N-CSR 1 fmif-ncsra.htm FMI COMMON STOCK FUND ANNUAL REPORT 9/30/13 fmif-ncsra.htm
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549


FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES




Investment Company Act file number 811-07831

FMI Funds, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)


100 East Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 2200
Milwaukee, WI  53202

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Ted D. Kellner
Fiduciary Management, Inc.
100 East Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 2200
Milwaukee, WI  53202
 
 
         (Name and address of agent for service)

(414) 226-4555

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


Date of fiscal year end:  September 30


Date of reporting period: September 30, 2013



 
 

 

Item 1. Reports to Stockholders.
 
 
 
 

 
ANNUAL REPORT
September 30, 2013
 
FMI
Focus Fund
(fmiox)
 
A NO-LOAD
MUTUAL FUND
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 

 


FMI Focus Fund
October 1, 2013
 
Richard J. Whiting   Richard E. Lane, CFA   Aaron J. Garcia, CFA   Faraz Farzam, CFA
Investment Management Team

Dear Fellow Shareholders:
For the quarter ended September 30, 2013, the FMI Focus Fund reported a gain of 12.57% compared to a gain of 10.21% by the Russell 2000 Index and a gain of 12.80% by the Russell 2000 Growth Index.  For calendar year-to-date, the FMI Focus Fund reported a gain of 31.86% compared to a gain of 27.69% by the Russell 2000 Index and a gain of 32.47% by the Russell 2000 Growth Index.
 
The equity markets are proving to be surprisingly strong given relatively
 

THE VALUE OF A $10,000 INVESTMENT IN THE FMI FOCUS FUND FROM ITS INCEPTION (12/16/96)
TO 9/30/13 AS COMPARED TO THE RUSSELL 2000(1) AND THE RUSSELL 2000 GROWTH(2)
 
   
FMI Focus Fund
$126,304
 
 
 
Russell 2000(1)
$38,199
Russell 2000 Growth(2)
$28,014
 
   

Results From Fund Inception (12/16/96) Through 9/30/13
     
Annualized Total
Annualized Total
Annualized Total Return*
 
Total Return*
Total Return* For the
Return* For the 5
Return* For the 10
Through 9/30/13 From
 
Last 3 Months
Year Ended 9/30/13
Years Ended 9/30/13
Years Ended 9/30/13
Fund Inception 12/16/96
FMI Focus Fund
12.57%
38.91%
14.85%
10.71%
16.31%
Russell 2000
10.21%
30.06%
11.15%
9.64%
  8.31%
Russell 2000 Growth
12.80%
33.07%
13.17%
9.85%
  6.33%

(1)
 
The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index which comprises the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization.
(2)
 
The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

*
 
Total return includes change in share prices and in each case includes reinvestments of any dividends, interest and capital gain distributions.  Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results.  The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.  Current performance of the Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.  Performance data current to the most recent month end may be obtained by visiting www.fmifunds.com.  The graph and the table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.  As of the Fund’s Prospectus dated January 31, 2013, the FMI Focus Fund’s annual operating expense ratio is 1.26%.

 

 
 

 
modest underlying economic growth.  There has been a certain “Goldilocks” feel to the markets; “not too hot” such that the Federal Reserve eliminates quantitative easing and “not too cold” such that corporate earnings disappoint.  Mixed with enormous liquidity looking for a home, and one has “the perfect porridge”?  (Note the use of the question mark as opposed the emphasis sign.)  This is a strange brew, or stew, or whatever analogy one prefers!
 
This is the fourth year in a row we have been unable to break out of a 1.5% to 2% economic growth.  As we don’t see a significant pick-up anytime soon, we continue to emphasize those industries and companies enjoying more robust dynamics.  As we have pointed out in the past few shareholder letters, the housing and auto industries continue to benefit from pent up demand; the energy infrastructure build out continues; the multi-year aerospace cycle still has a way to go; and the so-called industrial renaissance here in the U.S. is still in play.  As such, our portfolio has not changed much and is still focused on these growing areas of the economy.  Below, Rick Whiting reminds investors why we are still committed to housing investments.  Aaron Garcia and Rick Lane review two of our most leveraged housing plays, and Faraz Farzam reviews a new portfolio holding Tumi Holdings.
 
The Housing Recovery Continues – Rick Whiting
 
There is a fine line between staying the course and being stubborn, yet the outcomes between the two can be considerably divergent.  Because markets are rarely linear, we are compelled to regularly challenge ourselves to re-underwrite our thinking.  Are the price moves in our stocks the product of the saw-tooth nature of stock charts and economic fundamentals, or do they represent a substantive change in the outlook?
 
In our spring 2013 shareholder letter, we discussed our enthusiasm for the recovery in housing and detailed several of the companies we own to avail ourselves of the strength in that market.  Since that time, 30-year fixed rate mortgages, which had fallen from roughly 5% to 3-½% (2011 to the first quarter of 2013), jumped 100 basis points to 4½% before backing off again during the summer months.  Investors gave many of the homebuilder stocks a 25% haircut.  While the Fund did not participate in these stocks directly because of our market cap and valuation disciplines, our list of housing related names did feel pressure.
 
We needed to step back from the fray and ask ourselves if we should stay the course by investing in the housing recovery with 30-year mortgage rates potentially remaining above 4%.  Many of us remember the “abysmal” housing start numbers from 1982 when home mortgage rates were between 18% and 19%:  narrowly above one million homes!  A full 100-150,000 more units than the 850-900,000 run rate for 2013 and ahead of the 750,000 unit August run rate of 2012.  It is quite normal to see housing starts fluctuate with economic cycles.  Following recessions in 1966, 1975, 1981 and 1991, housing start numbers hit their cyclical low ebb at between 800-900,000 units depending upon the year.  The recession of 2009 was no traditional recession.  The Great Recession, as it has been coined, was unprecedented by the history of the last 75 years.  And the damage to housing starts was similarly singular with only 478,000 homes started in 2009.
 
Hammers, nails and economics aside, our country plugs along.  Our country’s population grew by 2.7 million in the last year, in keeping with growth rates prior to the Great Recession.  Yet, while our population has continued to grow, the number of household formations has averaged about one-third of the long-term rate.  Perhaps we will be several economic cycles away from the 1997-2007 housing start run rate of 1.5 million units, but we have a significant deficit of housing units in inventory, and we are not building nearly enough to accommodate both population growth and dormant household formations.
 
Hence, to the extent that a narrow band of fluctuation in 30-year mortgage rates can result in an outsized fluctuation in stock prices, we consider it opportunistic rather than stubborn to remain invested in the housing recovery.  Rest assured, we will not sit pat.  Since we last wrote on the subject in the spring, we have harvested positions in Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK), Leggett & Platt, Inc. (LEG) and Astec Industries, Inc. (ASTE).  We have also initiated a position in Stock Building Supply Holdings, Inc. (STCK) while holding, and in some cases, increasing positions in Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (BECN), Regal Beloit Corp. (RBC), MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG), Mobile Mini, Inc. (MINI), Masco Corp. (MAS) and Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (ROC).  Indirect beneficiaries to the housing market in the portfolio include Zions Bancorporation (ZION), Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC), Winnebago Industries, Inc. (WGO) and Brunswick Corp. (BC).
 
MGIC Investment Corporation (MTG) – Rick Lane, CFA
 
Speaking of housing plays, MGIC, or as we affectionately refer to it as “Magic”, is the portfolio holding most leveraged to housing.  Long-time investors in the Fund will remember that MGIC is a Milwaukee-based insurance company.  Indeed, it is located right across the street from the Broadview Advisors’ office.
 

 
2

 
MGIC’s insurance policies insure lenders against mortgage defaults.  While the policy typically covers the first 25% of the mortgage (benefitting the originator) if the borrower defaults, the premium is usually paid by the borrower.  Known as private mortgage insurance or PMI, the industry was developed in the 1950’s by Milwaukeean Max Karl, MGIC’s founder, to facilitate first-time home buyers who lacked a sufficient down payment, typically 20%.
 
During the last housing boom, which we will define as largely 2004-2007, lax lending standards and outright fraud eventually contributed to the 2008 financial collapse.  No industry was harder hit than the PMI industry given its first loss position on mortgage defaults.  Nearly every player, MGIC included, appeared close to the brink.  Five years and several very dilutive capital raises later, we believe MGIC is rising from the proverbial ashes.
 
We have seen this cycle several times now.  During the 1970’s, MGIC was close to going under only to recover from a single digit stock price to close at a price near $80.  During the 1980’s, the company was acquired, and ultimately, its parent company actually did go bankrupt.  The company was subsequently purchased by Northwestern Mutual, reorganized, and then went public in the early 1990’s.  MGIC enjoyed another substantial run in its stock price until 2004.
 
We believe a good case can be made that the third big cycle in MGIC may be developing, although admittedly it is too early to understand or predict the magnitude.  The dilution from a tripling in the number of current shares outstanding will temper the gains.  That notwithstanding, our research suggests the company’s stock price could increase significantly once the “pig in the python” losses from the 2004-2007 books of business run their course.  This could happen perhaps as early as 2015.  Our analysis assumes a return to the historical expense and loss ratios of 18%-20% and 40%, respectively (expenses and losses as a percent of premium revenue), on a book of business perhaps 10 percent larger than today.  Several wild cards could make things much more interesting.
 
There are three main factors that support our positive outlook on MGIC.  First, Congress is trying to decide what the future of the housing market will look like and may lean more on private market solutions while shrinking Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA.  Already, FHA, the government quasi-equivalent to PMI, has raised prices several times in an effort to effectively shift more business to PMI.  FHA is facing big losses, in our opinion, and Congress desires a smaller FHA.  In the past, PMI enjoyed a better than two-to-one market share advantage versus the FHA.  In recent years, due to the financial stress on the PMI’s and Fannie and Freddie, those market shares reversed.  One never knows the outcome when the government is involved, but our work suggests PMI could fight its way back to those historical market shares.
 
Second, household formations, as discussed in the previous section, have been depressed for some five years, so pent up demand combined with an improving jobs outlook could yield upside to our purchase home mortgage base-case.  Given the fixed cost nature of this business, plenty of leverage exists once the top line (revenue) starts growing again.  As well, rising interest rates have two salutary effects on MGIC, higher interest income on the $5 billion dollar investment portfolio and higher persistency on the company’s insurance policies (again, not included in our base-case).
 
Third, losses on the 2009-2013 books of business are proving to be considerably lower than the company’s pricing models and well below historical averages.  This means substantially higher profitability.  Once the losses from 2004-2007 run their course, we believe a high level of profitably will become apparent and the company may command a premium valuation.
 
Of course wild cards exist in the other direction as well.  We still don’t know what required capital levels will be.  As it stands, MGIC and the PMI industry have sufficient capital but we can’t rule out the regulatory agencies and Fannie and Freddie deciding the industry needs more.  We have factored in a conservative 18 or 19 to 1 risk to capital assumption into our base-case, a somewhat higher level of capital than exists today.
 
As we always caution our individual investors, this is a work in progress.  Certain developments over the next year may increase or decrease our conviction in MGIC.
 
Mobile Mini, Inc. (MINI) – Aaron Garcia, CFA
 
Mobile Mini is a long-term investment in our portfolio in which we recently took a larger stake.  After enjoying a strong bout of performance to start 2013, the stock pulled back over the summer with many other housing-related names.  Mobile Mini provides mobile storage solutions, such as mobile offices and portable storage, utilizing a proprietary locking mechanism to a variety of end markets and rents these containers on a monthly basis.  We believe the business model is extremely attractive with strong incremental margins on the utilization of its national fleet.  The business has high returns on capital due to the low cost of maintenance on the containers and very modest capital intensity.
 

 
3

 
The 2008 recession was particularly hard on Mobile Mini.  There was a drop-off in demand in the commercial and residential real estate markets which were strong customers in the previous cycle.  However, as we are seeing a pickup in construction demand, we believe Mobile Mini should be poised to increase margins back up to normalized levels through increasing fleet utilization, which is still low.  Specifically, we believe the pickup in construction demand is beneficial because the containers make excellent temporary secure storage for valuable equipment that contractors need to secure, and the mobile offices are very useful as contractor headquarters.
 
Mobile Mini recently brought on board new CEO, Erik Olsson, who replaced Steven Bunger.  Erik Olsson sees multiple opportunities to increase earnings-per-share growth.  He intends to bring on a new head of sales to focus on national accounts, which is a heretofore untapped opportunity.  He also intends to drive shareholder return through buy backs and margin expansion.  While we feel that the company has done a fine job recovering from the recession, we are excited by the growth opportunity.
 
Tumi Holdings, Inc. (TUMI) – Faraz Farzam, CFA
 
Over the past 15 years a simple but highly effective investment strategy for our Fund has been to buy great brand businesses.  Perhaps the best example of this was our highly profitable investment in Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) early in 2002.  When we bought shares of Polo, the stock was trading in the low teens and the business was generating less than $2.5 billion in revenue globally. Today, Polo’s business has multiplied to $7 billion dollars in revenue with a $160 stock price.  At the time, Wall Street didn’t care much for Polo.  The company was only followed by a handful of analysts and most were not recommending the stock.  However, we saw something different.  Clearly Polo Ralph Lauren was an iconic American brand.  However, the brand was much bigger than the actual business.  To put things in perspective, at the time The Gap Stores, another iconic American brand was generating $13 billion in revenue.  The question to us was can this highly desirable, aspirational, globally-recognized brand close the gap between its brand image and perception with the actual business?  The answer was in the strength of the management team. Once we were comfortable the right team was running the operations we began purchasing the stock.  While this was a great stock for us, the question today is what is the next Polo?  In the third quarter, we found what we think may be a very similar situation in Tumi Holdings, Inc.
 
Here again, is another case of a brand that is much bigger than the business.  Tumi is a premier global accessory and travel brand.  The company designs and manufactures very sophisticated, high quality, travel bags, briefcases and small leather goods, mainly for men.  The brand is global, aspirational, and highly desirable.
 
When the company announced its intention to go public in early 2012, based on our knowledge of the brand, we initially thought that it might be close to a $1 billion business.  The reality surprised us!  In 2012, Tumi generated less than $400 million in revenue.  Like the vast majority of IPOs, the stock was highly overvalued and we did not participate at that time.  However, this past spring the business stumbled, the stock price declined and we took a position.
 
The company reported slightly disappointing results relative to very high expectations and simultaneously began investing in an e-commerce platform.  This combination of slowing sales and increase in investments spooked investors and the stock sold off to much more palatable valuation levels.  Although we did not participate in the IPO, we followed Tumi closely for over a year and got to know management and the long-term strategy for growing the business to $1.5 billion.  The management team has a strong track record managing previous consumer branded companies and, we believe, was making all the right long-term decisions for the health of the brand and the growth of the business.
 
Although the near-term sales have slowed for Tumi, sales have also slowed for almost every retailer and consumer discretionary company this summer.  This gives us confidence that the issues at Tumi are not specific to the company.  However, it is possible that we are not out of the woods in the short-term.  Broad slowdowns in sales trends like the one we seem to be in take time to work out.  On top of that, the investments the company is making in their online business are not easy, but we believe they are the right strategic moves.
 
While we are confident in the long-term opportunity, we have chosen to tread carefully in the short-term.  We have established a small position, but we are very ready to increase our stake at either the right price or once we see the sales environment improve.  We are confident that Tumi is a great brand.
 

 
4

 
Potential Fund Reorganization
 
The FMI Funds, Inc. Board of Directors voted on September 27th to approve a shareholder proxy to recommend that the Fund be reorganized, with Broadview Advisors LLC becoming the Advisor to FMIOX. Proxies will be mailed to shareholders in mid-October.  If approved by shareholders, we will rename the Fund, the Broadview Opportunity Fund. There will not be any significant policy or portfolio changes.
 
FMI Funds, Inc. (the “Corporation”) has filed a preliminary proxy statement and other preliminary proxy materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding, among other things, the proposed reorganization of the FMI Focus Fund.  The definitive proxy statement will be sent to shareholders seeking their approval of the proposed reorganization agreement at a special meeting of shareholders.  Shareholders are urged to read the definitive proxy statement and any other relevant document because they will contain important information about the Fund and the proposed reorganization.  Shareholders may obtain a free copy of the definitive proxy statement and other documents filed by the Corporation with the SEC at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.  The definitive proxy statement and other related SEC documents may also be obtained free of charge by directing a request to the Corporation at 1-800-811-5311 (toll-free). By visiting http://www.fmifunds.com, or by writing to:
 
 
FMI Funds, Inc.
 
100 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2200
 
Milwaukee, WI 53202
In addition to the Corporation, the Corporation’s directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation from the Corporation’s shareholder of proxies in favor of approval of the proposed reorganization agreement and election of the Corporation’s director nominees.  Information regarding the participants and their interests are contained in the preliminary proxy statement filed with the SEC in connection with the special meeting of shareholders.
 
Distribution
 
Our Board of Directors has declared a distribution effective October 31, 2013 of $0.85619 per share from short-term capital gains which will be treated as ordinary income; and $2.70012 per share from long-term capital gains, payable October 31, 2013 to shareholders of record on October 30, 2013.
 
We conclude our letter by saying thank you for your investment in the FMI Focus Fund.
       
Richard E. Lane, CFA
Faraz Farzam, CFA
Aaron J. Garcia, CFA
Richard J. Whiting
Investment Management Team
 
_______________
 
Securities named in the Letter to Shareholders or in the Management Discussion, but not listed in the Schedule of Investments, are not held in the Fund as of the date of this disclosure.  Portfolio holdings are subject to change without notice and are not intended as recommendations of individual securities.  This report is not authorized for use as an offer of sale or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of the Fund unless accompanied or preceded by the Fund’s current prospectus.
 
Risks associated with investing in the Fund are: Stock Market Risk, Small and Medium Capitalization Companies Risks, Value Investing Risk, Leverage Risk, Options Writing and Selling Risk, and Short Sales Risk.  For details regarding these risks, please refer to the Fund’s Prospectus or Summary Prospectus dated January 31, 2013.
 
As of the Fund’s Prospectus dated January 31, 2013, the Fund’s annual operating expense ratio is 1.26%.
 
For more information about the FMI Focus Fund, call 1-800-811-5311 for a free Prospectus or Summary Prospectus.  Please read these Prospectuses carefully to consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses, before investing or sending money.  These Prospectuses contain this and more information about the FMI Focus Fund.  Please read the Prospectus or Summary Prospectus carefully before investing.
 
Distributed by Rafferty Capital Markets, LLC
 

 
100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 2200 • Milwaukee, WI  53202 • 414-226-4555
www.fmifunds.com




 
5

 
FMI Focus Fund
COST DISCUSSION
 

Industry Sectors as of September 30, 2013
 
 
 
As a shareholder of the Fund you incur ongoing costs, including management fees and other Fund expenses. You do not incur transaction costs such as sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, reinvested dividends, or other distributions; redemption fees; and exchange fees because the Fund does not charge these fees. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in FMI Focus Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.
 
The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period from April 1, 2013 to September 30, 2013.
 
Actual Expenses
The first line of the table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.
 
In addition to the costs highlighted and described below, the only Fund transaction costs you might currently incur would be wire fees ($15 per wire), if you choose to have proceeds from a redemption wired to your bank account instead of receiving a check. Additionally, U.S. Bank charges an annual processing fee ($15) if you maintain an IRA account with the Fund. To determine your total costs of investing in the Fund, you would need to add any applicable wire or IRA processing fees you’ve incurred during the period to the costs provided in the example at the end of this article.
 
Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes
The second line of the table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.
 
Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), redemption fees or exchange fees. Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.
 
 
Beginning
Ending
Expenses Paid
 
Account Value
Account Value
During Period*
 
4/01/13
9/30/13
4/01/13-9/30/13
FMI Focus Fund Actual
$1,000.00
$1,148.40
$6.79
Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)
$1,000.00
$1,018.75
$6.38
 
*
Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio 1.26%, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183/365 (to reflect the one-half year period between April 1, 2013 and September 30, 2013).

