Fund Evaluator:

Causeway International Small Cap Instl Overview

Causeway International Small Cap Instl (CIISX) is an actively managed International Equity Foreign Small/Mid Value fund. Causeway launched the fund in 2014.

The investment seeks long-term growth of capital. The fund invests primarily in common stocks of companies with smaller market capitalizations located in developed and emerging markets outside the U.S. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations. Smaller market capitalization companies have market capitalizations that do not exceed the highest market capitalization of a company included in the fund's benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Small Cap Index (Gross), at the time of purchase.

About Causeway International Small Cap Instl (CIISX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.30 years: Arjun Jayaraman (2014), MacDuff Kuhnert (2014), Joe Gubler (2014), Ryan Myers (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI ACWI Ex USA IMI NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and MSCI ACWI Ex USA Small NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Causeway International Small Cap Instl has 162 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 18.0% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Causeway International Small Cap Instl is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. Causeway International Small Cap Instl has 97.8% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.5%. There is 97.8% 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). Causeway International Small Cap Instl has 1.7% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $287 million in total assets, which is below the $845 million average for the Foreign Small/Mid Value 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.

CIISX 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 Causeway International Small Cap Instl expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Foreign Small/Mid Value category. Causeway International Small Cap Instl has an expense ratio of 1.10%, which is 12% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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. Causeway International Small Cap Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 117%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 42% for the Foreign Small/Mid Value category.

Recently, in the month of August 2026, Causeway International Small Cap Instl returned 7.8%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Foreign Small/Mid Value category had an average return of 4.6%. 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.

Causeway International Small Cap Instl has a trailing yield of 3.61%, which is above the 2.74% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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.

Causeway International Small Cap Instl Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 25.4%, 10.2 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 33.1% over the past year (grade of A), 25.5% over the past three years (grade of B) and 15.9% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 12.6% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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