveal a fund's investment strategy. The Morningstar Ownership Zone provides detail about a portfolio's investment style by showing the range of stock sizes and styles. The Ownership Zone is derived by plotting each stock in the portfolio within the proprietary Morningstar Style Box. The shaded area represents the center 75% of the Fund's assets while the plot point in the middle represents the weighted average of its holdings. Over time, the shape and location of a fund's ownership zone may vary.

Portfolio Diagnosticsas of 09/30/24

  RYPRX Russell 2000
Average Market Cap
5.38B
2.63B
Active Share
97%
-
2023 Portfolio Turnover
15%
-
Weighted Average P/E,
25.1x
-
Weighted Average P/B,
2.9x
2.1x
U.S. Investments (% of Net Assets)
86.9%
-
Non-U.S. Investments (% of Net Assets)
11.6%
-

Portfolio Allocation

  • Total
    Holdings
    51


SECTORS		RYPRX (%) RUSSELL
2000 (%)
Industrials
36.4
17.0
Information Technology
12.5
12.8
Materials
10.6
4.5
Consumer Discretionary
10.6
10.0
Financials
9.7
18.1
Real Estate
9.2
6.4
Health Care
6.3
17.5
Consumer Staples
1.9
2.8
Communication Services
1.3
2.7
Energy
-
5.3
Utilities
-
2.8
Cash and Cash Equivalents
1.5
-
POSITIONS% OF NET ASSETS
(SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Arcosa
3.3
FirstService Corporation
3.1
Colliers International Group
3.0
Stella-Jones
3.0
SEI Investments
3.0
Innospec
2.8
Kadant
2.8
Reliance
2.6
MKS Instruments
2.6
Morningstar
2.5
Cirrus Logic
2.5
TMX Group
2.5
Haemonetics Corporation
2.5
ESCO Technologies
2.4
Woodward
2.3
RB Global
2.3
Quaker Houghton
2.2
John Bean Technologies
2.2
Landstar System
2.1
Valmont Industries
2.1
Top 20 as % of Net Assets
51.8

SECTORS		RYPRX (%) RUSSELL
2000 (%)
Industrials
35.5
-
Information Technology
11.3
-
Consumer Discretionary
10.7
-
Materials
10.4
-
Financials
10.3
-
Real Estate
9.5
-
Health Care
5.7
-
Consumer Staples
1.9
-
Cash and Cash Equivalents
4.8
-
POSITIONS% OF NET ASSETS
(SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Arcosa
3.4
SEI Investments
3.3
FirstService Corporation
3.2
Colliers International Group
3.1
Kadant
2.9
Stella-Jones
2.8
Innospec
2.8
Morningstar
2.7
Reliance
2.7
MKS Instruments
2.7
Top 10 as % of Net Assets
29.6

Portfolio Holdings

Unaudited schedules of portfolio holdings are presented for informational purposes only.

View the complete list of holdings (unaudited) for this fund as of the previous quarter-end: 09/30/24.

Least Portfolio Overlap - U.S. Equity Funds

Greatest Portfolio Overlap - U.S. Equity Funds

Geographical Breakdown

Distributions

NAV & Distributions


Start DateEnd Date
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Distributions

