Fund Evaluator:
Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins (BAFYX)Best Performing in Small Blend Over the Last Year
| 42.0% | Royce Micro-Cap Invmt (RYOTX) |
| 35.0% | River Oak Discovery (RIVSX) |
| 31.8% | Goldman Sachs Small Cap Eq Insghts Inv (GDSTX) |
| 30.0% | Vanguard Strategic Small-Cap Equity Inv (VSTCX) |
| 30.0% | AQR Small Cap Multi-Style N (QSMNX) |
Fund Details
Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins Overview
Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins (BAFYX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Blend fund. Brown Advisory Funds launched the fund in 2021.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of small-cap companies. Under normal conditions, Brown Advisory LLC (the “Adviser”) seeks to achieve the fund’s investment objective by investing at least 80% of the value of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of small domestic companies that satisfy the fund’s Fundamental and Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) criteria.
About Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins (BAFYX)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.97 years: Timothy Hathaway (2021), Christopher Berrier (2023), J. David Schuster (2023), Emily Dwyer (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 1000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins has 67 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 25.8% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins has 1.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 94.2%. There is 1.5% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins has 4.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $109 million in total assets, which is below the $683 million average for the Small Blend category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
BAFYX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Blend category. Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins has an expense ratio of 0.94%, which is 10% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins has a portfolio turnover rate of 43%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 66% for the Small Blend category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins returned -2.4%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Small Blend category had an average return of -0.1%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins has a trailing yield of 0.06%, which is below the 0.43% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 13.4%, 4.6 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 14.8% over the past year (grade of F) and 12.6% over the past three years (grade of D).
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BAFYX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| BAFYX Return (NAV) | -2.4% | 0.0% | 14.8% | 12.6% | na | na |
| BAFYX Grade | F | F | F | D | na | na |
| +/- Category | -2.3% | -2.8% | -6.2% | -2.2% | na | na |
| Small Blend Avg | -0.1% | 2.8% | 21.0% | 14.8% | 7.2% | 10.2% |
| BAFYX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.2% | 0.5% | na | na |
BAFYX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| BAFYX Return (NAV) | 13.4% | 9.6% | 7.0% | 17.5% | -20.0% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| BAFYX Grade | F | B | F | B | D | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -4.6% | 1.6% | -4.4% | 1.0% | -3.6% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Small Blend Avg | 18.1% | 8.0% | 11.5% | 16.6% | -16.5% | 23.3% | 14.4% | 25.5% | -11.9% | 13.9% | 20.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 17.2% |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.41 - High |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.93 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (23% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.07 |
| R-Squared: | 64% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.1% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $119 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 109 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 43% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 4.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Hathaway Timothy (2021), Dwyer Emily (2021), Berrier Christopher (2023), Schuster J. David (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 67 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 25.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 1.5% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 94.2% |
| Foreign Stock: | 1.5% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 4.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Brown Advisory Funds |
| Phone Number: | 800-540-6807 |
| Website: | www.brownadvisoryfunds.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | September 30, 2021 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.94% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.04% |
| Share Class: | Brown Advisory Sustainable Sml-Cp Cr Ins |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |