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Sprott Focus Trust

Daily Price & Premium/Discount

As of 5/26/2023
Symbol Net Asset Value 1 Day Change Closing Market Price 1 Day Change Premium/Discount
FUND $8.17 ▲ +$0.06 (0.74%) $7.63 ▲ +$0.01 (0.13%) -6.61%

Overview

Sprott Focus Trust is a closed-end fund that trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol FUND. Veteran portfolio manager Whitney George manages FUND, which seeks to deliver superior performance to investors by investing with a long time horizon in high-quality businesses with strong balance sheets that are trading at attractive valuations.

Why Invest in Sprott Focus Trust?

  • Investment goal of long-term growth of capital
  • Focused portfolio (generally less than 50 positions), disciplined value approach
  • Invests in a combination of small-, mid-, and large-cap stocks
  • Pays a managed quarterly distribution currently set at 1.50% of trailing net asset value (NAV), with the fourth quarter distribution being the greater of 1.50% of the rolling average or the minimum distribution required by the IRS.

Fund Details

As of 3/31/2023
Nasdaq Symbol FUND
Benchmark Index Russell 3000 TR
Inception Date 11/1/19962
CUSIP 85208J109
Years of History 20+
Average Market Cap1 $3.43 Billion
Total Net Assets $257.3 Million
Total Equity Holdings 34
Holdings ≥ 75% of Total Investments 19

Investment Team

Whitney George
Whitney George
Senior Portfolio Manager of Sprott Focus Trust; Chief Executive Officer, Sprott Inc.
Matthew Haynes
Matt Haynes, CFA
Portfolio Manager, Sprott Asset Management LP; Analyst, Sprott Focus Trust

Recent Commentary

12/31/2022
2022 Annual Letter to Investors

6/30/2022
2022 Semi-Annual Letter to Investors

Sprott's Commitment to Stockholders

Co-Investment – Sprott Employees, Mr. George, Officers and Trustees own over 44% of Sprott
Focus Trust outstanding shares.

Low Operating Expenses – Operating expenses, including advisory fee, are capped at 1.2% or
less of average net assets applicable to common stockholders

11/20/2020
Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. Implements a Share Repurchase Program

Quarter-End Performance

Average Annual Total Returns (%) As of 3/31/2023
Q4 2022 3 YTD3 1 YR 3 YR 5 YR 10 YR 15 YR 20 YR SI2
Sprott Focus Trust (NAV) 3.52 3.52 -4.00 24.05 9.01 8.73 6.78 11.00 9.54
Sprott Focus Trust (MKT) 3.20 3.20 -4.51 26.86 9.60 9.12 6.50 11.23 10.05
Russell 3000 TR 7.18 7.18 -8.58 18.48 10.45 11.73 9.90 10.44 8.89

Fees and Expenses

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (%) as of 12/31/2022                                                
Management Fees 1.00%
Other Expenses* 0.14%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 1.14%

*The Adviser has agreed to cap the operating expenses at 1.20%.

Important Performance and Expense Information

All performance information reflects past performance, is presented on a total return basis, net of the Fund's investment advisory fee, and reflects the reinvestment of distributions. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than performance quoted. NAV performance is based on the Fund's net asset value, and MKT performance is based on the Fund's market price. The market price of the Fund's shares will fluctuate, so that shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold. The Fund invests a significant portion of its net assets in small-cap stocks, which may involve considerably more risk than investing in larger-cap stocks. The Fund also 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. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its net assets in foreign securities, which may involve political, economic, currency, and other risks not encountered in U.S. investments.

 

Growth of $10,000 Since Inception

Click and drag to zoom in.
For the period ending 3/31/2023. This graph represents the growth of a hypothetical investment of $10,000 invested in Sprott Focus Trust at its inception versus its benchmark, the Russell 3000 TR Index. It assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains, and does not reflect redemption fees or the effects of taxes on any capital gains and/or distributions. You cannot invest directly in an index.