RECORD
DATE		 EX-DATE PAYABLE
DATE		 INCOME ($) SHORT
TERM
GAINS ($)		 LONG
TERM
GAINS ($)		 RETURN OF
CAPITAL ($)		 TOTAL ($) REINVEST
PRICE ($)
12/13/23 12/14/23 12/14/23 0.0060 0.0000 0.7877 - 0.7937 11.34
12/14/22 12/15/22 12/15/22 0.0000 - 0.9057 - 0.9057 10.07
12/15/21 12/16/21 12/16/21 0.0065 - 2.7465 - 2.7530 12.56
12/09/20 12/10/20 12/10/20 0.1220 - 0.6326 - 0.7546 13.30
12/11/19 12/12/19 12/12/19 0.0539 - 2.6099 - 2.6638 12.68
12/12/18 12/13/18 12/13/18 0.0087 0.0000 3.3913 - 3.4000 12.14
12/13/17 12/14/17 12/14/17 0.0170 - 2.5204 - 2.5374 16.22
12/14/16 12/15/16 12/15/16 0.0428 - 2.0388 - 2.0816 15.71
12/16/15 12/17/15 12/17/15 0.1322 0.0024 3.3295 - 3.4641 14.18
12/16/14 12/17/14 12/17/14 0.0816 - 2.0727 - 2.1543 19.32
12/04/13 12/05/13 12/05/13 0.0000 - 2.2651 - 2.2651 21.19
12/27/12 12/28/12 12/28/12 0.0520 - - - 0.0520 18.85
12/05/12 12/06/12 12/06/12 0.1915 0.0300 1.1772 - 1.3987 18.83
12/07/11 12/08/11 12/08/11 0.0534 - 1.5908 - 1.6442 18.39
12/08/10 12/09/10 12/09/10 0.0000 - 0.2683 - 0.2683 19.77

NAV History for

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Fees & Expenses

Shareholder Fees (%)

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases 0.00
Maximum deferred sales charge 0.00
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on reinvested dividends 0.00
Redemption fee (as a percentage of amount redeemed on shares held for less than 30 days) 1.00

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (%)

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management fees 1.00
Distribution (12b-1) fees 0.00
Other expenses 0.19
Total annual Fund operating expenses 1.19

Important Disclosure Information

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. The Fund invests primarily in small-cap stocks, which may involve considerably more risk than investing in larger-cap stocks. The Fund also generally invests a significant portion of its assets in a limited number of stocks, which may involve considerably more risk than a more broadly diversified portfolio because a decline in the value of any one of these stocks would cause the Fund's overall value to decline to a greater degree. (Please see "Primary Risks for Fund Investors" in the prospectus.) The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets (measured at the time of investment) in securities of companies headquartered in foreign countries, which may involve political, economic, currency, and other risks not encountered in U.S. investments. (Please see "Investing in Foreign Securities" in the prospectus.)

Sector weightings are determined using the Global Industry Classification Standard ("GICS"). GICS was developed by, and is the exclusive property of, Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC ("S&P") and MSCI Inc. ("MSCI"). GICS is the trademark of S&P and MSCI. "Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)" and "GICS Direct" are service marks of S&P and MSCI.

The Price-Earnings, or P/E, Ratio is calculated by dividing a company's share price by its trailing 12-month earnings-per-share (EPS). The Portfolio's P/E ratio calculation excludes cash holdings and companies with zero or negative earnings. The Price-to-Book, or P/B, Ratio is calculated by dividing a company's share price by its book value per share. Standard deviation is a statistical measure within which a client account’s total returns have varied over time. The greater the standard deviation, the greater a portfolio’s volatility.
Frank Russell Company (“Russell”) is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company. Neither Russell nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the Russell Indexes and/or Russell ratings or underlying data and no party may rely on any Russell Indexes and/or Russell ratings and/or underlying data contained in this communication. No further distribution of Russell Data is permitted without Russell’s express written consent. Russell does not promote, sponsor or endorse the content of this communication. Source: MSCI.  MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data contained herein.  The MSCI data may not be further redistributed or used as a basis for other indexes or any securities or financial products.  This report is not approved, endorsed, reviewed or produced by MSCI. None of the MSCI data is intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such. The Russell 2000 is an unmanaged, capitalization-weighted index of domestic small-cap stocks. It measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest publicly traded U.S. companies in the Russell 3000 index.  The performance of an index does not represent exactly any particular investment, as you cannot invest directly in an index.

† Lauren Romeo lead manager since 2022 (manager 2016-2022, assistant portfolio manager 2006-2016), Steven McBoyle lead manager since 2022 (manager 2016-2022, assistant portfolio manager 2014-2016), assistant Andrew Palen since 2022

12/31/1991 12:00:00 AM

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