 

 
6

 
FMI Focus Fund
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE
 

 
Fiscal 2013 was a very strong year on an absolute and relative basis.  Industrial and consumer discretionary related portfolio holdings were the most significant contributors to performance lead by MDC Partners Inc. (MDCA), Fifth and Pacific Companies, Inc. (FNP), Winnebago Industries, Inc. (WGO), Brunswick Corp. (BC), Hexcel Corp. (HXL), Mobile Mini, Inc. (MINI) and Crane Co. (CR).  Information technology and healthcare holdings also contributed both relative to our benchmarks as well as on an absolute basis. Molex Inc. (MOLX) was bought out at nearly a 50% premium to market, Cree, Inc. (CREE), MedAssets Inc. (MDAS), Omnicare, Inc (OCR) and PAREXEL International Corp. (PRXL) were all contributors.
 
Generally speaking, the Fund’s holdings did well across the board as fears of an economic slowdown subsided and economically sensitive stocks bounced back from a weak summer. The Fund was generally overweight in the strongest areas of the market which clearly helped performance. Other standout holdings included Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. NV (CBI), Ciena Corp. (CIEN), Sealed Air Corp. (SEE), Informatica Corp. (INFA), The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) and Leggett & Platt, Inc. (LEG).
 

AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN
1-Year
5-Year
10-Year
38.91%
14.85%
10.71%
 

 
     
 
COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN
 
 
FMI Focus Fund, Russell 2000 Index(1) and Russell 2000 Growth Index(2)
 
     
   
     
 
Past performance does not predict future performance.  The graph and the table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.
 
 
(1)
The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index which comprises the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization.
 
 
(2)
The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
 
 
An investment cannot be made directly into an index.
 
     

 
 
7

 
FMI Focus Fund
STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
September 30, 2013


ASSETS:
     
     Investments in securities, at value (cost $616,244,670)
  $ 830,202,111  
     Receivables from shareholders for purchases
    7,265,552  
     Receivable from investments sold
    770,848  
     Dividends receivable
    391,189  
     Prepaid expenses
    30,979  
     Cash
    17,788,023  
               Total assets
  $ 856,448,702  
LIABILITIES:
       
     Payable to brokers for investments purchased
  $ 1,916,041  
     Payable to shareholders for redemptions
    961,356  
     Payable to adviser for management fees
    639,750  
     Other liabilities
    208,468  
               Total liabilities
    3,725,615  
NET ASSETS:
       
     Capital Stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 20,876,148 shares outstanding
  $ 567,671,449  
     Net unrealized appreciation on investments
    213,957,441  
     Accumulated net realized gain on investments
    71,094,197  
               Net assets
    852,723,087  
               Total liabilities and net assets
  $ 856,448,702  
CALCULATION OF NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE:
       
     Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share ($852,723,087 ÷ 20,876,148) shares outstanding)
  $ 40.85  

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this statement.




 
8

 
FMI Focus Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
September 30, 2013


 
Shares
     
Cost
   
Value
 
         
COMMON STOCKS — 89.2% (a)
       
         
COMMERCIAL SERVICES SECTOR — 6.8%
       
     
Advertising/Marketing Services — 4.8%
           
    248,850  
Interpublic Group of Cos. Inc.
  $ 1,102,853     $ 4,275,243  
    1,010,722  
MDC Partners Inc.
    13,622,097       28,280,001  
    446,225  
National CineMedia Inc.
    7,705,791       8,415,803  
              22,430,741       40,971,047  
       
Personnel Services — 2.0%
               
    411,200  
Kforce Inc.
    5,863,096       7,274,128  
    261,043  
Robert Half International Inc.
    7,321,855       10,188,508  
              13,184,951       17,462,636  
                 
CONSUMER DURABLES SECTOR — 4.0%
               
       
Other Consumer Specialties — 1.0%
               
    395,300  
Tumi Holdings Inc.*
    8,719,106       7,965,295  
       
Recreational Products — 3.0%
               
    399,965  
Black Diamond Inc.*
    4,053,836       4,863,574  
    200,900  
Brunswick Corp.
    4,134,346       8,017,919  
    495,036  
Winnebago Industries Inc.*
    4,011,398       12,851,135  
              12,199,580       25,732,628  
                 
CONSUMER NON-DURABLES SECTOR — 2.3%
               
       
Apparel/Footwear — 2.3%
               
    766,028  
Fifth & Pacific Cos. Inc.*
    5,426,545       19,250,284  
                 
CONSUMER SERVICES SECTOR — 1.7%
               
       
Hotels/Resorts/Cruiselines — 1.2%
               
    262,400  
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
    5,930,095       10,044,672  
       
Other Consumer Services — 0.5%
               
    138,700  
HomeAway Inc.*
    3,318,197       3,883,600  
                 
DISTRIBUTION SERVICES SECTOR — 3.4%
               
       
Electronics Distributors — 2.6%
               
    328,892  
Arrow Electronics Inc.*
    10,103,024       15,961,129  
    179,987  
ScanSource Inc.*
    4,978,107       6,227,550  
              15,081,131       22,188,679  
       
Wholesale Distributors — 0.8%
               
    179,787  
Beacon Roofing Supply Inc.*
    4,870,459       6,628,747  
                 
ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 10.8%
               
       
Aerospace & Defense — 4.4%
               
    112,800  
BE Aerospace Inc.*
    5,225,643       8,326,896  
    747,029  
Hexcel Corp.*
    12,134,183       28,984,725  
              17,359,826       37,311,621  
       
Computer Communications — 1.8%
               
    54,602  
F5 Networks Inc.*
    4,106,557       4,682,668  
    513,200  
Fortinet Inc.*
    9,562,655       10,397,432  
              13,669,212       15,080,100  
 

 
9

 
FMI Focus Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013


 
Shares
     
Cost
   
Value
 
             
COMMON STOCKS — 89.2% (a) (Continued)
           
             
ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 10.8% (Continued)
           
     
Electronic Production Equipment — 1.8%
           
    340,000  
MKS Instruments Inc.
  $ 9,182,115     $ 9,040,600  
    180,800  
Veeco Instruments Inc.*
    6,386,160       6,731,184  
              15,568,275       15,771,784  
       
Semiconductors — 1.3%
               
    1,194,100  
ON Semiconductor Corp.*
    9,432,126       8,716,930  
    36,706  
Power Integrations Inc.
    1,201,002       1,987,630  
              10,633,128       10,704,560  
       
Telecommunications Equipment — 1.5%
               
    175,900  
Ciena Corp.*
    2,468,894       4,393,982  
    466,360  
Vocera Communications Inc.*
    7,127,096       8,674,296  
              9,595,990       13,068,278  
ENERGY MINERALS SECTOR — 1.4%
               
       
Oil & Gas Production — 1.4%
               
    92,253  
Unit Corp.*
    4,482,398       4,288,842  
    131,965  
Whiting Petroleum Corp.*
    6,334,024       7,898,105  
              10,816,422       12,186,947  
FINANCE SECTOR — 8.6%
               
       
Finance/Rental/Leasing — 2.1%
               
    529,737  
Mobile Mini Inc.*
    11,122,814       18,042,842  
       
Insurance Brokers/Services — 0.2%
               
    46,775  
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
    1,313,001       2,041,729  
       
Life/Health Insurance — 0.3%
               
    33,400  
Reinsurance Group of America Inc.
    855,371       2,237,466  
       
Major Banks — 0.1%
               
    23,000  
Comerica Inc.
    553,097       904,130  
       
Regional Banks — 4.5%
               
    258,886  
Associated Banc-Corp.
    3,337,405       4,010,144  
    378,740  
CoBiz Financial Inc.
    2,914,148       3,658,628  
    125,838  
Columbia Banking System Inc.
    2,399,538       3,108,199  
    418,400  
First Midwest Bancorp Inc.
    5,440,850       6,322,024  
    238,600  
Hancock Holding Co.
    7,376,284       7,487,268  
    491,500  
Zions Bancorporation
    8,871,596       13,476,930  
              30,339,821       38,063,193  
       
Savings Banks — 0.2%
               
    53,700  
MB Financial Inc.
    1,108,202       1,516,488  
       
Specialty Insurance — 1.2%
               
    1,365,825  
MGIC Investment Corp.*
    4,409,227       9,943,206  
                 
HEALTH SERVICES SECTOR — 8.3%
               
       
Health Industry Services — 6.8%
               
    370,401  
HealthSouth Corp.
    6,791,442       12,771,426  
    1,127,167  
MedAssets Inc.*
    15,727,163       28,652,585  

 

 
10

 
FMI Focus Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013


 
Shares
     
Cost
   
Value
 
             
COMMON STOCKS — 89.2% (a) (Continued)
           
             
HEALTH SERVICES SECTOR — 8.3% (Continued)
           
     
Health Industry Services — 6.8% (Continued)
           
    304,100  
Omnicare Inc.
  $ 11,267,439     $ 16,877,550  
              33,786,044       58,301,561  
       
Hospital/Nursing Management — 1.5%
               
    171,400  
Universal Health Services Inc. - CI B
    10,941,961       12,853,286  
                 
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 5.2%
               
       
Biotechnology — 1.4%
               
    500,560  
Meridian Bioscience Inc.
    9,164,984       11,838,244  
       
Medical Specialties — 3.8%
               
    181,700  
Align Technology Inc.*
    5,485,026       8,743,404  
    119,800  
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.*
    8,683,670       8,341,674  
    1,189,825  
NxStage Medical Inc.*
    14,242,424       15,658,097  
              28,411,120       32,743,175  
INDUSTRIAL SERVICES SECTOR — 3.6%
               
       
Contract Drilling — 1.7%
               
    269,550  
Patterson-UTI Energy Inc.
    4,847,490       5,762,979  
    248,500  
Rowan Cos. PLC*
    7,242,549       9,124,920  
              12,090,039       14,887,899  
       
Engineering & Construction — 1.9%
               
    196,400  
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. N.V.
    4,958,546       13,310,028  
    121,409  
Foster Wheeler AG*
    2,807,394       3,197,913  
              7,765,940       16,507,941  
                 
NON-ENERGY MINERALS SECTOR — 2.4%
               
       
Construction Materials — 1.1%
               
    176,400  
Vulcan Materials Co.
    8,771,013       9,139,284  
       
Other Metals/Minerals — 1.3%
               
    446,473  
U.S. Silica Holdings Inc.
    9,986,138       11,117,178  
                 
PROCESS INDUSTRIES SECTOR — 5.6%
               
       
Chemicals: Major Diversified — 1.5%
               
    244,550  
Celanese Corp.
    8,379,602       12,909,795  
       
Chemicals: Specialty — 1.3%
               
    166,568  
Rockwood Holdings Inc.
    9,785,010       11,143,399  
       
Containers/Packaging — 1.1%
               
    345,300  
Sealed Air Corp.
    6,850,691       9,388,707  
       
Industrial Specialties — 1.7%
               
    344,372  
Polypore International Inc.*
    13,489,541       14,108,921  
                 
PRODUCER MANUFACTURING SECTOR — 14.5%
               
       
Auto Parts: OEM — 2.8%
               
    545,900  
Gentex Corp.
    10,423,994       13,969,581  
    664,449  
Modine Manufacturing Co.*
    7,625,285       9,720,889  
              18,049,279       23,690,470  


 
 
11

 
FMI Focus Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013


 
Shares
     
Cost
   
Value
 
             
COMMON STOCKS — 89.2% (a) (Continued)
           
             
PRODUCER MANUFACTURING SECTOR — 14.5% (Continued)
           
     
Building Products — 2.1%
           
    642,300  
Masco Corp.
  $ 11,399,379     $ 13,668,144  
    315,875  
Stock Building Supply Holdings Inc.*
    4,399,946       4,150,597  
              15,799,325       17,818,741  
       
Electrical Products — 2.2%
               
    216,700  
Greatbatch Inc.*
    4,649,083       7,374,301  
    308,044  
Molex Inc. - Cl A
    5,072,954       11,791,924  
              9,722,037       19,166,225  
       
Industrial Conglomerates — 0.4%
               
    44,577  
SPX Corp.
    2,489,189       3,772,997  
       
Industrial Machinery — 2.0%
               
    183,000  
Kennametal Inc.
    7,044,405       8,344,800  
    124,700  
Regal-Beloit Corp.
    8,418,580       8,470,871  
              15,462,985       16,815,671  
       
Metal Fabrication — 1.4%
               
    394,894  
Dynamic Materials Corp.
    7,207,296       9,153,643  
    173,960  
Gibraltar Industries Inc.*
    2,628,007       2,480,670  
              9,835,303       11,634,313  
       
Miscellaneous Manufacturing — 1.1%
               
    156,100  
Crane Co.
    6,122,351       9,626,687  
       
Trucks/Construction/Farm Machinery — 2.5%
               
    388,018  
Douglas Dynamics Inc.
    5,216,606       5,715,505  
    269,700  
Terex Corp.*
    7,290,027       9,061,920  
    255,467  
Twin Disc Inc.
    6,074,459       6,675,353  
              18,581,092       21,452,778  
RETAIL TRADE SECTOR — 1.6%
               
       
Apparel/Footwear Retail — 1.1%
               
    259,023  
Urban Outfitters Inc.*
    8,094,354       9,524,276  
       
Specialty Stores — 0.5%
               
    78,900  
Hibbett Sports Inc.*
    4,086,334       4,430,235  
                 
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES SECTOR — 7.7%
               
       
Data Processing Services — 0.8%
               
    136,800  
Global Payments Inc.
    5,993,025       6,987,744  
       
Information Technology Services — 1.2%
               
    348,179  
Quality Systems Inc.
    7,853,927       7,565,930  
    99,700  
SciQuest Inc.*
    2,046,243       2,239,262  
              9,900,170       9,805,192  
       
Packaged Software — 5.7%
               
    55,702  
Aspen Technology Inc.*
    1,231,433       1,924,504  
    282,600  
Informatica Corp.*
    8,110,990       11,012,922  
    618,719  
PTC Inc.*
    10,060,186       17,590,181  
    703,300  
TIBCO Software Inc.*
    14,836,055       17,997,447  
              34,238,664       48,525,054  
 

 
12

 
FMI Focus Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013


Shares or Principal Amount
 
Cost
   
Value
 
             
COMMON STOCKS — 89.2% (a) (Continued)
           
             
TRANSPORTATION SECTOR — 1.3%
           
     
Air Freight/Couriers — 1.0%
           
    560,975  
UTI Worldwide Inc.
  $ 8,337,599     $ 8,476,332  
       
Trucking — 0.3%
               
    125,650  
Swift Transportation Co.*
    1,606,489       2,536,874  
       
Total common stocks
    546,245,470       760,202,911  
                         
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 8.2% (a)
               
       
Commercial Paper — 8.2%
               
  $ 10,000,000  
Abbey National North America LLC, 0.09%, due 10/02/13
    9,999,975       9,999,975  
    10,000,000  
Abbey National North America LLC, 0.08%, due 10/03/13
    9,999,956       9,999,956  
    10,000,000  
Abbey National North America LLC, 0.07%, due 10/08/13
    9,999,864       9,999,864  
    10,000,000  
Bank of Tokyo, 0.11%, due 10/01/13
    10,000,000       10,000,000  
    10,000,000  
Bank of Tokyo, 0.09%, due 10/07/13
    9,999,850       9,999,850  
    10,000,000  
Natixis U.S. Finance Co., 0.08%, due 10/04/13
    9,999,933       9,999,933  
    10,000,000  
Natixis U.S. Finance Co., 0.08%, due 10/18/13
    9,999,622       9,999,622  
       
Total commercial paper
    69,999,200       69,999,200  
       
Total short-term investments
    69,999,200       69,999,200  
       
Total investments — 97.4%
  $ 616,244,670       830,202,111  
       
Other assets, less liabilities — 2.6% (a)
            22,520,976  
       
TOTAL NET ASSETS — 100.0%
          $ 852,723,087  

*
 
Non-income producing security.
(a)
 
Percentages for the various classifications relate to net assets.
PLC – Public Limited Company

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this schedule.

 
13

 
FMI Focus Fund
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For the Year Ended September 30, 2013


INCOME:
     
     Dividends
  $ 5,665,605  
     Interest
    60,741  
               Total income
    5,726,346  
EXPENSES:
       
     Management fees
    6,971,351  
     Transfer agent fees
    1,040,606  
     Administration and accounting services
    432,567  
     Printing and postage expense
    139,436  
     Registration fees
    61,719  
     Professional fees
    46,551  
     Board of Directors fees
    38,000  
     Custodian fees
    33,696  
     Other expenses
    48,497  
               Total expenses
    8,812,423  
NET INVESTMENT LOSS
    (3,086,077 )
NET REALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS
    85,160,769  
NET CHANGE IN UNREALIZED APPRECIATION ON INVESTMENTS
    146,688,701  
NET GAIN ON INVESTMENTS
    231,849,470  
NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS
  $ 228,763,393  

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this statement.




 
14

 
FMI Focus Fund
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
For the Years Ended September 30, 2013 and 2012


   
2013
   
2012
 
OPERATIONS:
           
     Net investment loss
  $ (3,086,077 )   $ (1,869,768 )
     Net realized gain on investments
    85,160,769       19,447,084  
     Net increase in unrealized appreciation on investments
    146,688,701       84,926,743  
     Net increase  in net assets from operations
    228,763,393       102,504,059  
                 
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:
               
     Distributions from net realized gains ($0.847 and $1.199 per share, respectively)
    (16,810,686 )     (20,612,169 )
                 
FUND SHARE ACTIVITIES
               
     Proceeds from shares issued (6,268,465 and 7,242,183 shares, respectively)
    223,348,986       216,329,245  
     Net asset value of shares issued in distributions reinvested
               
       (555,062 and 704,646 shares, respectively)
    16,262,495       20,068,950  
     Cost of shares redeemed (6,388,918 and 4,536,577 shares, respectively)
    (217,381,818 )     (134,681,768 )
               Net increase in net assets derived from Fund share activities
    22,229,663       101,716,427  
               TOTAL INCREASE
    234,182,370       183,608,317  
NET ASSETS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR
    618,540,717       434,932,400  
NET ASSETS AT THE END OF THE YEAR (Includes undistributed
               
  net investment loss of $0 and ($1,487,953), respectively)
  $ 852,723,087     $ 618,540,717  

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these statements.




 
15

 
FMI Focus Fund
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(Selected data for each share of the Fund outstanding throughout each year)

 
   
Years Ended September 30,
 
   
2013
   
2012
   
2011
   
2010
   
2009
 
PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE:
                             
Net asset value, beginning of year
  $ 30.26     $ 25.54     $ 26.37     $ 22.72     $ 28.34  
Income from investment operations:
                                       
     Net investment (losses) income
    (0.15 )     (0.10 )     (0.15 )     (0.11 )     0.02  
     Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
    11.59       6.02       (0.68 )     3.79       (0.65 )
Total from investment operations
    11.44       5.92       (0.83 )     3.68       (0.63 )
Less distributions:
                                       
     Distributions from net investment income
                      (0.03 )      
     Distributions from net realized gains
    (0.85 )     (1.20 )                 (4.99 )
Total from distributions
    (0.85 )     (1.20 )           (0.03 )     (4.99 )
Net asset value, end of year
  $ 40.85     $ 30.26     $ 25.54     $ 26.37     $ 22.72  
TOTAL RETURN
    38.91 %     23.48 %     (3.15 %)     16.21 %     3.52 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
                                       
Net assets, end of year (in 000’s $)
    852,723       618,541       434,932       424,027       403,999  
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
    1.26 %     1.26 %     1.26 %     1.30 %     1.40 %
Ratio of net investment (loss) income to average net assets
    (0.44 %)     (0.34 %)     (0.48 %)     (0.47 %)     0.12 %
Portfolio turnover rate
    70 %     55 %     78 %     59 %     58 %
 
The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this statement.




 
16

 
FMI Focus Fund
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
September 30, 2013



(1)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies —
   
The following is a summary of significant accounting policies of the FMI Focus Fund (the “Fund”), a series of FMI Funds, Inc. (the “Company”) which is registered as a diversified, open-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”), as amended. The Company was incorporated under the laws of Maryland on September 5, 1996 and the Fund commenced operations on December 16, 1996. The assets and liabilities of each Fund in the Company are segregated as a shareholder’s interest is limited to the Fund in which the shareholder owns shares. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek capital appreciation principally through investing in common stock.
 
 
(a)
Each security, excluding short-term investments, is valued at the last sale price reported by the principal security exchange on which the issue is traded. Securities that are traded on the Nasdaq Markets are valued at the Nasdaq Official Closing Price or if no sale is reported, at the latest bid price. Securities which are traded over-the-counter are valued at the latest bid price. Securities sold short which are listed on a national securities exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market but which were not traded on the valuation date are valued at the most recent ask price. Unlisted equity securities for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the most recent bid price. Options purchased or written by the Fund are valued at the average of the current bid and asked prices. Securities for which quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined by the investment adviser or the sub-adviser in accordance with procedures approved by the Board of Directors. The fair value of a security is the amount which the Fund might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale. The fair value of a security may differ from the last quoted price and the Fund may not be able to sell a security at the fair value. Market quotations may not be available, for example, if trading in particular securities was halted during the day and not resumed prior to the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. As of September 30, 2013 there were no securities that were internally fair valued. Variable rate demand notes are recorded at par value which approximates market value. Short-term investments with maturities of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost which approximates value. For financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are recorded on the trade date.
 
   
The Fund applies the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” Topic 820 (“ASC 820”), which defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (i.e., the “exit price”) in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In determining fair value, the Fund uses various valuation approaches. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by generally requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are those that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Fund. Unobservable inputs reflect the Fund’s assumptions about the inputs market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The inputs or methodologies used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities.
 
 
 
The fair value hierarchy is categorized into three levels based on the inputs as follows:
 
 
Level 1 —
Valuations based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.
 
 
Level 2 —
Valuations based on quoted prices for similar securities or in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.
 
 
Level 3 —
Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement.
 
 
The following table summarizes the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2013, based on the inputs used to value them:
 
 
Valuation Inputs
 
Investments in Securities
 
 
Level 1 — Common Stocks
  $ 760,202,911  
 
Level 2 — Short-Term Commercial Paper
    69,999,200  
 
Level 3 —
       
         
 
Total
       
      $ 830,202,111  
 
   
It is the Fund’s policy to recognize transfers between levels at the end of the reporting period. There were no transfers between levels during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013.
 
   
See the Schedule of Investments for investments detailed by industry classification.
 
 
(b)
Net realized gains and losses on sales of securities are computed on the identified cost basis.

 

 
17

 
FMI Focus Fund
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
(1)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — (Continued)
 
 
(c)
Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis.
 
 
(d)
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
 
 
(e)
No provision has been made for Federal income taxes since the Fund has elected to be taxed as a “regulated investment company” and intends to distribute substantially all net investment company taxable income and net capital gains to its shareholders and otherwise comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies.
 
 
(f)
The Fund has reviewed all open tax years and major jurisdictions, which include Federal and the state of Maryland, and concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions that would require recognition in the financial statements. Open tax years are those that are open for exam by taxing authorities and, as of September 30, 2013, open Federal tax years include the tax years ended September 30, 2010, through 2013. The Fund has no examinations in progress and is also not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly change in the next twelve months.
 
 
(g)
GAAP requires that permanent differences between income for financial reporting and tax purposes be reclassified in the capital accounts. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, the reclassifications were as follows:

Undistributed Net
Accumulated Net
 
Investment Income
Realized Gain/(Loss)
Paid In Capital
$4,574,030
$(4,574,031)
$1
 
(2)
Investment Adviser and Management Agreement and Transactions With Related Parties —
 
The Fund has a management agreement with Fiduciary Management, Inc. (“FMI”), with whom certain officers and directors of the Fund are affiliated, to serve as investment adviser and manager. Under the terms of the current agreement, the Fund will pay FMI a monthly management fee at an annual rate of 1.00% of the daily net assets. The Fund is responsible for paying its proportionate share of the compensation, benefits and expenses of its Chief Compliance Officer. For administrative convenience, FMI initially makes these payments and is later reimbursed by the Fund.
 
FMI entered into a sub-advisory agreement with Broadview Advisors, LLC, with whom a certain director of the Fund is affiliated, to assist it in the day-to-day management of the Fund. Broadview Advisors, LLC, determines which securities will be purchased, retained or sold for the Fund. FMI pays Broadview Advisors, LLC 0.85% of the first $500 million of the average daily net assets of the Fund and 0.80% of the Fund’s average daily net assets in excess of $500 million.
 
Under the management agreement, FMI will reimburse the Fund for expenses over 2.75% of the daily net assets of the Fund. No such reimbursements were required for the year ended September 30, 2013.
 
The Fund has entered into a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”), pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Act. The Plan provides that the Fund may incur certain costs which may not exceed the lesser of a monthly amount equal to 0.25% of the Fund’s daily net assets or the actual distribution costs incurred during the year. Amounts payable under the Plan are paid monthly for any activities or expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the Fund. For the year ended September 30, 2013, no such expenses were incurred.
 
Under the Fund’s organizational documents, each director, officer, employee or other agent of the Fund (including the Fund’s investment manager) is indemnified, to the extent permitted by the Act, against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Fund. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Fund that have not yet occurred. However, the Fund has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts and believes the risk of loss to be remote.
 
 
At September 30, 2013, one financial intermediary is the record owner of approximately 35% of the Fund’s shares.
 
 

 
18

 
FMI Focus Fund
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
(3)
Credit Agreement —
 
U.S. Bank, N.A. has made available to the Fund a $75,000,000 credit facility pursuant to a Credit Agreement (“Agreement”) effective November 18, 2002 for the purpose of having cash available to satisfy redemption requests and to purchase portfolio securities. Principal and interest of such loan under the Agreement are due not more than 20 days after the date of the loan. Amounts under the credit facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the current prime rate minus one percent on the amount borrowed. Advances will be collateralized by securities owned by the Fund. During the year ended September 30, 2013, the Fund did not borrow against the Agreement. The Credit Agreement is renewable annually on June 5.
 
(4)
Distribution to Shareholders —
 
Net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are distributed to shareholders at least annually.  On October 31, 2013, the Fund declared distributions of $18,105,148 from short-term capital gains ($0.85619 per share) and $57,097,636 from long-term capital gains ($2.70012 per share).  The distribution will be paid on October 31, 2013 to shareholders of record on October 30, 2013.
 
(5)
Investment Transactions —
 
For the year ended September 30, 2013, purchases and proceeds of sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) were $446,918,797 and $425,417,375, respectively.
 
(6)
Income Tax Information —
 
The following information for the Fund is presented on an income tax basis as of September 30, 2013:
 
 
Gross
Gross
Net Unrealized
Distributable
Distributable
Cost of
Unrealized
Unrealized
Appreciation
Ordinary
Long-Term
Investments
Appreciation
Depreciation
on Investments
Income
Capital Gains
$620,353,257
$213,912,758
$(4,063,904)
$209,848,854
$18,105,148
$57,097,636
 
The difference between the cost amount for financial statement and federal income tax purposes is due primarily to timing differences in recognizing certain gains and losses in security transactions.
 
The tax components of dividends paid during the years ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, capital loss carryovers, which may be used to offset future capital gains, subject to Internal Revenue Code limitations, tax basis post-October losses as of September 30, 2013,  which are not recognized for tax purposes until the first day of the following fiscal year, and late year ordinary losses are:
 
  September 30, 2013  
September 30, 2012
Ordinary
Long-Term
Net Capital
 
Late
 
Ordinary
Long-Term
Income
Capital Gains
Loss
Post-October
Year
 
Income
Capital Gains
Distributions
Distributions
Carryovers
Losses
Losses
 
Distributions
Distributions
$—
$16,810,686
$—
$—
$—
 
$—
$20,612,169

 
Since there were no ordinary distributions paid for the Fund for the year ended September 30, 2013, there were no distributions designated as qualifying for the dividends received deduction for corporate shareholders nor as qualified dividend income under the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Act of 2003 (Unaudited).
 
(7)
Subsequent Event —
   
On September 27, 2013, the Board of Directors unanimously approved an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which the FMI Focus Fund would transfer all of its assets and liabilities (the “Reorganization”) to Broadview Opportunity Fund (the “Acquiring Fund”), a new series of Broadview Funds Trust.  The Agreement requires approval of the FMI Focus Fund’s shareholders and will be submitted to the shareholders for their consideration at a meeting to be held on November 25, 2013.  In the event the shareholders approve the Agreement, upon closing of the Reorganization, shareholders of the FMI Focus Fund would receive shares of the Acquiring Fund in exchange for their shares of the FMI Focus Fund and the FMI Focus Fund would liquidate and cease operations.
 

 
19

 
FMI Focus Fund
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
 

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of FMI Focus Fund:
 
In our opinion, the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the schedule of investments, and the related statements of operations and of changes in net assets and the financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of FMI Focus Fund (the “Fund,” a series of FMI Funds, Inc.) at September 30, 2013, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.  These financial statements and financial highlights (hereafter referred to as “financial statements”) are the responsibility of the Fund’s management; our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.  We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.  An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.  We believe that our audits, which included confirmation of securities at September 30, 2013 by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
 
As disclosed in Note 7, the Board of Directors approved an agreement and plan of reorganization on September 27, 2013, which will be subject to the approval of the Fund’s shareholders on November 25, 2013. In the event the shareholders approve the agreement, upon closing of the reorganization, the shareholders of the Fund would receive a corresponding number of shares of the new Broadview Opportunity Fund, a series of Broadview Funds Trust, in exchange for their shares and the Fund would liquidate and cease operations.
 
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP signature

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
November 1, 2013




 
20

 
FMI Focus Fund
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
 


   
Term of
Principal
# of Funds
Other
 
Positions
Office and
Occupation(s)
in Complex
Directorships
Name, Age
Held with
Length of
During Past
Overseen
Held by
and Address*
the Fund
Time Served
Five Years
by Director
Director or Officer
Non-Interested Directors
         
Barry K. Allen, 65
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Allen is President of Allen
4
BCE, Inc. (Bell
   
Since 1996
Enterprises, LLC (Boca Grande, FL)
 
Canada Enterprise),
     
a private equity investments and
 
CDW Corp. and
     
management company, and Senior
 
Harley-Davidson,
     
Advisor for Providence Equity
 
Inc. and FMI
     
Partners (Providence, RI) since
 
Common Stock
     
September, 2007.
 
Fund, Inc.
           
Robert C. Arzbaecher, 53
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Arzbaecher is Chief Executive
4
Actuant Corporation,
   
Since 2007
Officer of Actuant Corporation
 
CF Industries
     
(Menomonee Falls, WI), a
 
Holdings, Inc. and
     
manufacturer of a broad range of
 
FMI Common Stock
     
industrial products and systems, and
 
Fund, Inc.
     
the Chairman of the Board of
   
     
Directors of Actuant Corporation.
   
           
Gordon H.
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Gunnlaugsson retired from M&I
4
FMI Common Stock
  Gunnlaugsson, 69
 
Since 2001
Corporation (Milwaukee, WI) in
 
Fund, Inc.
     
December, 2000.
   
           
Paul S. Shain, 50
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Shain is President and Chief
4
FMI Common Stock
   
Since 2001
Executive Officer of Singlewire
 
Fund, Inc.
     
Software, LLC (Madison, WI), a
   
     
provider of IP-based paging and
   
     
emergency notification systems. Prior
   
     
to joining Singlewire in April, 2009,
   
     
Mr. Shain was Senior Vice President
   
     
of CDW Corporation (Vernon Hills, IL)
   
     
and Chief Executive Officer of Berbee
   
     
Information Networks, a strategic
   
     
business unit of CDW which CDW
   
     
acquired in 2006. Mr. Shain was
   
     
employed in various capacities by
   
     
CDW and Berbee Information
   
     
Networks from January, 2000 to
   
     
October, 2008.
   

 

 
21

 
FMI Focus Fund
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS (Continued)
 


   
Term of
Principal
# of Funds
Other
 
Positions
Office and
Occupation(s)
in Complex
Directorships
Name, Age
Held with
Length of
During Past
Overseen
Held by
and Address*
the Fund
Time Served
Five Years
by Director
Director or Officer
Interested Directors
         
Patrick J. English,** 52
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. English is Chief Executive
4
FMI Common Stock
   
Since 1997
Officer, Chief Investment Officer and
 
Fund, Inc.
 
Vice
One Year Term
Treasurer of Fiduciary Management,
   
 
President
Since 1996
Inc. and has been employed by the
   
     
Adviser in various capacities since
   
     
December, 1986.
   
           
Ted D. Kellner,** 67
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Kellner is Executive Chairman of
4
FMI Common Stock
   
Since 1996
Fiduciary Management, Inc. which he
 
Fund, Inc.
 
President
One Year Term
co-founded in 1980.
   
 
and
Since 1996
     
 
Treasurer
       
           
Richard E. Lane,** 57
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Lane is President of Broadview
3
None
   
Since 2001
Advisors, LLC, the sub-adviser to the
   
     
Fund.
   
Other Officers
         
John S. Brandser,** 51
Vice
One Year Term
Mr. Brandser is President, Secretary,
N/A
FMI Common Stock
 
President
Since 2008
Chief Operating Officer, and Chief
 
Fund, Inc.
 
and
One Year Term
Compliance Officer of Fiduciary
   
 
Secretary
Since 2009
Management, Inc. and has been
   
     
employed by the Adviser in various
   
     
capacities since March, 1995.
   
           
Kathleen M. Lauters, 61
Chief
At Discretion
Ms. Lauters has been the Fund’s
N/A
None
 
Compliance
of Board
Chief Compliance Officer since
   
 
Officer
Since 2004
September, 2004.
   
­__________
         
*
 
The address of each Director and Officer is c/o Fiduciary Management, Inc., 100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 2200, Milwaukee, WI  53202.
**
 
Messrs. English and Kellner are interested directors of the Fund because they are officers of the Fund and the Adviser. Mr. Lane is an interested director of the Fund because he is an officer of the Fund’s sub-adviser.




 
22

 
FMI Focus Fund
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 

For additional information about the Directors and Officers or for a description of the policies and procedures that the Fund uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities, please call (800) 811-5311 and request a Statement of Additional Information. One will be mailed to you free of charge. The Statement of Additional Information is also available on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) at http://www.sec.gov.  Information on how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities is available on the Fund’s website at http://www.fmifunds.com or the website of the Commission no later than August 31 for the prior 12 months ending June 30. The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Form N-Q is available on the Commission’s website. The Fund’s Form N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., and that information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.
 
 


NOTICE OF PRIVACY POLICY
 

Protecting the privacy of our shareholders is important to us. This notice describes the practices and policies through which we maintain the confidentiality and protect the security of your non-public personal information.
 
What Information We Collect
 
In the course of providing services to you, we may collect the following types of “non-public personal information” about you:
 
Information we receive from you on applications or other forms, such as your name, address and social security number, the types and amounts of investments and bank account information, and
 
Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates and others, as well as other account data.

 
What Information We Disclose
 
We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our current or former shareholders to anyone, except as permitted by law. For example, we are permitted by law to disclose all of the information we collect, as described above, to our transfer agent to process your transactions. Furthermore, we restrict access to your nonpublic personal information to those persons who require such information to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your nonpublic personal information.
 
In the event that you hold shares of any Fund through a financial intermediary, including, but not limited to, a broker-dealer, bank or trust company, the privacy policy of your financial intermediary may govern how your nonpublic personal information would be shared with nonaffiliated third parties.
 

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING DELIVERY OF SHAREHOLDER DOCUMENTS
 

In order to reduce expenses, we will deliver a single copy of prospectuses, proxies, financial reports, and other communication to shareholders with the same residential address, provided they have the same last name or we reasonably believe them to be members of the same family. Unless we are notified otherwise, we will continue to send you only one copy of these materials for as long as you remain a shareholder of the Funds. If you would like to receive individual mailings, please call (800) 811-5311 and we will begin sending you separate copies of these materials within 30 days after we receive your request.
 
Thank you for allowing us to serve your investment needs.
 

 
23

 
 
 
 
 
FMI Focus Fund
100 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2200
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202
www.fmifunds.com
414-226-4555


BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BARRY K. ALLEN
ROBERT C. ARZBAECHER
PATRICK J. ENGLISH
GORDON H. GUNNLAUGSSON
TED D. KELLNER
RICHARD E. LANE
PAUL S. SHAIN


INVESTMENT ADVISER
FIDUCIARY MANAGEMENT, INC.
100 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2200
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202


PORTFOLIO MANAGER
BROADVIEW ADVISORS, LLC
330 East Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 1475
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202


ADMINISTRATOR, ACCOUNTANT, TRANSFER AGENT AND DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT
U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202
800-811-5311 or 414-765-4124



CUSTODIAN
DISTRIBUTOR
U.S. BANK, N.A.
RAFFERTY CAPITAL
 
MARKETS, LLC


INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP


LEGAL COUNSEL
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT
September 30, 2013



 
FMI Large Cap Fund
(FMIHX)

 
FMI Common Stock Fund
(FMIMX)

 
FMI International Fund
(FMIJX)

 
 
 
 
   
FMI Funds

 
Advised by Fiduciary Management, Inc.
www.fmifunds.com
   
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

FMI Funds
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 

 
FMI Large Cap Fund
   
        Shareholder Letter
 
3
        Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance
 
7
        Schedule of Investments
 
8
        Industry Sectors
 
10
     
FMI Common Stock Fund
   
        Shareholder Letter
 
11
        Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance
 
16
        Schedule of Investments
 
17
        Industry Sectors
 
19
     
FMI International Fund
   
        Shareholder Letter
 
20
        Management’s Discussion of Fund Performance
 
25
        Schedule of Investments
 
26
        Industry Sectors
 
28
     
Financial Statements
   
        Statements of Assets and Liabilities
 
29
        Statements of Operations
 
30
        Statements of Changes in Net Assets
 
31
        Financial Highlights
 
32
        Notes to Financial Statements
 
33
     
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
 
38
Cost Discussion
 
39
Directors and Officers
 
40
Additional Information
 
41
Disclosure Information
 
41
Notice of Privacy Policy
 
43
Householding Notice
 
43
 

 
2

 
FMI
Large Cap
Fund

 
September 30, 2013
 
Dear Fellow Shareholders:
 
The FMI Large Cap Fund gained 4.48% in the September quarter compared to 5.24% for the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.  Stock market sectors aiding relative performance included Industrial Services, Energy Minerals and Consumer Non-Durables.  Areas hurting relative performance included Process Industries, Health Technology and Technology Services.  Schlumberger gained significantly in the quarter, however, Potash Corporation declined meaningfully.  The year-to-date gain of the Fund and the S&P 500 has been spectacular, continuing an unusual and almost unbroken run from the March 9, 2009 lows.  Since that time, the Fund is up approximately168% and the S&P 500 is up approximately 174%. As an aside, we are satisfied to have only modestly lagged during this remarkable period, as our conservative style doesn’t lend itself to keeping up in a runaway market.  If the market continues to soar, however, we are likely to lag.  According to statistics compiled by the Leuthold Group, the gain in the stock market over the past four and half years is roughly double the median gain of the 15 bull markets since 1929. The composite of the approximately four dozen different valuation measures that we monitor quarterly dipped to the 5th decile in early 2009 and is now in the 8th decile (the 10th decile being the most expensive).  Moreover, as mentioned in last quarter’s letter, the broad expansion of multiples across the vast majority of sectors leaves most median valuation measures equal to or higher than what existed in the 1999-2000 tech/telecom/internet bubble top.  Additionally, the underlying fundamentals of the U.S. and European economies are sluggish, while the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have seen slowing.  While some individual companies are thriving, on average they are either in slow growth mode or are stagnant.  The overriding determinant of recent and expected near-term performance appears to be monetary policy, specifically easy money.  This policy, in our opinion, is largely experimental and has already artificially inflated assets across a broad spectrum; it grossly misallocates resources, makes “the rich” richer (they own the inflating assets, not the middle class), has little “wealth-effect” on spending and long-term, could potentially spur difficult–to-control inflation.
 

