Fund Evaluator:

William Blair Global Leaders N Overview

William Blair Global Leaders N (WGGNX) is an actively managed International Equity Global Large-Stock Growth fund. William Blair launched the fund in 2007.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in a portfolio of equity securities, including common stocks and other forms of equity investments (e.g., securities convertible into common stocks), issued by companies of all sizes worldwide that the Adviser believes have above-average growth, profitability and quality characteristics.

About William Blair Global Leaders N (WGGNX)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.01 years: Hugo Scott-Gall (2021), Chandan Khanna (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI ACWI NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. William Blair Global Leaders N has 55 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 40.5% 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.

William Blair Global Leaders N is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. William Blair Global Leaders N has 40.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 55.9%. There is 40.7% 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). William Blair Global Leaders N has 3.5% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 million in total assets, which is below the $964 million average for the Global Large-Stock Growth 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.

WGGNX 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 William Blair Global Leaders N expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Global Large-Stock Growth category. William Blair Global Leaders N has an expense ratio of 1.15%, which is 3% 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. William Blair Global Leaders N has a portfolio turnover rate of 81%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 46% for the Global Large-Stock Growth category.

Recently, in the month of August 2026, William Blair Global Leaders N returned 3.2%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Global Large-Stock Growth category had an average return of 2.2%. 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.

William Blair Global Leaders N has a trailing yield of 0.91%, which is above the 0.25% 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.

William Blair Global Leaders N Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 9.4%, 1.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 15.1% over the past year (grade of B), 12.8% over the past three years (grade of D) and 2.8% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 10.6% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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