Calendar Year Total Returns (%)

2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
Sprott Focus Trust (NAV) 0.08 22.9 6.8 32.7 -17.0 18.5 24.8 -11.1 0.3 19.7 11.4 -10.5 21.8 54.0 -42.7 12.2 15.8 13.7 29.3 54.3 -12.5
RUSSELL 3000 TR -19.21 25.7 20.9 31.0 -5.2 21.1 12.7 0.5 12.6 33.6 16.4 1.0 16.9 28.3 -37.3 5.1 15.7 6.1 11.9 31.1 -21.5

Portfolio Analytics
As of 3/31/2023

Portfolio Diagnostics
Trailing Annual Turnover 18.77%
Weighted Average P/E Ratio4 9.48x
Weighted Average P/B Ratio5 1.68x
Weighted Average Yield 2.74%
Weighted Average ROIC 6 25.54%
Weighted Average Leverage Ratio 7 1.81x
U.S. Investments (% of Net Assets) 74.83%
Non-U.S. Investments (% of Net Assets) 25.17%
Top 10 Positions (% of net assets)
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co 4.7
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc 4.7
Westlake Corporation 4.7
Federated Hermes, Inc. 4.7
Nucor Corporation 4.5
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. 4.4
Steel Dynamics, Inc. 4.4
AerSale Corporation 4.4
Pason Systems Inc. 4.1
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. 3.9
Holdings may vary, and this list is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
Sector Breakdown (% of net assets)

Distributions

RECORD DATE EX-DATE PAYABLE DATE INCOME ($) SHORT TERM GAINS ($) LONG TERM GAINS ($) RETURN OF CAPITAL ($) TOTAL ($) REINVEST PRICE ($)
3/13/2023 3/10/2023 3/24/2023 0.0265 0.0292 0.0347 0.0350 0.1254 7.81
12/12/2022 12/9/2022 12/22/2022 0.0000 0.0000 0.1276 0.0000 0.1276 7.985
9/12/2022 9/9/2022 9/23/2022 0.0195 0.0019 0.0107 0.1013 0.1334 7.57
6/13/2022 6/10/2022 6/24/2022 0.0506 0.0688 0.0195 0.0000 0.1389 7.50
3/14/2022 3/11/2022 3/25/2022 0.0066 0.0000 0.1293 0.0000 0.1359 8.86
12/13/2021 12/10/2021 12/23/2021 0.0000 0.2175 0.1943 0.0000 0.4118 8.25
9/13/2021 9/10/2021 9/24/2021 0.0264 0.0247 0.0741 0.0000 0.1252 8.145
6/14/2021 6/11/2021 6/25/2021 0.0320 0.0117 0.0723 0.0000 0.1160 8.27
3/15/2021 3/12/2021 3/26/2021 0.0237 0.0065 0.0742 0.0000 0.1044 8.01
12/15/2020 12/14/2020 12/23/2020 0.0000 0.0000 0.2152 0.0000 0.2152 6.93
9/15/2020 9/14/2020 9/25/2020 0.0453 0.0093 0.0524 0.0000 0.1070 6.16
6/15/2020 6/12/2020 6/26/2020 0.0591 0.0057 0.0445 0.0000 0.1093 5.86
3/13/2020 3/12/2020 3/27/2020 0.0816 0.0021 0.0322 0.0000 0.1159 4.33
12/13/2019 12/12/2019 12/27/2019 0.0090 0.0000 0.1073 0.0000 0.1163 7.23
Distribution Reinvestment and Cash Purchase Plan (“DRIP”) for Common Stockholders of Sprott Focus Trust, Inc.

Registered Common Stockholders of the Fund automatically participate in its Distribution Reinvestment and Cash Purchase Plans, which allows participants to reinvest their dividend and capital gains distributions and to make optional cash purchases of shares directly through Equiserve, the Fund’s Plan Agent, on a quarterly basis. The DRIP also allows stockholders to deposit certificates representing their shares with Computershare for safekeeping.