By Permission of Chip Bok and Creators Syndicate, Inc.
 
Economic Growth and Labor
 
The U.S. economy remains stuck in a pattern of very low growth.  The current Bloomberg estimate for 2013 real GDP growth is 1.6%.  This recovery has averaged about 2% growth, which is less than half that of a normal recovery.  Real wages have been falling.  Labor Department data shows that adjusted for inflation, average hourly pay has declined 0.9% since the end of the recession in 2009. The headline unemployment rate of 7.3% has fallen, but the broader official Bureau of Labor measure of unemployment and underemployment, U6, shows a 14% rate.  Remarkably, including people who are “long-term” discouraged, the figure is unofficially approximately 23% and has actually been rising during this so-called recovery, as can be seen in the nearby chart.  A startlingly high number of people appear to be simply giving up
 

 

 

 

 
3

 
their job search.  This is unprecedented in the post-WWII period and reflects just how broken the job creation machine has become.
 
The labor participation rate continues to fall and is at a multi-generational low of 63.2%. Weak labor figures, combined with tepid capital formation, virtually doom the economy to slow growth. The last decade has been one of the slowest periods of fixed business investment as a percentage of GDP in the past six decades.  After the initial spike off the 2009 bottom, sales and earnings growth for corporations has dropped significantly.  According to the Leuthold Group, twelve month trailing Standard & Poor’s 500 Index earnings per share (EPS) are $89.18, essentially flat from the fourth quarter of 2011.
 
Profit Margins
 
The fourth quarter of 2011 turned out to be the peak quarter of profitability in this cycle.  Corporate profits reached 10.3% compared to the prior high of 8.6% (see chart).  Today margins stand at 10.1%.
 
 
The Leuthold Group points out that contrary to what the experts believe, most of the margin expansion over the past fifteen years is not due to dramatic increases in corporate efficiency or outsourcing manufacturing to lower labor cost countries, but rather, decreases in interest rates and corporate taxes.  Below is a table breaking out the difference between 1997 margins and 2013 margins. Net interest payments as a percent of sales dropped from 4.8% to 2.7%.  Corporate taxes dropped from 2.9% to 2.5%.  Indeed, a look at EBIT margins (earnings before interest and taxes), shows an increase of only 20 basis points since the tech era profitability peak.
 
 
Long-term interest rates have already moved sharply off the bottom.  The 10-Year Treasury yield was 1.62% a year ago and now sits at 2.63%.  This compares to the median rate of 5.95% since 1957. Corporate tax rates do not appear to be going higher, but the absence of a decline will make for more difficult comparative earnings growth rates.  Unless there is a magical gain in revenue growth or productivity, it certainly looks like profit margins are headed lower.  EPS growth is obviously going to be difficult given this backdrop.
 
The Stock Market
 
In spite of weak underlying fundamentals, the stock market continues to move higher.  Words of caution are increasingly viewed with snobbish derision, as bullish investors become more emboldened by the day.  Enormous faith has been put in the hands of our monetary and fiscal authorities and the minute any unpleasantness surfaces, they are expected to provide easy money or delay budgetary discipline.  They have obliged (including the highly politicized sinking of the nomination of Lawrence Summers to lead the Fed, virtually handing the nomination to one of the most dovish Fed members).  This self-fulfilling prophesy creates unreal expectations, which is currently manifested by high valuations.  It is hard to imagine that the policy mistakes that led to the bubble of 2004-2007 could be repeated so soon.  As mentioned earlier, our quarterly composite of 48 different valuation measures has moved into the 8th decile, reducing the downside protection for the market. One of the most difficult aspects of this market is the widespread lack of value.  Normally, even in a bull market, there are a number of sectors that get beaten up, giving long-term investors opportunities to make contrary bets.  These sectors are few and far between presently.  Our stocks trade at a significant discount to the benchmark, but remain above average from an absolute historical perspective.  We have an extensive list of terrific and durable business franchises we would like to own in the event their stock prices decline significantly.  History shows markets to be much more volatile and varying than they have been over the past four years.  We are ready for a return to volatility!
 

 

 

 

 
4

 
Below we highlight two investments.
 
Potash Corporation (POT)
(Analyst: Karl Poehls)
 
Description
 
Potash Corporation is the world’s largest fertilizer company by capacity and produces the following three primary crop nutrients: potash (K), phosphate (P) and nitrogen (N). The company has operations and business interests in seven countries and sells globally.
 
Good Business
 
 
Fertilizer roughly doubles the productivity of crop land, yet only accounts for approximately 20% of farmers’ costs.  Thus, it is an absolute necessity in the ongoing quest to feed an increasing world population, and is an excellent value.
 
 
Potash Corporation is the world’s largest potash producer with 17 million tons of total capacity planned for 2015, and has access to more than 65 years worth of scarce potash reserves in Canada.
 
 
The company benefits from high barriers to entry in potash and phosphate rock production. It takes at least seven years to construct a conventional potash mine and costs more than $4 billion.
 
 
Over the trailing 5-year and 10-year periods, Potash Corporation’s return on invested capital (ROIC) has averaged 22% and 17%, respectively. Therefore, its ROIC handsomely exceeds its cost of capital.
 
 
The company maintains a strong balance sheet with net debt of $2.8 billion, which is less than one times estimated 2013 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Potash Corporation’s interest coverage ratio exceeds 25 times.
 
Valuation
 
 
Over the trailing 1-year, 2-year and 5-year periods, the stock has lagged the price return of the S&P 500 Index by 43%, 82% and 81%, respectively. This is significant underperformance.
 
 
Potash Corporation’s forward price-to-earnings multiple (P/E) is 13.6 times. Since December 2004, the stock has traded for an average earnings multiple of 22.4 times.
 
 
A conservative estimate of the replacement cost of the company’s assets is more than 50% higher than the current stock price.
 
 
We expect free cash flow to approach $2.5-3.0 billion by 2015 as the company’s massive potash expansion project is completed. The current dividend yield is 4.3%.
 
Management
 
 
The company is led by CEO Bill Doyle and CFO Wayne Brownlee. Both executives have been in senior leadership positions at Potash Corporation since the initial public offering of stock in 1989.
 
 
Mr. Doyle has 39 years of experience in the fertilizer industry and is well respected among his peers.
 
 
As of 2012 year-end, Mr. Doyle beneficially owned close to $100 million of the company’s stock.
 
 
A significant component of executive compensation is directly linked to ROIC.
 
Investment Thesis
 
Over the past 5 years, POT’s common stock has lagged the price performance of the S&P 500 by 80%+. Investors have been concerned about potential over-capacity in the potash industry as well as a recent announcement by a key competitor to pursue a volume-over-price strategy. We believe these fears are overblown and potash prices will remain strong enough to generate attractive profits. At today’s valuation, Potash Corporation’s stock trades for more than 50% below a conservative estimate of the replacement value of its assets. We believe this presents an adequate margin of safety and think the stock is attractive for long-term investors.
 

 

 
5

 
Bank of New York Mellon (BK)
(Analyst: Matthew Goetzinger)
Description
 
The Bank of New York Mellon is the world’s largest custodian bank, with over $26 trillion in assets under custody, and is one of the largest asset management companies, with $1.4 trillion under management.  The company has the most diverse service offering within the trust bank industry. BK’s primary businesses are Investment Services — core custody, back and middle office outsourcing, securities clearing, execution, foreign exchange, debt issuance and trust services (72% of revenues); and Investment Management (28% of revenues).
 
Good Business
 
 
In the custodial bank arena, BK operates within a rational oligopoly industry structure. The company commands leading market shares in each of its diversified businesses.
 
 
Scale, long-tenured client relationships, deeply intertwined technology platforms and a global resource base all represent significant durable competitive advantages.
 
 
Recurring fee-based businesses comprise over 80% of the company’s revenues.
 
 
The company’s long-term average return on tangible common equity is over 30% and recently has been 25%, depressed by the unusual rate environment.
 
 
BK is securely financed with a Basel III capital ratio of 9.3%.  The company generates significant excess capital, which eventually should come back to shareholders.
 
 
Valuation
 
 
 
Historically trust banks have traded in line with the S&P 500 on a P/E basis. On depressed earnings BK trades at a 4 multiple point discount to the market.
 
 
Giving effect to a normalization in interest rates, BK’s earnings power is in excess of $4.00 per share. At a more normal P/E multiple, BK’s fair value is 50-100% higher than the current price.
 
 
Over the past ten years BK has held a median book multiple of 1.9 times, ranging from the current low of 1.1 times to a high of over 3 times.
 
Management
 
 
Gerald Hassell has been the company’s CEO since September 2011. Since joining BK thirty years ago, Mr. Hassell has had direct management responsibility for the company’s broad range of investment service businesses and owns roughly one million shares outright.
 
 
Todd Gibbons is the company’s current CFO and previously served as the company’s Chief Risk Officer.
 
 
Management is focused on driving organic growth, improving margins, and returns on capital, while at the same time returning excess capital to shareholders. Management incentive compensation is tied to return on equity capital.
 
Investment Thesis
 
BK’s numerous capital-light financial processing franchises are significantly underappreciated by the market. Despite operating with significant scale as the market leader in many recurring fee-based businesses, BK’s valuation is comparable to that of a conventional bank. Over the next three to five years, BK’s growth rate and multiple should expand as international economies and capital market sophistication improve, interest rates return to normal, and operating leverage allows for higher dividends and share repurchases.
 
The Fund’s Board of Directors has declared a distribution effective December 20, 2013, payable on December 20, 2013 to shareholders of record on December 19, 2013.  The distribution amounts will be determined at that time and will be posted to the Fund’s website www.fmifunds.com when available.
 
Thank you for your confidence in the FMI Large Cap Fund.
 

 
100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 2200 • Milwaukee, WI  53202 • 414-226-4555
www.fmifunds.com

This shareholder letter is unaudited.



 
6

 
FMI Large Cap Fund
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE
 

 
During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, the FMI Large Cap Fund (the “Fund”) had a total return of 20.94%. The benchmark S&P 500 returned 19.34% in the same period.  Process Industries, Retail Trade and an elevated cash position all hurt relative performance. Potash Corporation declined in the period but we remain optimistic about the long-term prospects for this investment. Wal-Mart was up during the fiscal year, but lagged its industry group and the market. Devon Energy also trailed the overall Energy Minerals sector during the fiscal year.  Electronic Technology, Producer Manufacturing and Distribution Services all aided relative performance. TE Connectivity, 3M and AmerisourceBergen were all up significantly in the period.  Monsanto, Kimberly-Clark, Automatic Data Processing Inc., Ingersoll Rand and Omnicom were among those sold over the past year. Most of these sales were due to the stocks reaching or exceeding our determination of full value. Danone, PACCAR and Potash Corporation were among stocks added during the fiscal year. At September 30, 2013 the overweighted sectors included Producer Manufacturing and Distribution Services and the underweighted sectors included Electronic Technology, Communications and Utilities.  The stock market continued its extraordinary rise in fiscal 2013, which we believe had more to do with monetary actions, i.e. quantitative easing, than meaningful improvement in either the underlying fundamentals of the economy or U.S. corporations.  Real GDP growth remained anemic and broad measures of employment remained exceptionally weak.  The debt crises showed little improvement in Europe, the United States or Japan over the fiscal year.  Additionally, China appears to have much more debt than the official statistics would suggest. A credit-fueled boom in real estate and other infrastructure projects in China have increased the risk of significant negative consequences, not unlike those seen in the U.S. and Europe in 2009.  In the U.S., valuations have moved higher from a year ago and fundamentals have not kept pace.  Sales and earnings growth rates have fallen and profit margins for U.S. companies have weakened while at the same time valuations have expanded. From a macroeconomic and policy perspective, we do not see the fiscal or monetary initiatives of the past several years as being conducive to good long-term economic growth and employment. The high level of government liabilities and the rapid growth of regulations are particularly worrisome. While we continue to believe stocks have the best chance to adjust to a dynamic environment, and are thus attractive from a long-term perspective, we are less optimistic about the near-term. The Fund continues to sell at significant discount to the S&P 500 on most valuation measures and currently carries an above average level of cash.

COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN
FMI LARGE CAP FUND AND STANDARD & POOR’S 500 INDEX(1)
 



AVERAGE ANNUALIZED TOTAL RETURN
       
Since
       
Inception
 
1-Year
5-Year
10-Year
12/31/01
FMI Large Cap Fund
20.94%
10.55%
9.88%
8.38%
S&P 500 Index
19.34%
10.02%
7.57%
5.39%

The graph and the table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.  Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results.  Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.  Current performance of a Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.  The total returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.  Total return includes change in share prices and in each case includes reinvestments of any dividends, interest and capital gain distributions.  Performance data current to the most recent month-end may be obtained by visiting www.fmifunds.com or by calling 1-800-811-5311.

(1)
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index consists of 500 selected common stocks, most of which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group designates the stocks to be included in the Index on a statistical basis. A particular stock’s weighting in the Index is based on its relative total market value (i.e., its market price per share times the number of shares outstanding). Stocks may be added or deleted from the Index from time to time.
 

An investment cannot be made directly into an index.
 

 

 
This page is unaudited.
 
 
7

 
FMI Large Cap Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
September 30, 2013 


 
Shares
     
Cost
   
Value
 
   
COMMON STOCKS — 87.0% (a)
 
   
COMMERCIAL SERVICES SECTOR — 2.9%
 
     
Miscellaneous Commercial Services — 2.9%
 
    4,520,000  
Cintas Corp.
  $ 130,932,811     $ 231,424,000  
   
CONSUMER NON-DURABLES SECTOR — 6.1%
 
       
Food: Major Diversified — 6.1%
 
    18,850,000  
Danone S.A. - SP-ADR
    264,458,375       283,504,000  
    3,056,000  
Nestlé S.A. - SP-ADR
    143,118,869       212,697,600  
              407,577,244       496,201,600  
CONSUMER SERVICES SECTOR — 2.6%
         
       
Media Conglomerates — 2.6%
 
    3,175,000  
Time Warner Inc.
    83,095,288       208,946,750  
   
DISTRIBUTION SERVICES SECTOR — 5.7%
 
       
Food Distributors — 2.4%
               
    6,210,000  
Sysco Corp.
    168,159,594       197,664,300  
       
Medical Distributors — 3.3%
 
    4,350,000  
AmerisourceBergen Corp.
    131,156,744       265,785,000  
   
ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 4.4%
 
       
Electronic Components — 4.4%
 
    6,946,000  
TE Connectivity Ltd.
    183,234,855       359,663,880  
   
ENERGY MINERALS SECTOR — 4.2%
 
       
Oil & Gas Production — 4.2%
 
    5,915,000  
Devon Energy Corp.
    362,217,764       341,650,400  
   
FINANCE SECTOR — 13.4%
 
       
Financial Conglomerates — 3.3%
 
    3,493,000  
American Express Co.
    133,581,258       263,791,360  
       
Insurance Brokers/Services — 2.2%
 
    4,176,000  
Willis Group Holdings PLC
    159,709,388       180,946,080  
       
Major Banks — 7.9%
               
    12,135,000  
Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
    295,617,813       366,355,650  
    7,010,000  
Comerica Inc.
    216,460,410       275,563,100  
              512,078,223       641,918,750  
HEALTH SERVICES SECTOR — 0.6%
 
       
Managed Health Care — 0.6%
 
    705,825  
UnitedHealth Group Inc.
    50,656,535       50,544,128  
   
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 6.2%
 
       
Medical Specialties — 4.2%
 
    5,569,000  
Covidien PLC
    267,686,148       339,374,860  
       
Pharmaceuticals: Major — 2.0%
 
    3,169,000  
GlaxoSmithKline PLC - SP-ADR
    135,415,103       158,988,730  
   
INDUSTRIAL SERVICES SECTOR — 4.4%
 
       
Oilfield Services/Equipment — 4.4%
 
    4,000,000  
Schlumberger Ltd.
    264,608,708       353,440,000  
   
PROCESS INDUSTRIES SECTOR — 5.2%
 
       
Chemicals: Agricultural — 5.2%
 
    13,560,000  
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc.
    520,655,448       424,156,800  
   
PRODUCER MANUFACTURING SECTOR — 17.5%
 
       
Industrial Conglomerates — 9.9%
 
    3,457,000  
3M Co.
    263,778,954       412,800,370  




 
8

 
FMI Large Cap Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013


Shares or Principal Amount
 
Cost
   
Value
 
             
COMMON STOCKS — 87.0% (a) (Continued)
           
             
PRODUCER MANUFACTURING SECTOR — 17.5% (Continued)
           
     
Industrial Conglomerates — 9.9% (Continued)
 
    3,477,000  
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. - Cl B*
  $ 250,004,548     $ 394,674,270  
              513,783,502       807,474,640  
       
Industrial Machinery — 4.9%
               
    5,160,000  
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
    270,600,843       393,553,200  
       
Trucks/Construction/Farm Machinery — 2.7%
 
    4,000,000  
PACCAR Inc.
    170,974,477       222,640,000  
   
RETAIL TRADE SECTOR — 3.6%
 
       
Discount Stores — 3.6%
               
    3,960,000  
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
    217,791,075       292,881,600  
   
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES SECTOR — 6.9%
 
       
Information Technology Services — 4.4%
               
    4,860,000  
Accenture PLC
    229,681,105       357,890,400  
       
Packaged Software — 2.5%
               
    6,158,000  
Microsoft Corp.
    174,803,525       205,122,980  
   
TRANSPORTATION SECTOR — 3.3%
 
       
Air Freight/Couriers — 3.3%
               
    6,150,000  
Expeditors International of Washington Inc.
    231,833,459       270,969,000  
       
Total common stocks
    5,320,233,097       7,065,028,458  
   
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 13.0% (a)
 
       
Commercial Paper — 2.5%
               
  $ 129,000,000  
U.S. Bank N.A., 0.01%, due 10/01/13
    129,000,000       129,000,000  
    75,000,000  
General Electric Co., 0.02%, due 10/09/13
    74,999,667       74,999,667  
       
Total commercial paper
    203,999,667       203,999,667  
       
U.S. Treasury Securities — 10.5%
               
    375,000,000  
U.S. Treasury Bills, 0.0050%, due 10/10/13
    374,999,531       374,999,531  
    475,000,000  
U.S. Treasury Bills, 0.0030%, due 10/24/13
    474,999,090       474,999,090  
       
Total U.S. treasury securities
    849,998,621       849,998,621  
       
Total short-term investments
    1,053,998,288       1,053,998,288  
       
Total investments — 100.0%
  $ 6,374,231,385       8,119,026,746  
       
Other assets, less liabilities — 0.0% (a)(b)
            2,989,010  
       
TOTAL NET ASSETS — 100.0%
          $ 8,122,015,756  

*
 
Non-income producing security.
(a)
 
Percentages for the various classifications relate to net assets.
(b)
 
Less than 0.05% of net assets.
PLC – Public Limited Company
SP-ADR – Sponsored American Depositary Receipt

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this schedule.




 
9

 
FMI Large Cap Fund
INDUSTRY SECTORS
as of September 30, 2013 (Unaudited) 

 

 




 
10

 
FMI
Common Stock
Fund

 
September 30, 2013
Dear Fellow Shareholders:
 
The FMI Common Stock Fund gained 9.75% in the September quarter compared to 10.21% for the benchmark Russell 2000 Index.  Stock market sectors aiding relative performance included Producer Manufacturing, Energy Minerals and Finance.  In addition to abnormally high cash levels, sectors hurting relative performance included Health Technology, Process Industries and Distribution Services.  Both Kaydon and Molex were acquired at significant premiums in the quarter and proceeds have not yet been redeployed.  Compass Minerals declined in the period but we remain constructive on its prospects.  McDermott also hurt performance in the September quarter and our reevaluation of its long-term outlook led to its removal. The year-to-date gain of the Fund and the Russell 2000 have been spectacular, continuing an unusual and almost unbroken run from the March 9, 2009 lows.  Since that time, the Fund is up approximately 209% and the Russell 2000, up approximately 233%.  As an aside, we are satisfied to have only modestly lagged during this remarkable period, as our conservative style doesn’t lend itself to keeping up in a runaway market.  Today, we feel the benchmark Russell 2000 is loaded with overpriced and speculative merchandise.  If, however, that index continues to soar, we will undoubtedly lag.
 
According to statistics compiled by the Leuthold Group, the gain in the stock market over the past four and half years is roughly double the median gain of the 15 bull markets since 1929. The composite of the approximately four dozen different valuation measures that we monitor quarterly dipped to the 5th decile in early 2009 and is now in the 8th decile (the 10th decile being the most expensive).  Moreover, as mentioned in last quarter’s letter, the broad expansion of multiples across the vast majority of sectors leaves most median valuation measures equal to or higher than what existed in the 1999-2000 tech/telecom/internet bubble top.  Additionally, the underlying fundamentals of the U.S. and European economies are sluggish, while the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have seen slowing.  While some individual companies are thriving, on average they are either in slow growth mode or are stagnant.  The overriding determinant of recent and expected near-term performance appears to be monetary policy, specifically easy money.  This policy, in our opinion, is largely experimental and has already artificially inflated assets across a broad spectrum; it grossly misallocates resources, makes “the rich” richer (they own the inflating assets, not the middle class), has little “wealth-effect” on spending and long-term, could potentially spur difficult–to-control inflation.
 

By Permission of Chip Bok and Creators Syndicate, Inc.
 
Economic Growth and Labor
 
The U.S. economy remains stuck in a pattern of very low growth.  The current Bloomberg estimate for 2013 real GDP growth is 1.6%.  This recovery has averaged about 2% growth, which is less than half that of a normal recovery.  Real wages have been falling.  Labor Department data shows that adjusted for inflation, average hourly pay has declined 0.9% since the end of the recession in 2009. The headline unemployment rate of 7.3% has fallen, but the broader official Bureau of Labor measure of unemployment and underemployment, U6, shows a 14% rate.  Remarkably, including people who are “long-term” discouraged, the figure is unofficially approximately 23% and has actually been rising during this so-called
 
 
 
 
11

 
recovery, as can be seen in the chart on the previous page.  A startlingly high number of people appear to be simply giving up their job search.  This is unprecedented in the post-WWII period and reflects just how broken the job creation machine has become.
 
The labor participation rate continues to fall and is at a multi-generational low of 63.2%. Weak labor figures, combined with tepid capital formation, virtually doom the economy to slow growth. The last decade has been one of the slowest periods of fixed business investment as a percentage of GDP in the past six decades.  After the initial spike off the 2009 bottom, sales and earnings growth for corporations has dropped significantly.  According to the Leuthold Group, twelve month trailing Standard & Poor’s 500 Index earnings per share (EPS) are $89.18, essentially flat from the fourth quarter of 2011.
 
Profit Margins
 
The fourth quarter of 2011 turned out to be the peak quarter of profitability in this cycle.  Corporate profits reached 10.3% compared to the prior high of 8.6% (see chart).  Today margins stand at 10.1%.
 

 
The Leuthold Group points out that contrary to what the experts believe, most of the margin expansion over the past fifteen years is not due to dramatic increases in corporate efficiency or outsourcing manufacturing to lower labor cost countries, but rather, decreases in interest rates and corporate taxes.  Below is a table breaking out the difference between 1997 margins and 2013 margins. Net interest payments as a percent of sales dropped from 4.8% to 2.7%.  Corporate taxes dropped from 2.9% to 2.5%.  Indeed, a look at EBIT margins (earnings before interest and taxes), shows an increase of only 20 basis points since the tech era profitability peak.



Long-term interest rates have already moved sharply off the bottom.  The 10-Year Treasury yield was 1.62% a year ago and now sits at 2.63%.  This compares to the median rate of 5.95% since 1957. Corporate tax rates do not appear to be going higher, but the absence of a decline will make for more difficult comparative earnings growth rates.  Unless there is a magical gain in revenue growth or productivity, it certainly looks like profit margins are headed lower.  EPS growth is obviously going to be difficult given this backdrop.
 
 
The margin data cited above are aggregate figures compiled by the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA).  It is also interesting to note how the margin picture looks based on company size.  The graph on the left of the three S&P 500 indices (S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap

 
12

 
600). In recent periods the smaller cap companies’ margins have significantly lagged their bigger cap brethren.  Additionally, smaller cap companies’ historically superior earnings growth rate has virtually disappeared over the past decade.  Yet despite much lower relative growth and thinner margins, as well as being less liquid, small cap stocks continue to trade at a significant premium to large cap stocks.  These realities, combined with great difficulty finding small caps that fit our fundamental and valuation criteria, leave the portfolio with higher-than-normal cash and a greater-than-normal aggregate market cap.
 
The Stock Market
 
In spite of weak underlying fundamentals, the stock market continues to move higher.  Words of caution are increasingly viewed with snobbish derision, as bullish investors become more emboldened by the day.  Enormous faith has been put in the hands of our monetary and fiscal authorities and the minute any unpleasantness surfaces, they are expected to provide easy money or delay budgetary discipline.  They have obliged (including the highly politicized sinking of the nomination of Lawrence Summers to lead the Fed, virtually handing the nomination to one of the most dovish Fed members).  This self-fulfilling prophesy creates unreal expectations, which is currently manifested by high valuations.  It is hard to imagine that the policy mistakes that led to the bubble of 2004-2007 could be repeated so soon.  As mentioned earlier, our quarterly composite of 48 different valuation measures has moved into the 8th decile, reducing the downside protection for the market. One of the most difficult aspects of this market is the widespread lack of value.  Normally, even in a bull market, there are a number of sectors that get beaten up, giving long-term investors opportunities to make contrary bets.  These sectors are few and far between presently.  Our stocks trade at a significant discount to the benchmark, but remain above average from an absolute historical perspective.  We have an extensive list of terrific and durable business franchises we would like to own in the event their stock prices decline significantly.  History shows markets to be much more volatile and varying than they have been over the past four years.  We are ready for a return to volatility!
 
Below we highlight two investments.
 
Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR)
(Analyst: Rob Helf)
 
Description
 
Broadridge Financial Solutions is a leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven processing solutions to banks, broker dealers, mutual funds and corporate issuers.  Broadridge has significant market share in proxy distribution, proxy vote tabulation and other important communication as it sits between issuers and investors.  The company serves over 800 bank customers, representing over 13,000 issuers.  Additionally, the company provides securities transaction processing (order capture and execution, trade confirmation, settlement and accounting) and outsourcing for broker dealers and banks.
 
Good Business
 
 
Broadridge provides a necessary service to public companies and the investment community.
 
 
The company is a market leader by a wide margin in its core business of providing distribution and processing services in a highly regulated part of the financial service sector.  The company’s technology is facilitating the move to electronic proxy and potentially greater participation in the proxy process.
 
 
Broadridge has a high degree of recurring revenue, high customer retention rates and a scalable business model.
 
 
The company expects to increase margins from already respectable levels.
 
 
The business generates an ROIC (return on invested capital) of 15-16%, which is well in excess of its cost of capital.
 
 
Broadridge produces very strong and highly predictable levels of cash flow.  Free cash flow has exceeded net income by $30-50 million per annum over the past decade.
 
Broadridge returns capital to its shareholders.  In the most recent quarter, the company repurchased 3.3 million shares and increased its dividend by 17%.  The current $0.84 annual dividend yields 2.7% and the payout ratio approximates 40%.
 
 
Valuation
 
 
The company is currently valued at approximately 15 times EPS (earnings per share), 8.2 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and 1.6 times sales.  These metrics compare favorably to the general small and mid cap universe that currently trades at least 30% higher.
 
 
Based on where similar businesses have been acquired, Broadridge appears to be trading at a significant discount to the current stock price.
 

 
13

 
Management
 
 
Leslie Brun, age 61, is Broadridge’s Chairman and has served on the Board of Directors since 2007.  Mr. Brun has served as a director of ADP (former parent of Broadridge) and as ADP’s Chairman since 2007.
 
 
Richard Daly, age 60, is Broadridge’s CEO and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2007.  Prior to the March 2007 spin-off of Broadridge from ADP, Mr. Daly served as Group President of the Brokerage Services Group of ADP.
 
 
John Hogan, age 64, is Broadridge’s President and COO.  Prior to the spin-off, Mr. Hogan served along with Richard Daly as Group President of Brokerage Services.
 
 
Dan Sheldon, age 56, is Broadridge’s Corporate VP and Chief Financial Officer.

Investment Thesis
 
Broadridge has a very attractive recurring revenue business model with high ROICs and significant barriers to entry.  The company should be able to grow revenues 4-5% organically and earnings at 10%, which compares favorably to the overall market.  Some recent revenue drivers include: 1) the Broadridge/Accenture post-trade processing alliance, which targets European and Asian banks; and 2) an overall healthy securities trading environment.  The shares have an attractive reward/risk profile based on the current valuation, business model and dividend yield/share repurchase program.
 
Arrow Electronics, Inc. (ARW)
(Analyst: Matt Sullivan)
 
Description
 
Arrow Electronics is a leading global distributor of semiconductors, passive and other electronic components, and midrange computing products. The company also offers a variety of value-added services including programming, system training and certification, solutions testing, and inventory and supply chain management. Arrow distributes these products and services to over 100,000 industrial and commercial customers spanning across 85 different countries.
 
Good Business
 
 
As a distributor of electronics and technology systems, Arrow Electronics benefits from the global growth in high technology without being exposed to the same obsolescence risk as technology manufacturers.
 
 
Arrow is the second largest global IT distributor and controls a large market share position in the industry. It has stood the test of time, having incorporated in 1946.
 
 
The company has a diversified set of vendors, customers and end markets. Arrow serves over 100,000 customers in 85 countries, including 12,000 value-added resellers. No single supplier accounts for more than 9% of overall revenues, and no single customer accounts for more than 3% of overall revenues.
 
 
Arrow’s size and product offerings create a competitive advantage that translates into better margins than most of its smaller competitors.
 
 
Over time, the company has proven its ability to consistently earn a return-on-capital that exceeds its cost-of-capital.
 
 
The balance sheet is modestly levered with a debt-to-total capital ratio of approximately 35%.
 
Valuation
 
 
Arrow is valued at 10.3 times forward EPS estimates and 0.33 times enterprise value-to-sales.
 
 
The mean valuation for the company over the past 10 years has been 11.8 times forward EPS estimates and 0.33 times enterprise value-to-sales.
 
 
The company trades at 7.5 times EBITDA compared to a 10-year average of 8 times.
 
 
Management
 
 
Michael Long is Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. He has been CEO since 2009, and has been with the company since 1991. Prior to working at Arrow Electronics, Mr. Long worked at Schweber Electronics from 1983 until it merged with Arrow in 1991.
 
 
Paul Reilly is Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations, and Chief Financial officer. He has held the position of CFO since 2001 and has been with the company since 1991.

 
14

 
Investment Thesis
 
Arrow Electronics is one of the world’s largest distributors of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. As a distributor of electronics, the company is in the advantageous position of benefitting from global technology growth, without being directly exposed to the short product cycles and cut-throat competition that exist for the innovators of technology. The cyclical downturn in the global components industry presented us with an opportunity to buy Arrow at an attractive price, which we believe will appreciate as some of the current trends begin to reverse.
 
The Fund’s Board of Directors has declared a distribution effective December 20, 2013, payable on December 20, 2013 to shareholders of record on December 19, 2013.  The distribution amounts will be determined at that time and will be posted to the Fund’s website www.fmifunds.com when available.
 
Thank you for your confidence in the FMI Common Stock Fund.
 
 


 
100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 2200 • Milwaukee, WI  53202 • 414-226-4555
www.fmifunds.com

This shareholder letter is unaudited.




 
15

 
FMI Common Stock Fund
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE
 


During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, the FMI Common Stock Fund (the “Fund”) had a total return of 26.63%. The benchmark Russell 2000 returned 30.06% in the same period. Higher than normal cash holdings were the primary reason for underperformance versus the benchmark. Additionally, Industrial Services, Process Industries and Consumer Services all hurt relative performance.  McDermott, Compass Minerals and AptarGroup lagged in the period. McDermott was sold due to a significant change in the long-term fundamental outlook. Sectors that helped performance included Finance, Energy Minerals and Producer Manufacturing. Protective Life, Cimarex Energy and Molex were the prime contributors in these sectors.  Stocks sold in the period included Covance, VCA Antech, West Pharmaceutical Services, Bio-Rad Laboratories, SPX Corp., Molex, Sigma-Aldrich and Bristow.  A large number of companies reached or exceeded what we felt were full values. New purchases included Zions Bancorp, Greenlight Capital and Varian Medical.  At September 30, the overweighted sectors included Commercial Services, Process Industries and Distribution Services. Underweighted sectors included Finance, Consumer Services and Electronic Technology. The stock market continued its extraordinary rise, which we believe had more to do with monetary actions, i.e. quantitative easing, than meaningful improvement in either the underlying fundamentals of the economy or U.S. corporations.  Real GDP growth has been anemic and broad measures of employment remained exceptionally weak. The debt crises showed little improvement in Europe, the United States or Japan over the fiscal year. Additionally, China appears to have much more debt than the official statistics would suggest. A credit-fueled boom in real estate and other infrastructure projects in China has increased the risk of significant negative consequences, not unlike those seen in the U.S. and Europe in 2009.  In the U.S., valuations have moved higher from a year ago and fundamentals have not kept pace. Small cap stocks appear especially vulnerable given profit margins that are weakening, growth rates that are slowing and valuations that are high from a historical basis.  From a macroeconomic and policy perspective, we do not see the fiscal or monetary initiatives of the past several years as being conducive to good long-term economic growth and employment. The high level of government liabilities and the rapid growth of regulations are particularly worrisome. While we continue to believe stocks have the best chance to adjust to a dynamic environment, and are thus attractive from a long-term perspective, we are less optimistic about the near-term. The Fund continues to sell at significant discount to the Russell 2000 on most valuation measures and currently carries an above average level of cash.

COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN
FMI COMMON STOCK FUND AND THE RUSSELL 2000 INDEX(1)
 



AVERAGE ANNUALIZED TOTAL RETURN
       
Since
       
Inception
 
1-Year
5-Year
10-Year
12/18/81
FMI Common
       
  Stock Fund
26.63%
12.88%
11.70%
12.40%
Russell 2000 Index
30.06%
11.15%
9.64%
10.60%

The graph and the table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.  Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results.  Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.  Current performance of a Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.  The total returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.  Total return includes change in share prices and in each case includes reinvestments of any dividends, interest and capital gain distributions.  Performance data current to the most recent month-end may be obtained by visiting www.fmifunds.com or by calling 1-800-811-5311.

(1)
The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, which comprises the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization.
An investment cannot be made directly into an index.

 
 
This page is unaudited.
 
 
16

 
FMI Common Stock Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
September 30, 2013 


 
Shares
     
Cost
   
Value
 
   
COMMON STOCKS — 80.4% (a)
 
   
COMMERCIAL SERVICES SECTOR — 7.3%
 
     
Financial Publishing/Services — 2.3%
           
    272,000  
The Dun & Bradstreet Corp.
  $ 18,520,002     $ 28,247,200  
       
Miscellaneous Commercial Services — 3.7%
               
    741,000  
Cintas Corp.
    20,332,081       37,939,200  
    492,000  
RPX Corp.*
    8,350,644       8,624,760  
              28,682,725       46,563,960  
       
Personnel Services — 1.3%
               
    425,000  
Robert Half International Inc.
    11,128,001       16,587,750  
   
CONSUMER DURABLES SECTOR — 0.4%
 
       
Other Consumer Specialties — 0.4%
               
    95,350  
Mine Safety Appliances Co.
    2,530,688       4,921,014  
   
DISTRIBUTION SERVICES SECTOR — 18.4%
 
       
Electronics Distributors — 10.9%
               
    515,000  
Anixter International Inc.*
    34,020,675       45,144,900  
    1,293,000  
Arrow Electronics Inc.*
    26,779,111       62,749,290  
    857,000  
ScanSource Inc.*
    22,062,384       29,652,200  
              82,862,170       137,546,390  
       
Medical Distributors — 5.5%
               
    690,000  
Owens & Minor Inc.
    19,866,306       23,867,100  
    1,113,000  
Patterson Cos. Inc.
    24,876,228       44,742,600  
              44,742,534       68,609,700  
       
Wholesale Distributors — 2.0%
               
    676,000  
World Fuel Services Corp.
    27,739,331       25,221,560  
   
ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 1.3%
 
       
Electronic Production Equipment — 1.3%
               
    620,000  
MKS Instruments Inc.
    16,677,639       16,485,800  
   
ENERGY MINERALS SECTOR — 4.2%
 
       
Oil & Gas Production — 4.2%
               
    552,000  
Cimarex Energy Co.
    31,659,276       53,212,800  
   
FINANCE SECTOR — 16.8%
 
       
Finance/Rental/Leasing — 2.6%
               
    550,000  
Ryder System Inc.
    24,635,921       32,835,000  
       
Insurance Brokers/Services — 1.5%
               
    423,000  
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
    8,259,786       18,463,950  
       
Life/Health Insurance — 3.1%
               
    927,000  
Protective Life Corp.
    14,744,788       39,443,850  
       
Property/Casualty Insurance — 4.7%
               
    804,000  
Greenlight Capital Re Ltd.*
    19,808,449       22,865,760  
    840,000  
W.R. Berkley Corp.
    20,975,570       36,002,400  
              40,784,019       58,868,160  
       
Regional Banks — 4.9%
               
    605,000  
Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc.
    35,152,346       42,682,750  
    680,000  
Zions Bancorporation
    16,146,199       18,645,600  
              51,298,545       61,328,350  
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 2.6%
 
       
Medical Specialties — 2.6%
               
    440,000  
Varian Medical Systems Inc.*
    32,168,403       32,881,200  




 
17

 
FMI Common Stock Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
Shares or Principal Amount
 
Cost
   
Value
 
   
COMMON STOCKS — 80.4% (a) (Continued)
 
   
PROCESS INDUSTRIES SECTOR — 12.6%
 
     
Chemicals: Agriculture — 1.3%
           
    550,150  
Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA
  $ 17,377,335     $ 16,807,083  
       
Chemicals: Specialty — 4.2%
               
    380,000  
Compass Minerals International Inc.
    27,626,318       28,982,600  
    446,000  
Innophos Holdings Inc.
    22,106,901       23,539,880  
              49,733,219       52,522,480  
       
Containers/Packaging — 4.2%
               
    320,000  
AptarGroup Inc.
    6,630,305       19,241,600  
    776,000  
Avery Dennison Corp.
    22,252,409       33,771,520  
              28,882,714       53,013,120  
       
Industrial Specialties — 2.9%
               
    814,000  
H.B. Fuller Co.
    23,274,847       36,784,660  
   
PRODUCER MANUFACTURING SECTOR — 6.4%
 
       
Industrial Machinery — 3.0%
               
    840,000  
Kennametal Inc.
    33,600,357       38,304,000  
       
Miscellaneous Manufacturing — 3.4%
               
    616,000  
Carlisle Cos. Inc.
    18,825,955       43,298,640  
   
RETAIL TRADE SECTOR — 3.0%
 
       
Discount Stores — 3.0%
               
    527,000  
Family Dollar Stores Inc.
    21,060,256       37,954,540  
   
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES SECTOR — 3.8%
 
       
Data Processing Services — 3.8%
               
    1,491,850  
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.
    32,858,473       47,366,237  
   
TRANSPORTATION SECTOR — 3.6%
 
       
Air Freight/Couriers — 1.1%
               
    352,000  
Forward Air Corp.
    11,267,415       14,203,200  
       
Marine Shipping — 2.5%
               
    358,000  
Kirby Corp.*
    15,889,528       30,984,900  
       
Total common stocks
    689,203,927       1,012,455,544  
   
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 21.3% (a)
 
       
Commercial Paper — 5.4%
               
  $ 48,300,000  
U.S. Bank N.A., 0.01%, due 10/01/13
    48,300,000       48,300,000  
    20,000,000  
General Electric Co., 0.02%, due 10/09/13
    19,999,911       19,999,911  
       
Total commercial paper
    68,299,911       68,299,911  
       
U.S. Treasury Securities — 15.9%
               
    25,000,000  
U.S. Treasury Bills, 0.0050%, due 10/10/13
    24,999,969       24,999,969  
    100,000,000  
U.S. Treasury Bills, 0.0025%, due 10/17/13
    99,999,889       99,999,889  
    75,000,000  
U.S. Treasury Bills, 0.0030%, due 10/24/13
    74,999,856       74,999,856  
       
Total U.S. treasury securities
    199,999,714       199,999,714  
       
Total short-term investments
    268,299,625       268,299,625  
       
Total investments — 101.7%
  $ 957,503,552       1,280,755,169  
       
Liabilities, less other assets — (1.7%) (a)
            (21,596,678 )
       
TOTAL NET ASSETS — 100.0%
          $ 1,259,158,491  

*
 
Non-income producing security.
(a)
 
Percentages for the various classifications relate to net assets.

