Black Bear Value Fund's performance update for the month ended April 30, 2025.
Dear Partners and Friends,
- Black Bear Value Fund returned -1.5%, net, in April and is -2.8% YTD.
- The HFRI Value Index returned -0.2% in April and is -0.7% YTD.
- The S&P 500 returned -0.7% in April and is -4.9% YTD.
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Please note returns could vary depending on your time of investment.
As we shared with the WSJ, we substantially increased our short/hedge book both leading into and subsequent to the tariff announcement. This meaningfully protected the portfolio throughout the month and operated as expected. In the latter days of April and early May we have seen a large rebound in many popular stocks. Our increased short exposure will hurt performance in a situation like this.
Nonetheless I think this is the prudent move as the potential impacts of the tariff/trade policy have yet to be felt and are underappreciated. As I read various Company earnings reports there seems to be a combination of business slowing down and uncertainty. It would be hard to make capital decisions as a CEO if I didn't know the rules I was expected to follow. Much like inflation, when the tariff genie has been let out of the lamp it's hard to put back in. I think our prudent positioning will reward us as we own cheap/well-run businesses and are short businesses where a lot of good news is priced in.
Thank you for your trust and support,
Adam
Black Bear Value Fund