Drip Plan Information

For additional details, please contact Computershare the plan agent administering the DRIP Program, by clicking this link or call: Within the U.S., U.S. territories and Canada 800.426.5523 or Outside the U.S., U.S. territories and Canada 781.575.2879.

Sources of Distributions Notifications

 

Manager Commentary

Whitney George in the Media 

February 13, 2023
Value Investor Insight: From the Ground Up

July 30, 2021
Barron's: Closed-End Funds Are on Congress’ Radar. What Investors Should Know.

December 29, 2020
The Best Gold Stocks Have These Things in Common

October 23, 2020
2020 vs. 1968: This Too Shall Pass

May 11, 2020
Investing in a Crisis

April 2020
Record High Prices are Coming: Analysts

How to Invest

Sprott Focus Trust trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol FUND. You may purchase shares of Sprott Focus Trust through:

  • Authorized financial intermediaries including securities dealers and full service broker-dealers
  • The Fund’s distributor, Sprott Global Resource Investments; contact 800.477.7853
  • Registered Common Stockholders of the Fund automatically participate in its Distribution Reinvestment and Cash Purchase Plan, which allows participants to reinvest their dividend and capital gains distributions and to make optional cash purchases of shares directly through Equiserve, the Fund’s Plan Agent, on a quarterly basis. The DRIP also allows stockholders to deposit certificates representing their shares with Computershare for safekeeping.
FUND 
CUSIP: 85208J109

Literature

Financial Reports
Disclosure Information

 

Quarterly Portfolio Holdings
Prospectus

 

Press Releases

 

1 Average Market Cap is a  weighted calculation that uses each portfolio holding’s market cap in a way designed to not skew the effect of very large or small holdings; instead, it aims to better identify the portfolio’s center, which Sprott believes offers a more accurate measure of average market cap than a simple mean or median.
2 Since Inception (SI) date is 11/1/1996. FUND was formerly Royce Focus Trust, from its inception to March 8, 2015 and was managed by Royce & Associaties, LLC. Effective March 9, 2015, Royce Focus Trust became Sprott Focus Trust.  
3 These returns are not annualized.
4 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 Fund’s P/E Ratio calculation excludes companies with zero or negative earnings (6.9% of holdings as of 12/31/2022).
5 The Price-to-Book, or P/B, Ratio is calculated by dividing a company’s share price by its book value per share. This weighted calculation evaluates a portfolio as if it were a single stock and measures it overall. It compares the total market value of the portfolio to the portfolio’s share in the earnings or book value, as the case may be, of its underlying stocks.
6 Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) is calculated by dividing the estimated net profit by the sum of the estimated shareholder equity and total debt of the security.
7 Leverage is calculated by dividing the estimated Total Assets by Total Equity of a security.

The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate, and shares, if redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (the “Fund”) is a closed-end investment company whose shares of common stock trade on the Nasdaq Select Market. Closed-end funds, unlike open-end funds, are not continuously offered. After the initial public offering, shares of closed-end funds are sold on the open market through a stock exchange. For additional information, contact your financial advisor or call 1.203.656.2430. Investment policies, management fees and other matters of interest to prospective investors may be found in the Fund’s prospectus and shareholder reports.

The Fund is a closed-end registered investment company whose shares of common stock may trade at a discount to their net asset value. Shares of the Fund’s common stock are also subject to the market risks of investing in the underlying portfolio securities held by the Fund.

Russell Investment Group is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks, and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell® is a trademark of Russell Investment Group. The Russell 3000 Total Return Index measures the performance of the largest 3,000 U.S. companies. The performance of an index does not represent exactly any particular investment, as you cannot invest directly in an index.

Sector weightings are determined using the Bloomberg Industry Classification Standard (“BICS”).

NOT FDIC INSURED • MAY LOSE VALUE • NOT BANK GUARANTEED

Sprott Asset Management LP is the investment manager to the Fund. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer or solicitation by anyone in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation. Prospective investors who are not resident in Canada or the United States should contact their financial advisor to determine whether securities of the Fund may be lawfully sold in their jurisdiction.

© 2023 Sprott Inc. All rights reserved.

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