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this schedule.




 
18

 
FMI Common Stock Fund
INDUSTRY SECTORS
as of September 30, 2013 (Unaudited)

 
 





 
19

 
FMI
International
Fund
 
September 30, 2013
 
Dear Fellow Shareholders:
 
The FMI International Fund (FMIJX) returned 4.32% in the three months ending September 30, 2013, which compares with the MSCI EAFE Index gain of 7.50% in local currency and 11.56% in U.S. Dollars (USD). Stock markets continued to soar in the quarter, with indices in Germany, France, the UK and Japan advancing by 7.98%, 11.07%, 5.70%, and 5.98%, respectively.(1)  FMIJX was led by strong individual gains from Adecco, WPP and Electrocomponents, which were partially offset by losses from Potash, Shin-Etsu and Unilever.  The Commercial Services, Industrial Services and Health Technology sectors performed well on a relative basis, while Process Industries, Finance and Consumer Non-Durables all lagged. A higher-than-normal cash position also weighed on the Fund’s relative performance. Calendar year-to-date, FMIJX has advanced by 16.14% while the MSCI EAFE is up 19.34% in local currency and 16.14% in USD.
 
Stock valuations remain elevated, and market exuberance continues to manifest itself at the will of central banks. The disconnect between stock prices and fundamentals is increasing as the proliferation of easy money and low interest rates has led to widespread asset inflation (as intended), which may soon prove to be a very dangerous game. Contrary to historical norms, stock prices have continued to rally even while economic forecasts repeatedly fall short of expectations, with the common belief that governments and central banks will come to the rescue. We are over four years removed from the biggest financial crisis of our generation, four years into an economic recovery, yet somehow GDP growth, employment and capital investment remain anemic, despite unprecedented accommodative policies. Is it time to admit that these policies are not working, and perhaps try something different (e.g., lower taxes, less regulation, incentives for capital investment)? We certainly believe the answer is a resounding YES, but we are not holding our breath.
 
Eurozone: Third Time A Charm?
 
The eurozone is showing some signs of life, with quarter-over-quarter GDP growth(2) (1.1% annualized) for the first time in seven quarters, ending the longest recession in the bloc’s history. Consumer confidence is on the rise, and the Markit manufacturing PMI(3) has tallied two consecutive months above 50 (51.4 in August, 50.3 in July), which implies expansion, after 23 straight months of contraction. However, we question whether Europe is out of the woods just yet. The European Central Bank (ECB) still predicts that eurozone GDP will contract by 0.4% over the full year, and unemployment remains at a record high of 12.1%(4), with nearly 20 million people still out of work. Youth unemployment in many countries tops 25%. Eurozone property prices hit a 7-year low in July, putting bank balance sheets further at risk. Paradoxically, European bank stock prices have surged 11% in the quarter and 28% over the past year,(5) outperforming the broader market. Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, which are the third, fourth and fifth largest economies in the eurozone, remain in a recession, and France is not far removed. France faces an uphill battle in terms of competitiveness, with high labor costs, low labor flexibility, early retirement (60 years), a 35-hour work week, 6+ weeks of paid vacation, high taxes, heavy public spending, et al. France’s new 10-year industrial plan provides little to instill confidence. Meanwhile in Germany, which is the bloc’s pillar of strength, the Bundesbank is predicting a slowdown in growth in the third quarter, and GDP growth of just 0.3% for the full year, a threshold which is underwhelming at best.
 

 
____________
 
(1)The following market indexes are being referred to above: Germany DAX, France CAC, FTSE All-Share (UK), and Japan TOPIX.
(2)As of June 2013 quarter.
(3)Purchasing Managers Index.
(4)As of July 2013.
(5)According to FTSE Eurofirst 300 banks index.



 
20

 
Let’s also not forget about Greece, which has been known to send ripples through the market from time to time. In August, Mr. Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister, publicly admitted that Greece will need a third bailout. This notion was quickly brushed under the rug, receiving minimal press coverage at the time. At this point it appears inevitable that Greece’s first two bailouts of ?73 billion and ?173 billion will come up short. While Mr. Schäuble commented that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate of another ?11 billion through 2016 “appears reasonable,” Carsten Schneider, the spokesman on budget issues for Germany’s Social Democrat Party, has publicly argued that Greece’s financing needs are actually closer to ?77 billion. The Financial Times reports that “The IMF has insisted that any new programme must also ultimately deal with Greece’s massive debt pile, which despite unprecedented austerity and history’s largest sovereign default has only continued to rise.”(6) Government debt is now 175% of GDP which compares with 157% at the end of 2012. It certainly appears that the IMF, ECB and respective eurozone countries will continue to throw good money after bad, and another round of painful restructuring will eventually be in the cards.
 
While Greece Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and other European leaders are now calling for an end to austerity, a recent Forbes article(7) debunks a common perception that austerity in Europe has not worked: “Austerity hasn’t failed, it hasn’t even been tried,” writes Jeffrey Dorfman, a professor of economics at the University of Georgia. “In reality, few countries in Europe have actually reduced government spending. For those that have, economic growth is generally better than it is in countries that have continued to expand government spending. Data on 30 European countries from Eurostat, the official statistics agency of the European Union, show that only 8 countries reduced government spending between 2008 and 2012 […] Many countries that have purportedly tried austerity and failed are not on the above list. Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal all increased government spending […] Austerity can indeed work if a country is willing to try it. Trying austerity means actually cutting government spending, not just slowing the growth in government spending. Austerity cannot have failed in countries where it was never tried.”
 
Japan: Booming Exports?
 
Thus far in 2013, Japan’s reported GDP growth(8) has been surprisingly strong, at 4.1% in the first quarter and 3.8% in the second quarter. Investors have been rewarded handsomely, with the TOPIX index gaining approximately 41% year-to-date and 63% from November 5, 2012. As mentioned in our June letter, however, we do not buy into the long-term efficacy of the “Abenomics” money printing experiment.  Papering over deep structural problems is not a sustainable solution.
 
Recent export data calls into question the initial level of success of Prime Minister Abe’s program. As illustrated in the Japan Export Growth table, despite a sharp depreciation of the yen from November of 2012, export volumes have been weak, with only two months of positive volume growth (modest at that) over this time period.  While headline export numbers (total export value) have looked strong, the reality is that foreigners have not been buying more products made in Japan over the past year. Instead, sales are simply being translated into more yen due to stronger foreign currencies. Thus far, it does not appear Japanese companies are using yen depreciation to become more competitive and go after market share, but instead are padding reported profits through currency translation. With weak volume growth, there is little incentive to invest in new domestic manufacturing capacity, which would create new jobs and spur domestic consumption. As a result, the long-term impact on the domestic economy may be less favorable than anticipated. It is worth noting that as of August, Japan has reported a trade deficit for 14 consecutive months, matching a 1979-1980 record set during the global oil shock.(9) For an economy that has long been heavily dependent upon exports, this is a concern, as rising input costs (e.g. energy imports) are offsetting gains made overseas (exports). Trade is becoming a drag on GDP instead of a growth driver, putting more pressure on Japan’s domestic consumer, which has historically been challenged, to carry the load.
 

 

 

 

 
____________
 
 (6)“Third time lucky? The latest plan to rescue Greece” by Peter Spiegel. Financial Times, September 17, 2013.
(7)“Austerity Hasn’t Failed, It Hasn’t Even Been Tried” By Jeffrey Dorfman. Forbes, September 2, 2013.
(8)Quarter-over-quarter, annualized, expenditure approach.
(9)Japan’s August trade deficit (¥960 billion) rose by 25% year-over-year.



 
21

 
 
Japan Export Growth: Year-over-year percentage change (%)
 
Total Export
Export
Implied Price &
Date
Value (¥)
Volume
FX Impact
  8/13
 14.70%
    1.90%
12.80%
  7/13
 12.20%
    1.80%
10.40%
  6/13
   7.40%
   -5.00%
12.40%
  5/13
 10.10%
   -1.20%
11.30%
  4/13
   3.80%
   -3.00%
  6.80%
  3/13
   1.10%
   -7.10%
  8.20%
  2/13
  -2.90%
 -12.80%
  9.90%
  1/13
   6.40%
   -1.50%
  7.90%
12/12
  -5.80%
 -11.80%
  6.00%
11/12
  -4.10%
   -7.70%
  3.60%
10/12
  -6.50%
   -8.50%
  2.00%
  9/12
-10.30%
-11.60%
  1.30%
       
Source: Bloomberg
 
We are also troubled by Japan’s level of corporate capital investment, which was flat in the second quarter after declining by 3.9% and 8.7% in the prior two quarters.(10) This calls into question the long-term confidence of Japanese corporations, as their lack of investment suggests that they, too, may be skeptical of the ability of “Abenomics” to generate sustainable growth. Mr. Abe, on the other hand, appears to have enough confidence in the outlook to implement an increase in the sales tax from 5% today to 8% by April 2014, and 10% by October 2015. If indeed the long-term health of the Japanese economy is weaker than perceived, an increase in the sales taxes would likely stunt domestic consumption, further compounding Japan’s long list of problems. Stay tuned.
 
China: More of the same
 
Optically it appears that China may be turning the corner, with HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) PMI(11) readings above 50 for two consecutive months, and reported gains in August in industrial output, retail sales and exports. While it’s possible that their supposed “recovery” is organic, we believe that China is resorting to its age-old playbook of excessive capital investment and persistent government stimulus. From our perspective, the risk of a housing and/or credit bubble in China remains very real. Real estate prices continue to rise, with residential properties in China’s three biggest cities (Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzen) up by 18% in August, and 6% in smaller cities. Ghost cities are still empty, and a lack of affordability remains. At the same time, The Wall Street Journal reports that credit is growing over  two times faster than the economy, at 20% in the first half of 2013 compared with 7.6% GDP growth. This trend is unsustainable, especially considering that China’s total debt(12) to GDP is now believed to be over 200%.(13) Fitch Ratings argues that China is getting less bang for each buck, as much of the new credit is being used to refinance existing loans, which will not drive growth. They fear that problems could arise if financial conditions tighten, as borrowers would struggle to service their debt, which could lead to default, or even worse, a credit crisis. All bets are off if the housing bubble bursts, as it could potentially make the U.S. housing collapse look like a walk in the park.
 
The health of China’s banks is also a concern, as it is widely perceived that they are understating the true extent of their underperforming loans, hiding significant off-balance-sheet risk. The Financial Times reports that China’s commercial bank non-performing loans ratio was 1.1% in 2012, down from 17.9% in 2003. This figure appears suspect, especially considering widespread overcapacity and the vast number of low-quality investments that have been made in recent years. Many analysts believe that Chinese banks are far more exposed to shadow banking loans than is commonly perceived, and the practice of disguising “sizeable credit exposure as investments in wealth management products”(14) is running rampant. As China now accounts for over 13% of world GDP, the ripple effects of a banking crisis would be felt across the globe.
 
____________
 
 (10)Year-over-year.
(11)Purchasing Managers Index.
(12)Total debt includes government, corporate and consumer credit.
(13)Goldman Sachs “Top of Mind” report, August 5, 2013.
(14)Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services report, cited in The Wall Street Journal article, “Fear Rises in China Over Bad Loans.” August 29, 2013.

 
22

 
As market bulls embrace an overly optimistic view through their quintessential rose-colored glasses (a.k.a. “Fed Goggles”), we remain skeptical and see growing risks to the downside. As a result, we will continue to remain cautious and prudent, building out our bench for a more favorable risk-to-reward environment. In the meantime, we expect FMIJX’s relative performance to be consistent with the firm’s long-term track record in domestic equities, lagging in periods of market euphoria (i.e. today) and outperforming in periods of market turmoil. While finding both quality and value in today’s stock markets is as challenging as we can remember, here are two FMIJX holdings that we believe fit the bill:
 
Potash Corporation (POT)
(Analyst: Karl Poehls)
Description
 
Potash Corporation is the world’s largest fertilizer company by capacity and produces the following three primary crop nutrients: potash (K), phosphate (P) and nitrogen (N). The company has operations and business interests in seven countries and sells globally.
 
Good Business
 
 
Fertilizer roughly doubles the productivity of crop land, yet only accounts for approximately 20% of farmers’ costs.  Thus, it is an absolute necessity in the ongoing quest to feed an increasing world population, and is an excellent value.
 
 
Potash Corporation is the world’s largest potash producer with 17 million tons of total capacity planned for 2015, and has access to more than 65 years worth of scarce potash reserves in Canada.
 
 
The company benefits from high barriers to entry in potash and phosphate rock production. It takes at least seven years to construct a conventional potash mine and costs more than $4 billion.
 
 
Over the trailing 5-year and 10-year periods, Potash Corporation’s return on invested capital (ROIC) has averaged 22% and 17%, respectively. Therefore, its ROIC handsomely exceeds its cost of capital.
 
 
The company maintains a strong balance sheet with net debt of $2.8 billion, which is less than one times estimated 2013 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Potash Corporation’s interest coverage ratio exceeds 25 times.
 
Valuation
 
 
Over the trailing 1-year, 2-year and 5-year periods, the stock has lagged the price return of the S&P 500 Index by 43%, 82% and 81%, respectively. This is significant underperformance.
 
 
Potash Corporation’s forward price-to-earnings multiple (P/E) is 13.6 times. Since December 2004, the stock has traded for an average earnings multiple of 22.4 times.
 
 
A conservative estimate of the replacement cost of the company’s assets is more than 50% higher than the current stock price.
 
 
We expect free cash flow to approach $2.5-3.0 billion by 2015 as the company’s massive potash expansion project is completed. The current dividend yield is 4.3%.
 
Management
 
 
The company is led by CEO Bill Doyle and CFO Wayne Brownlee. Both executives have been in senior leadership positions at Potash Corporation since the initial public offering of stock in 1989.
 
 
Mr. Doyle has 39 years of experience in the fertilizer industry and is well respected among his peers.
 
 
As of 2012 year-end, Mr. Doyle beneficially owned close to $100 million of the company’s stock.
 
 
A significant component of executive compensation is directly linked to ROIC.
 
Investment Thesis
 
Over the past 5 years, POT’s common stock has lagged the price performance of the S&P 500 by 80%+. Investors have been concerned about potential over-capacity in the potash industry as well as a recent announcement by a key competitor to pursue a volume-over-price strategy. We believe these fears are overblown and potash prices will remain strong enough to generate attractive profits. At today’s valuation, Potash Corporation’s stock trades for more than 50% below a conservative estimate of the replacement value of its assets. We believe this presents an adequate margin of safety and think the stock is attractive for long-term investors.
 
 

 
23

 
Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH)
(Analyst: Matthew Goetzinger)
Description
 
Fairfax is a multinational property/casualty insurance holding company run under the venerable investment sage Prem Watsa. The company’s primary operating units are: Northbridge Financial, operating in Canada; OdysseyRe, a specialty reinsurer; and Crum & Forster, a U.S. primary insurer. Approximately 50% of insurance premiums come from the U.S., with the remainder split between the Canadian and international markets.  The business is balanced between short and longer-tailed risks.
 
Good Business
 
 
Fairfax’s operating businesses occupy leading market positions in durable niches within the global insurance market.
 
 
The company’s business is predictable when viewed over the course of a cycle.
 
 
Fairfax’s business provides necessary insurance coverages to enterprises globally.
 
 
Over the past 27 years, Fairfax has delivered a 23% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in book value per share. Management targets a long-term return on shareholder’s equity of at least 15%.
 
 
Fairfax maintains a strong cash-rich balance sheet. Claims reserves have proven conservative through time. Current net premiums written are a small fraction of statutory capital.
 
 
The company’s business model is transparent and fairly easy to understand.
 
Valuation
 
 
Over the past five years, Fairfax  has traded for an average discounted valuation of 1.1 times book value.
 
 
Given the longer-term outlook of a 13-15% return on equity, the company’s fair value is 1.4-1.5 times accounting book value.
 
 
Fairfax has considerable value not accurately captured by traditional GAAP (generally accepted accounting principals), including investment float, subsidiary company holdings and macroeconomic hedges.
 
Management
 
 
Since 1985, Fairfax has been managed by Prem Watsa under the same guiding principles, that honesty and integrity are essential in all relationships, and will never be compromised. Prem owns 1.5% of the company outright.
 
 
The company is managed under a conservative underwriting culture, with operating business units determining risk exposures.
 
 
Fairfax has never lost a president or officer.
 
 
Executives are long-term owners. Incentive stock options are inconsequential.
 
Investment Thesis
 
Fairfax represents a conservative means to gain exposure to a resurgent global business environment through necessity insurance coverages. The company’s conservative underwriting culture positions Fairfax to benefit from a hardening of the insurance market. Despite a challenged near-term environment, we believe the company’s proven investment team will enable the company to navigate through a choppy market with decent returns.
 
The Fund’s Board of Directors has declared a distribution effective December 20, 2013, payable on December 20, 2013 to shareholders of record on December 19, 2013.  The distribution amounts will be determined at that time and will be posted to the Fund’s website www.fmifunds.com when available.
 
Thank you for your continued support of the FMI International Fund.
 

 


100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 2200 • Milwaukee, WI  53202 • 414-226-4555
www.fmifunds.com

This shareholder letter is unaudited.




 
24

 
FMI International Fund
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION OF FUND PERFORMANCE
 

 
The FMI International Fund (the “Fund”) gained 20.87% in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013.  This compares to the 28.31% return of the MSCI EAFE Index (local currency) and the 23.77% of the MSCI EAFE Index (U.S. Dollar). Commercial Services, Non-Energy Minerals and Producer Manufacturing were among the outperforming sectors in the period. WPP PLC, SMC Corp., and TE Connectivity were up significantly in the period. Sectors that underperformed included Finance, Process Industries and Retail Trade.  Higher-than-normal cash levels also hurt performance. Potash Corp. and Tesco declined during the fiscal year. Tesco was sold as our assessment of its long-term prospects diminished significantly. We remain optimistic about the long-term investment merits of Potash Corp.  Brookfield Asset Management, Shimano, Ingersoll-Rand and SGS were sold in the fiscal year, all due to reaching our assessment of full value. New purchases this fiscal year included Amorepacific Preferred, Genting Malaysia Berhad, Taiwan Secom and Hyundai Greenfood. As of September 30, 2013, overweighted sectors included Commercial Services, Process Industries and Consumer Non-Durables. Underweighted groups included Finance, Health Technology and Producer Manufacturing. Stock markets around the globe were generally strong over the fiscal year, with exceptional performance from Japan.  We believe markets were responding more to easy monetary policies than to true underlying improvement in the fundamentals.  European economic growth remains weak, although the June quarter was the first positive GDP report in nearly two years. The United States GDP growth continues to be weak.  Japan’s GDP growth has improved but the numbers are highly influenced by currency translation. China appears to be reigniting government stimulus programs to counter weaker economic growth. Broad measures of unemployment, in both Europe and the United States remains highly elevated. The debt crisis shows little sign of improvement in the Eurozone, or elsewhere across the globe.  The United States was in the midst of a second major budget crisis as the fiscal year ended.  Valuations have moved higher from a year ago and this presents the Fund with a less attractive investment landscape. While we continue to believe stocks have the best chance to adjust to a dynamic environment, and are thus attractive from a long-term perspective, we are less optimistic about the near-term. The Fund continues to sell at a discount to the MSCI EAFE on most valuation measures.

