Fund Evaluator:

Columbia Contrarian Core S Overview

Columbia Contrarian Core S (SMGEX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Large Blend fund. Columbia Threadneedle launched the fund in 2024.

The investment seeks total return, consisting of long-term capital appreciation and current income. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (including the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks. In addition, under normal circumstances, it invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of U.S. companies that have large market capitalizations (generally over $2 billion) that the fund's investment manager believes are undervalued and have the potential for long-term growth and current income. The fund may also invest up to 20% of its net assets in foreign securities.

About Columbia Contrarian Core S (SMGEX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.74 years: Michael Welter (2026), Nicholas Smith (2026), Harvey Liu (2026), Guy Pope (2005). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Russell 1000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Columbia Contrarian Core S has 80 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 40.0% 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.

Columbia Contrarian Core S is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Columbia Contrarian Core S has 1.8% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 97.0%. There is 1.8% 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). Columbia Contrarian Core S has 1.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is below the $6 billion average for the Large 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.

SMGEX 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 Columbia Contrarian Core S expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Large Blend category. Columbia Contrarian Core S has an expense ratio of 0.73%, 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. Columbia Contrarian Core S has a portfolio turnover rate of 48%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 48% for the Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Columbia Contrarian Core S returned 1.0%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Large Blend category had an average return of 0.4%. 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.

Columbia Contrarian Core S has a trailing yield of 0.30%, which is below the 0.56% 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.

Columbia Contrarian Core S Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 9.7%, 0.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 17.0% over the past year (grade of D), 18.9% over the past three years (grade of B) and 12.4% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 14.6% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).

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