COMPARISON OF CHANGE IN VALUE OF $10,000 INVESTMENT IN
FMI INTERNATIONAL FUND AND MSCI EAFE(1)
 




AVERAGE ANNUALIZED TOTAL RETURN
   
Since
   
Inception
 
1-Year
12/31/10
FMI International Fund
20.87%
11.48%
MSCI EAFE (LOC)(1)(a)
28.31%
7.82%
MSCI EAFE (USD)(1)(b)
23.77%
6.77%


The graph and the table do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.  Performance data quoted represents past performance; past performance does not guarantee future results.  Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.  Current performance of a Fund may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.  The total returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Fund distributions or the redemption of Fund shares.  Total return includes change in share prices and in each case includes reinvestments of any dividends, interest and capital gain distributions.  Performance data current to the most recent month-end may be obtained by visiting www.fmifunds.com or by calling 1-800-811-5311.

(1)   The MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada.  As of May 27, 2010 the MSCI EAFE Index consisted of the following 22 developed market country indices: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.  The MSCI EAFE Index is unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly in the Index.  Index results are inclusive of dividends and net of foreign withholding taxes.  The reported figures include reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions and do not reflect any fees or expenses.
 
The MSCI EAFE Index is calculated in local currency as well as in U.S. dollars (USD).  The concept of a local currency calculation excludes the impact of currency fluctuations.  All currencies of listing are considered in the Index calculation in local currency where current prices (t) and previous day prices (t-1) are converted into USD using the same exchange rate (exchange rate t-1) in the numerator and denominator.  As a consequence, the FX factor drops out of the equation.  The USD calculation includes exchange rates at t and t-1.  Therefore, the local currency calculation only represents the price appreciation or depreciation of the securities, whereas the USD calculation also accounts for the performance of the currency (or currencies) relative to the USD.  MSCI EAFE is a service mark of MSCI Barra.
 
An investment cannot be made directly into an index.
 

 

 
This page is unaudited.

 

 
25

 
FMI International Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
September 30, 2013


 
Shares
     
Cost
   
Value
 
   
LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS — 92.3% (a)
 
COMMON STOCKS — 88.7% (a)
           
             
COMMERCIAL SERVICES SECTOR — 11.7%
           
     
Advertising/Marketing Services — 3.7%
           
    248,000  
WPP PLC (Jersey) (b)
  $ 3,411,293     $ 5,096,442  
       
Miscellaneous Commercial Services — 4.1%
               
    63,000  
Secom Co. Ltd. (Japan) (b)
    3,134,242       3,948,711  
    698,000  
Taiwan Secom (Taiwan) (b)
    1,633,345       1,669,237  
              4,767,587       5,617,948  
       
Personnel Services — 3.9%
               
    74,500  
Adecco S.A. (Switzerland) (b)
    3,510,341       5,314,534  
                 
CONSUMER DURABLES SECTOR — 5.5%
               
       
Automotive Aftermarket — 3.8%
               
    408,000  
Pirelli & C. SpA (Italy) (b)
    4,472,614       5,312,686  
       
Other Consumer Specialties — 1.7%
               
    830,000  
Samsonite International S.A. (Luxembourg) (b)
    1,742,260       2,320,474  
                 
CONSUMER NON-DURABLES SECTOR — 12.8%
               
       
Food: Major Diversified — 8.3%
               
    64,500  
Danone S.A. - SP-ADR (France) (b)
    4,498,570       4,856,447  
    41,500  
Nestlé S.A. (Switzerland) (b)
    2,487,120       2,893,966  
    94,500  
Unilever PLC (Britain) (b)
    3,574,074       3,674,206  
              10,559,764       11,424,619  
       
Household/Personal Care — 4.5%
               
    70,500  
Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany) (b)
    4,379,178       6,245,814  
                 
CONSUMER SERVICES SECTOR — 7.3%
               
       
Hotels/Resorts/Cruiselines — 3.6%
               
    3,804,000  
Genting Malaysia Berhad (Malaysia) (b)
    4,907,289       4,927,678  
       
Restaurants — 3.7%
               
    373,000  
Compass Group PLC (Britain) (b)
    3,883,079       5,131,007  
                 
DISTRIBUTION SERVICES SECTOR — 2.2%
               
       
Wholesale Distributors — 2.2%
               
    680,000  
Electrocomponents PLC (Britain) (b)
    2,449,471       3,037,973  
                 
ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 6.7%
               
       
Aerospace & Defense — 2.5%
               
    189,000  
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (Britain)*(b)
    2,362,079       3,400,480  
       
Electronic Components — 4.2%
               
    111,000  
TE Connectivity Ltd. (Switzerland)
    3,962,593       5,747,580  
                 
ENERGY MINERALS SECTOR — 2.7%
               
       
Integrated Oil — 2.7%
               
    113,000  
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (Britain) (b)
    3,875,932       3,725,126  
                 
FINANCE SECTOR — 7.5%
               
       
Insurance Brokers/Services — 2.2%
               
    70,500  
Willis Group Holdings PLC (Ireland)
    2,675,045       3,054,765  
       
Property/Casualty Insurance — 5.3%
               
    18,000  
Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (Canada)
    7,073,151       7,279,336  
                 
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY SECTOR — 5.6%
               
       
Medical Specialties — 3.7%
               
    84,000  
Covidien PLC (Ireland)
    4,450,727       5,118,960  
       
Pharmaceuticals: Major — 1.9%
               
    106,500  
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (Britain) (b)
    2,385,580       2,677,717  




 
26

 
FMI International Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013


Shares or Principal Amount
 
Cost
   
Value
 
             
LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS — 92.3% (a) (Continued)
           
COMMON STOCKS — 88.7% (a) (Continued)
           
             
INDUSTRIAL SERVICES SECTOR — 4.1%
           
     
Oilfield Services/Equipment — 4.1%
           
    63,500  
Schlumberger Ltd. (Curacao)
  $ 4,508,529     $ 5,610,860  
                 
NON-ENERGY MINERALS SECTOR — 2.9%
               
       
Construction Materials — 2.9%
               
    168,000  
CRH PLC (Ireland) (b)
    3,259,722       4,035,059  
                 
PROCESS INDUSTRIES SECTOR — 9.0%
               
       
Chemicals: Agricultural — 4.9%
               
    218,000  
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (Canada)
    8,258,134       6,819,040  
       
Chemicals: Specialty — 1.3%
               
    30,000  
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. (Japan) (b)
    1,661,800       1,840,683  
       
Industrial Specialties — 2.8%
               
    58,500  
Akzo Nobel N.V. (Netherlands) (b)
    3,325,646       3,843,487  
                 
PRODUCER MANUFACTURING SECTOR — 3.2%
               
       
Industrial Machinery — 3.2%
               
    9,500  
Schindler Holding AG (Switzerland) (b)
    1,091,082       1,427,464  
    12,500  
SMC Corp. (Japan) (b)
    2,033,246       2,983,321  
              3,124,328       4,410,785  
                 
RETAIL TRADE SECTOR — 3.2%
               
       
Department Stores — 3.2%
               
    275,000  
Hyundai Greenfood Co. Ltd. (South Korea) (b)
    4,223,532       4,399,167  
                 
TECHNOLOGY SERVICES SECTOR — 4.3%
               
       
Information Technology Services — 4.3%
               
    81,500  
Accenture PLC (Ireland)
    5,279,683       6,001,660  
       
Total common stocks
    104,509,357       122,393,880  
                 
PREFERRED STOCKS — 2.9% (a)
               
                 
CONSUMER NON-DURABLES SECTOR — 2.9%
               
       
Household/Personal Care — 2.9%
               
    6,000  
Amorepacific Corp. (South Korea) (b)
    1,849,782       1,898,905  
    10,500  
LG Household & Health Care Ltd. (South Korea) (b)
    1,822,341       2,052,345  
       
Total preferred stocks
    3,672,123       3,951,250  
                 
SAVINGS SHARES — 0.7% (a)
               
                 
CONSUMER DURABLES SECTOR — 0.7%
               
       
Automotive Aftermarket — 0.7%
               
    111,000  
Pirelli & C. SpA (Italy) (b) - RSP
    929,593       1,000,874  
       
Total savings shares
    929,593       1,000,874  
       
Total long-term investments
    109,111,073       127,346,004  
                 
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 8.9% (a)
               
       
Commercial Paper — 5.3%
               
  $ 2,300,000  
U.S. Bank N.A., 0.01%, due 10/01/13
    2,300,000       2,300,000  
    5,000,000  
General Electric Co., 0.02%, due 10/09/13
    4,999,978       4,999,978  
       
Total commercial paper
    7,299,978       7,299,978  




 
27

 
FMI International Fund
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
Shares or Principal Amount
 
Cost
   
Value
 
         
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS — 8.9% (a) (Continued)
       
   
U.S. Treasury Securities — 3.6%
           
$ 5,000,000  
U.S. Treasury Bills, 0.0030%, due 10/24/13
  $ 4,999,990     $ 4,999,990  
     
Total short-term investments
    12,299,968       12,299,968  
     
Total investments — 101.2%
  $ 121,411,041       139,645,972  
     
Liabilities, less other assets — (1.2%) (a)
            (1,739,771 )
     
TOTAL NET ASSETS — 100.0%
          $ 137,906,201  

*
 
Non-income producing security.
(a)
 
Percentages for the various classifications relate to net assets.
(b)
 
Security does not trade during New York Stock Exchange hours and has been valued in accordance with the procedures discussed in Note 1(a) to the financial statements and has been classified as level 2.  As of September 30, 2013 the aggregate value of these securities was $87,713,803.
PLC – Public Limited Company
RSP – Risparmio (Savings)
SP-ADR – Sponsored American Depositary Receipt

 
SCHEDULE OF FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS
       
U.S. $ Value on
     
U.S. $ Value on
       
       
September 30, 2013
     
September 30, 2013
   
Unrealized
 
Settlement
 
Currency to
 
of Currency to
 
Currency to
 
of Currency to
   
Appreciation
 
Date
Counterparty
be Delivered
 
be Delivered
 
be Received
 
be Received
   
(Depreciation)
 
10/25/13
State Street Global
                     
 
  Markets, LLC
17,000,000 British Pound
  $ 27,515,485  
26,087,265 U.S. Dollar
  $ 26,087,265     $ (1,428,220 )
10/25/13
U.S. Bank, N.A.
6,500,000 Canadian Dollar
    6,306,427  
6,292,352 U.S. Dollar
    6,292,352       (14,075 )
10/25/13
Bank of New York
12,800,000 Euro
    17,317,545  
16,911,360 U.S. Dollar
    16,911,360       (406,185 )
10/25/13
U.S. Bank, N.A.
675,000,000 Japanese Yen
    6,868,164  
6,736,527 U.S. Dollar
    6,736,527       (131,637 )
10/25/13
Bank of New York
14,800,000 Malaysian Ringgit
    4,532,309  
4,607,304 U.S. Dollar
    4,607,304       74,995  
10/25/13
Bank of New York
8,300,000,000 South Korean Won
    7,709,432  
7,384,341 U.S. Dollar
    7,384,341       (325,091 )
10/25/13
U.S. Bank, N.A.
7,500,000 Swiss Franc
    8,294,980  
8,012,820 U.S. Dollar
    8,012,820       (282,160 )
10/25/13
Bank of New York
40,400,000 Taiwan Dollar
    1,366,963  
1,344,426 U.S. Dollar
    1,344,426       (22,537 )
        $ 79,911,305       $ 77,376,395     $ (2,534,910 )

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these schedules.


INDUSTRY SECTORS
as of September 30, 2013 (Unaudited)
 

 
 




 
28

 
FMI Funds
STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
September 30, 2013


   
FMI
   
FMI
   
FMI
 
   
Large Cap
   
Common Stock
   
International
 
   
Fund
   
Fund
   
Fund
 
ASSETS:
                 
     Investments in securities, at value                                                                                                                        (a)
  $ 8,119,026,746     $ 1,280,755,169     $ 139,645,972  
      Receivable from shareholders for purchases
    20,501,970       453,606       535,700  
     Dividends and interest receivable
    9,068,218       544,780       231,893  
     Receivable for forward currency contracts
                74,995  
     Prepaid expenses
    131,738       44,786       14,832  
     Cash
    86,561       81,401       96,064  
          Total assets
  $ 8,148,815,233     $ 1,281,879,742     $ 140,599,456  
LIABILITIES:
                       
     Payable to brokers for investments purchased
  $ 16,306,638     $ 20,192,962     $  
     Payable to shareholders for redemptions
    4,794,538       1,379,601        
     Payable to adviser for management fees
    3,744,446       882,835       28,044  
     Payable for forward currency contracts
                2,609,905  
     Other liabilities
    1,953,855       265,853       55,306  
          Total liabilities
    26,799,477       22,721,251       2,693,255  
NET ASSETS:
                       
     Capital Stock                                                                                                                                                             (b)
    5,873,061,658       817,998,178       116,102,252  
     Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments:
                       
         Securities
    1,744,795,361       323,251,617       18,234,931  
         Forward currency contracts
                (2,534,910 )
         Foreign currency transactions
                2,947  
     Accumulated net realized gain
    457,986,896       114,909,937       2,999,372  
     Undistributed net investment income
    46,171,841       2,998,759       3,101,609  
          Net assets
    8,122,015,756       1,259,158,491       137,906,201  
          Total liabilities and net assets
  $ 8,148,815,233     $ 1,281,879,742     $ 140,599,456  
CALCULATION OF NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE:
                       
     Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share
                       
     (Net assets ÷ shares outstanding)
  $ 20.52     $ 29.05     $ 26.34  
                         
(a)  Identified cost of investments
  $ 6,374,231,385     $ 957,503,552     $ 121,411,041  
(b)  Par value
  $ 0.0001     $ 0.01     $ 0.0001  
       Shares authorized
    500,000,000    
Indefinite
      300,000,000  
       Shares outstanding
    395,836,428       43,351,637       5,235,557  

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these statements.




 
29

 
FMI Funds
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the Year Ended September 30, 2013


   
FMI
   
FMI
   
FMI
 
   
Large Cap
   
Common Stock
   
International
 
   
Fund
   
Fund
   
Fund
 
                   
INCOME:
                 
     Dividends
  $ 136,904,972     $ 16,965,496     $ 2,045,899 *
     Interest
    235,029       61,580       5,336  
          Total income
    137,140,001       17,027,076       2,051,235  
EXPENSES:
                       
     Management fees
    53,745,186       11,758,185       754,606  
     Transfer agent fees
    9,600,409       1,296,294       87,680  
     Administration and accounting services
    3,667,012       602,909       135,424  
     Printing and postage expense
    831,340       94,600       9,179  
     Custodian fees
    304,994       52,824       42,953  
     Registration fees
    293,763       50,646       42,572  
     Professional fees
    57,659       46,748       41,535  
     Board of Directors fees
    48,400       43,600       10,000  
     Other expenses
    208,619       82,511       31,139  
          Total expenses before reimbursement
    68,757,382       14,028,317       1,155,088  
     Less expenses reimbursed by adviser
                (148,911 )
          Net expenses
    68,757,382       14,028,317       1,006,177  
NET INVESTMENT INCOME
    68,382,619       2,998,759       1,045,058  
NET REALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS:
                       
     Securities
    470,091,161       118,919,635       2,876,727  
     Forward currency contracts
                601,266  
     Foreign currency transactions
                527,811  
NET REALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS
    470,091,161       118,919,635       4,005,804  
NET CHANGE IN UNREALIZED
                       
  APPRECIATION (DEPRECIATION) OF INVESTMENTS:
                       
     Securities
    803,855,501       157,041,927       13,970,190  
     Forward currency contracts
                (1,193,197 )
     Foreign currency transactions
                2,550  
NET CHANGE IN UNREALIZED APPRECIATION (DEPRECIATION)
    803,855,501       157,041,927       12,779,543  
NET GAIN ON INVESTMENTS
    1,273,946,662       275,961,562       16,785,347  
NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS
  $ 1,342,329,281     $ 278,960,321     $ 17,830,405  

*  Net withholding taxes of $220,181.

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these statements.




 
30

 
FMI Funds
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
For the Years Ended September 30, 2013 and 2012


   
FMI
   
FMI
   
FMI
 
   
Large Cap
   
Common Stock
   
International
 
   
Fund
   
Fund
   
Fund
 
                                     
   
2013
   
2012
   
2013
   
2012
   
2013
   
2012
 
OPERATIONS:
                                   
     Net investment income
  $ 68,382,619     $ 64,095,788     $ 2,998,759     $ 4,270,449     $ 1,045,058     $ 401,433  
     Net realized gain on investments
    470,091,161       97,601,348       118,919,635       113,867,695       4,005,804       1,787,474  
     Net change in unrealized
                                               
       appreciation on investments
    803,855,501       957,131,983       157,041,927       90,965,301       12,779,543       4,331,720  
     Net increase in net assets
                                               
       from operations
    1,342,329,281       1,118,829,119       278,960,321       209,103,445       17,830,405       6,520,627  
DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS:
                                               
     Distributions from
                                               
       net investment income
    (70,248,746 )     (50,344,376 )     (3,755,898 )     (1,924,012 )     (276,470 )     (124,040 )
     Distributions from net realized gains
    (76,074,311 )     (119,091,898 )     (104,459,853 )     (85,397,192 )     (780,403 )      
     Total distributions
    (146,323,057 )     (169,436,274 )     (108,215,751 )     (87,321,204 )     (1,056,873 )     (124,040 )
FUND SHARE ACTIVITIES:
                                               
     Proceeds from shares issued
    2,042,367,387       2,281,908,015       156,410,362       163,903,550       59,962,904       50,654,509  
     Net asset value of shares issued
                                               
       in distributions reinvested
    134,676,458       150,413,804       105,591,665       85,133,428       1,034,508       123,122  
     Cost of shares redeemed
    (1,418,847,676 )     (1,222,659,690 )     (292,088,719 )     (198,309,108 )     (7,180,587 )     (3,372,226 )
     Net increase (decrease) in net assets
                                               
       derived from Fund share activities
    758,196,169       1,209,662,129       (30,086,692 )     50,727,870       53,816,825       47,405,405  
     TOTAL INCREASE
    1,954,202,393       2,159,054,974       140,657,878       172,510,111       70,590,357       53,801,992  
NET ASSETS AT THE
                                               
  BEGINNING OF THE YEAR
    6,167,813,363       4,008,758,389       1,118,500,613       945,990,502       67,315,844       13,513,852  
NET ASSETS AT THE
                                               
  END OF THE YEAR
  $ 8,122,015,756     $ 6,167,813,363     $ 1,259,158,491     $ 1,118,500,613     $ 137,906,201     $ 67,315,844  
     Undistributed net investment income
  $ 46,171,841     $ 48,037,968     $ 2,998,759     $ 3,755,898     $ 3,101,609     $ 1,336,517  
FUND SHARE TRANSACTIONS:
                                               
     Shares sold
    108,297,779       140,809,873       6,051,371       6,533,630       2,432,360       2,441,371  
     Shares issued in
                                               
       distributions reinvested
    8,008,684       9,775,503       4,598,940       3,614,947       47,537       6,340  
     Less shares redeemed
    (75,281,300 )     (75,867,253 )     (11,290,353 )     (7,952,752 )     (287,112 )     (153,047 )
     Net increase (decrease)
                                               
       in shares outstanding
    41,025,163       74,718,123       (640,042 )     2,195,825       2,192,785       2,294,664  

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these statements.




 
31

 
FMI Large Cap Fund
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(Selected data for each share of the Fund outstanding throughout each year)

 
   
Years Ended September 30,
 
   
2013
   
2012
   
2011
   
2010
   
2009
 
PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE:
                             
Net asset value, beginning of year
  $ 17.38     $ 14.31     $ 14.46     $ 13.27     $ 13.65  
Income from investment operations:
                                       
     Net investment income
    0.18       0.20       0.16       0.17       0.20  
     Net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments
    3.37       3.46       (0.17 )     1.19       (0.47 )
Total from investment operations
    3.55       3.66       (0.01 )     1.36       (0.27 )
Less distributions:
                                       
     Distributions from net investment income
    (0.20 )     (0.17 )     (0.14 )     (0.17 )     (0.11 )
     Distributions from net realized gains
    (0.21 )     (0.42 )                  
Total from distributions
    (0.41 )     (0.59 )     (0.14 )     (0.17 )     (0.11 )
Net asset value, end of year
  $ 20.52     $ 17.38     $ 14.31     $ 14.46     $ 13.27  
TOTAL RETURN
    20.94 %     26.17 %     (0.13 %)     10.33 %     (1.79 %)
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
                                       
Net assets, end of year (in 000’s $)
    8,122,016       6,167,813       4,008,758       3,318,364       2,051,701  
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
    0.96 %     0.96 %     0.97 %     0.97 %     0.97 %
Ratio of net investment income to average net assets
    0.95 %     1.25 %     1.03 %     1.18 %     1.80 %
Portfolio turnover rate
    30 %     21 %     28 %     20 %     32 %



FMI Common Stock Fund
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(Selected data for each share of the Fund outstanding throughout each year)


   
Years Ended September 30,
 
   
2013
   
2012
   
2011
   
2010
   
2009
 
PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE:
                             
Net asset value, beginning of year
  $ 25.43     $ 22.63     $ 22.98     $ 21.07     $ 21.20  
Income from investment operations:
                                       
     Net investment income (loss)
    0.07       0.09       0.03       (0.00 )*     0.05  
     Net realized and unrealized gains on investments
    6.05       4.79       0.44       1.96       0.86  
Total from investment operations
    6.12       4.88       0.47       1.96       0.91  
Less distributions:
                                       
     Distributions from net investment income
    (0.09 )     (0.04 )           (0.04 )     (0.06 )
     Distributions from net realized gains
    (2.41 )     (2.04 )     (0.82 )     (0.01 )     (0.98 )
Total from distributions
    (2.50 )     (2.08 )     (0.82 )     (0.05 )     (1.04 )
Net asset value, end of year
  $ 29.05     $ 25.43     $ 22.63     $ 22.98     $ 21.07  
TOTAL RETURN
    26.63 %     22.38 %     2.03 %     9.30 %     6.04 %
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
                                       
Net assets, end of year (in 000’s $)
    1,259,158       1,118,501       945,991       925,630       872,557  
Ratio of expenses to average net assets
    1.19 %     1.20 %     1.21 %     1.24 %     1.26 %
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets
    0.26 %     0.38 %     0.13 %     (0.01 %)     0.32 %
Portfolio turnover rate
    24 %     43 %     26 %     30 %     35 %

*Amount is less than $0.005 per share.


The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of these statements.



 
32

 
FMI International Fund
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(Selected data for each share of the Fund outstanding throughout each period)


               
For the Period from
 
               
December 31,
 
   
Years Ended September 30,
   
2010* to
 
               
September 30,
 
   
2013
   
2012
   
2011
 
PER SHARE OPERATING PERFORMANCE:
                 
Net asset value, beginning of period
  $ 22.12     $ 18.06     $ 20.00  
Income from investment operations:
                       
     Net investment income
    0.25       0.22       0.16  
     Net realized and unrealized gains (loss) on investments
    4.29       4.00       (2.10 )
Total from investment operations
    4.54       4.22       (1.94 )
Less distributions:
                       
      Distributions from net investment income
    (0.08 )     (0.16 )      
      Distributions from net realized gains
    (0.24 )            
Total from distributions
    (0.32 )     (0.16 )      
Net asset value, end of period
  $ 26.34     $ 22.12     $ 18.06  
TOTAL RETURN
    20.87 %     23.52 %     (9.70 %)(1)
RATIOS/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA:
                       
Net assets, end of period (in 000’s $)
    137,906       67,316       13,514  
Ratio of expense to average net assets:
                       
      Before expense reimbursement
    1.15 %     1.45 %     2.91 %(2)
      After expense reimbursement
    1.00 %     1.00 %     1.00 %(2)
Ratio of net investment income (loss) to average net assets:
                       
      Before expense reimbursement
    0.89 %     0.62 %     (0.86 )%(2)
      After expense reimbursement
    1.04 %     1.07 %     1.05 %(2)
Portfolio turnover rate
    21 %     20 %     12 %(1)
 

*
 
Commencement of Operations.
(1)
 
Not annualized.
(2)
 
Annualized.

The accompanying notes to financial statements are an integral part of this statement.


FMI Funds
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
September 30, 2013

 
(1)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies —
 
 
The following is a summary of significant accounting policies of the FMI Large Cap Fund, the FMI Common Stock Fund, Inc. and the FMI International Fund (collectively the “Funds” or the “Fund”). The FMI Large Cap Fund (the “Large Cap Fund”) and the FMI International Fund (the “International Fund”) are each a series of FMI Funds, Inc. (the “Company”). Both Funds are registered as non-diversified, open-end management investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”), as amended. The Company was incorporated under the laws of Maryland on September 5, 1996 and the Large Cap Fund commenced operations on December 31, 2001 and the International Fund on December 31, 2010. The Large Cap Fund is currently closed to new investors. The assets and liabilities of each Fund in the Company are segregated and a shareholder’s interest is limited to the Fund in which the shareholder owns shares. The FMI Common Stock Fund, Inc. (the “Common Stock Fund”), is registered as a diversified open-end management investment company under the Act. The Common Stock Fund was incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin on July 29, 1981 and is currently closed to new investors. The investment objective of the Large Cap Fund is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing mainly in a limited number of large capitalization value stocks. The investment objective of the Common Stock Fund is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing mainly in small to medium capitalization value stocks. The investment objective of the International Fund is to seek capital appreciation by investing mainly in a limited number of large capitalization value stocks of non-U.S. companies.
 
 
(a)
Each security, excluding short-term investments, is valued at the last sale price reported by the principal security exchange on which the issue is traded. Securities that are traded on the Nasdaq Markets are valued at the Nasdaq Official Closing Price, or if no sale is reported, the latest bid price. Securities that are traded over-the-counter are valued at the latest bid price. For the International Fund only, securities sold short which are listed on a national securities exchange or the Nasdaq Stock Market, but which were not traded on the valuation date, are valued at the most recent ask price. Unlisted equity securities for which market quotations are readily
 

 
33

 
FMI Funds
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
(1)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — (Continued)
 
   
available are valued at the most recent bid price. For the International Fund only, options purchased or written by the Fund are valued at the average of the most recent bid and ask prices. Securities for which quotations are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined by the investment adviser in accordance with procedures approved by the Board of Directors. The fair value of a security is the amount which a Fund might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale. The fair value of a security may differ from the last quoted price and a Fund may not be able to sell a security at the fair value. Market quotations may not be available, for example, if trading in particular securities was halted during the day and not resumed prior to the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. For the International Fund only, for securities that do not trade during New York Stock Exchange hours, fair value determinations are based on analyses of market movements after the close of those securities’ primary markets, and may include reviews of developments in foreign markets, the performance of U.S. securities markets, and the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent foreign securities and baskets of foreign securities. The Board utilizes a service provided by an independent third party to assist in fair valuation of certain securities for the International Fund. As of September 30, 2013, there were no securities that were internally fair valued. Short-term investments with maturities of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost which approximates value. For financial reporting purposes, investment transactions are recorded on the trade date.
 
   
The Funds apply the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” Topic 820 (“ASC 820”), which defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (i.e., the “exit price”) in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.
 
   
In determining fair value, the Funds use various valuation approaches. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by generally requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are those that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Funds. Unobservable inputs reflect the Funds’ assumptions about the inputs market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances. The inputs or methodologies used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities. For the International Fund only, over the counter derivatives such as forward currency contracts may be valued using quantitative models. These models may use pricing curves based on market inputs including current exchange rates or indices. These curves are combined with volatility factors to value the overall positions. The market inputs are generally significant and can be corroborated with observable market data and therefore are classified in level 2.
 
   
The fair value hierarchy is categorized into three levels based on the inputs as follows:

 
Level 1 —
Valuations based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.
 
 
Level 2 —
Valuations based on quoted prices for similar securities or in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.
 
 
Level 3 —
Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement.
 
 
The following table summarizes the Fund’s investments as of September 30, 2013, based on the inputs used to value them:

     
Large Cap Fund
   
Common Stock Fund
   
International Fund
   
International Fund
 
     
Investments
   
Investments
   
Investments
   
Other Financial
 
 
Valuation Inputs
 
in Securities
   
in Securities
   
in Securities
   
Instruments*
 
 
Assets:
                       
 
Level 1 — Common Stocks
  $ 7,065,028,458     $ 1,012,455,544     $ 39,632,201     $  
 
Level 2 — Common Stocks
                82,761,679        
 
                   Preferred Stocks
                3,951,250        
 
                   Savings Shares
                1,000,874        
 
                   Short-Term Commercial Paper
    203,999,667       68,299,911       7,299,978        
 
                   Short-Term U.S. Treasury Securities
    849,998,621       199,999,714       4,999,990          
 
                   Forward Currency Contracts
                      74,995  
 
                       Total Level 2
    1,053,998,288       268,299,625       100,013,771       74,995  
 
Level 3 —
                       
 
Liabilities:
                               
 
Level 2 — Forward Currency Contracts
                      (2,609,905 )
 
Total
  $ 8,119,026,746     $ 1,280,755,169     $ 139,645,972     $ (2,534,910 )
 
 
*
Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, specifically forward currency contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) on the instrument.

 
 
34

 
FMI Funds
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
(1)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — (Continued)
 
   
It is the Funds’ policy to recognize transfers between levels at the end of the reporting period. There were no transfers between levels during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013.
 
   
See the Schedules of Investments for investments detailed by industry classifications.
 
   
In December 2011, the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-11 (“ASU No. 2011-11”) to enhance disclosures requiring improved information about financial instruments and derivative instruments that are subject to offsetting (“netting”) on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities. This information will enable users of the entity’s financial statements to evaluate the effect or potential effect of netting arrangements on the entity’s financial position. ASU No. 2011-11 is effective prospectively during interim or annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013. At this time, management is evaluating the implications of these changes on the financial statements.
 
   
In January 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-01, which amends ASU 2011-11 to clarify that the scope applies to derivatives, repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, and securities borrowing and lending transactions that are either offset in accordance with Section 210-20-45 or Section 815-10-45 or subject to master netting or similar arrangements. The amendments are effective prospectively for interim or annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013. At this time, management is evaluating the implications of these changes on the financial statements.
 
 
(b)
Net realized gains and losses on sales of securities are computed on the identified cost basis.
 
 
(c)
Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis.
 
 
(d)
The International Fund may enter into forward currency contracts in order to hedge its exposure to changes in foreign currency rates on its foreign portfolio holdings or to hedge certain purchase and sale commitments denominated in foreign currencies. A forward currency contract is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at a future date at a negotiated rate. These contracts are valued daily and the asset or liability therein represents unrealized gain or loss on the contracts as measured by the difference between the forward foreign exchange rates at the dates of entry into the contracts and the forward rates at the reporting date. There were on average seven forward currency contracts outstanding during the year ended September 30, 2013.
 
   
The fair value of the forward currency contracts as of September 30, 2013 is included in the following locations on the International Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities:

     
Fair Value of
 
Fair Value of
     
Asset Forward
 
(Liability) Forward
   
Location
Currency Contracts
Location
Currency Contracts
 
Forward currency
Receivable for
$74,995
Payable for
$(2,609,905)
 
contracts
forward currency
 
forward currency
 
   
contracts
 
contracts
 
 
 
Realized and unrealized gains and losses on forward currency contracts entered into during the period ending September 30, 2013 by the International Fund are recorded in the following locations on the statement of operations:

     
Realized
 
Unrealized
   
Location
Gain
Location
(Loss)
 
Forward currency
Net realized gain on forward
$601,266
Net change in unrealized
$(1,193,197)
 
contracts
currency contracts
 
depreciation on forward
 
       
currency contracts
 
 
   
These instruments involve market risk, credit risk, or both kinds of risks, in excess of the amount recognized in the International Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. Risks arise from the possible inability of counterparties to meet the terms of their contracts and from movement in currency and securities values and interest rates.
     
 
(e)
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
     
 
(f)
The Large Cap Fund may own certain securities that are restricted. Restricted securities include Section 4(2) commercial paper, securities issued in a private placement, or securities eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”). A restricted security cannot be resold to the general public without prior registration under the 1933 Act or pursuant to the resale limitations provided by Rule 144A under the 1933 Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act. The Fund did not hold any restricted securities as of September 30, 2013.

 

 

 
35

 
FMI Funds
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
(1)
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — (Continued)
 
 
(g)
No provision has been made for Federal income taxes since the Funds have elected to be taxed as “regulated investment companies.” The Funds intend to distribute substantially all net investment company taxable income and net capital gains to their respective shareholders and otherwise comply with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies.
 
 
(h)
The Funds have reviewed all open tax years and major jurisdictions, which include Federal and the state of Maryland for the Large Cap Fund and International Fund and Federal and the state of Wisconsin for the Common Stock Fund, and concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions that would require recognition in the financial statements. Open tax years are those that are open for exam by taxing authorities and, as of September 30, 2013, open Federal tax years include the tax years ended September 30, 2010 through 2013 for the Large Cap Fund and the Common Stock Fund and tax years ended September 30, 2011 through 2013 only for the International Fund. The Funds have no examinations in progress and are also not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly change in the next twelve months.
 
 
(i)
GAAP requires that permanent differences between income for financial reporting and tax purposes be reclassified in the capital accounts. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, the reclassifications were as follows:

   
Undistributed Net
Accumulated Net
 
   
Investment Income
Realized Gain/(Loss)
Paid In Capital
 
Large Cap Fund
$        —
$          —
$  —
 
Common Stock Fund
          —
            —
    —
 
International Fund
  996,504
    (996,504)
   —
 
(2)
Investment Adviser and Management Agreements and Transactions With Related Parties —
 
 
The Funds each have a management agreement with Fiduciary Management, Inc. (“FMI”), with whom certain officers and directors of the Funds are affiliated, to serve as investment adviser and manager. Under the terms of the agreements, the Large Cap Fund and International Fund will each pay FMI a monthly management fee at the annual rate of 0.75% of the daily net assets of such Fund and the Common Stock Fund will pay a monthly management fee at the annual rate of 1% of the daily net assets of such Fund. The Funds are responsible for paying their proportionate share of the compensation, benefits and expenses of the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer. For administrative convenience, FMI initially makes these payments and is later reimbursed by the Funds.
 
 
Under the respective management agreements, FMI will reimburse the Large Cap Fund for expenses over 1.20% of the daily net assets of such Fund, 1.30% for the Common Stock Fund and 1.75% for the International Fund. In addition to the reimbursement required under each management agreement, FMI will voluntarily reimburse the Large Cap Fund and the International Fund for expenses over 1.00% of such Fund’s daily net assets. For the year ended September 30, 2013 there were no contractual or voluntary reimbursements required for the Large Cap Fund or the Common Stock Fund. For the International Fund, all such reimbursements amounted to $148,911 for the year ended September 30, 2013.
 
 
The Large Cap Fund and the International Fund have each entered into a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”), pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Act. Each Plan provides that such Fund may incur certain costs which may not exceed the lesser of a monthly amount equal to 0.25% of such Fund’s daily net assets or the actual distribution costs incurred during the year. Amounts payable under each Plan are paid monthly for any activities or expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of such Fund. For the year ended September 30, 2013, no such expenses were incurred by either Fund.
 
 
Under the Funds’ organizational documents, each director, officer, employee or other agent of any Fund (including the Funds’ investment manager) is indemnified, to the extent permitted by the Act, against certain liabilities that may arise out of performance of their duties to the Funds. Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Funds enter into contracts that contain a variety of indemnification clauses. The Funds’ maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against such Fund that have not yet occurred. However, the Funds have not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts and believe the risk of loss to be remote.
 
 
At September 30, 2013, three financial intermediaries are the record owners of approximately 7%, 6% and 6% of the Large Cap Fund’s shares and one financial intermediary is record owner of approximately 10% of the Common Stock Fund’s shares.  At September 30, 2013, one of the International Fund’s Directors owned directly and indirectly approximately 12% of such Fund’s shares.

 
36

 
FMI Funds
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
(3)
Credit Agreements —
 
 
U.S. Bank, N.A. has made available to the Large Cap Fund, the Common Stock Fund and the International Fund a $675,000,000, $50,000,000 and $10,000,000 credit facility, respectively, pursuant to separate Credit Agreements (“Agreements”) effective July 14, 2008 for the Large Cap Fund and the Common Stock Fund and June 10, 2011 for the International Fund for the purposes of having cash available to satisfy redemption requests. Principal and interest of such loans under the Agreements are due not more than 20 days after the date of the loan. Amounts under the credit facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to the current prime rate minus one percent on the amount borrowed. Advances will be collateralized by securities owned by such Fund. During the year ended September 30, 2013, none of the Funds borrowed against their Agreement. The Credit Agreements are renewable annually on June 5.
 
(4)
Distribution to Shareholders —
 
Net investment income and net realized gains, if any, are distributed to shareholders at least annually.
 
(5)
Investment Transactions —
 
For the year ended September 30, 2013, purchases and proceeds of sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) were as follows:

   
Large Cap Fund
Common Stock Fund
International Fund
 
  Purchases
$2,027,778,859
$240,945,666
$70,101,728
 
  Sales
  1,926,014,750
  527,393,785
  18,073,022
 
(6)
Income Tax Information —
 
 
The following information for the Funds is presented on an income tax basis as of September 30, 2013:

           
Gross
   
Gross
   
Net Unrealized
   
Distributable
   
Distributable
   
Other
 
     
Cost of
   
Unrealized
   
Unrealized
   
Appreciation
   
Ordinary
   
Long-Term
   
Accumulated
 
     
Investments
   
Appreciation
   
Depreciation
   
on Investments
   
Income
   
Capital Gains
   
Gains
 
 
  Large Cap Fund
  $ 6,382,628,798     $ 1,872,232,895     $ (135,834,947 )   $ 1,736,397,948     $ 102,906,982     $ 409,649,168     $  
 
  Common Stock Fund
    960,063,792       324,139,902       (3,448,525 )     320,691,377       19,927,612       100,541,324        
 
  International Fund
    121,497,568       22,901,856       (4,753,452 )     18,148,404       1,828,680       1,771,460       55,405  
 
 
The difference between the cost amounts for financial statement and federal income tax purposes is due primarily to timing differences in recognizing certain gains and losses on security transactions.
   
 
The tax components of dividends paid during the years ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, capital loss carryovers, which may be used to offset future capital gains, subject to Internal Revenue Code limitations, as of September 30, 2013, and tax basis post-October losses as of September 30, 2013, which are not recognized for tax purposes until the first day of the following fiscal year are:

     
September 30, 2013
   
September 30, 2012
 
     
Ordinary
   
Long-Term
   
Net
         
Ordinary
   
Long-Term
 
     
Income
   
Capital Gains
   
Capital Loss
   
Post-October
   
Income
   
Capital Gains
 
     
Distributions
   
Distributions
   
Carryovers
   
Losses
   
Distributions
   
Distributions
 
 
  Large Cap Fund
  $ 103,929,009     $ 42,394,048     $     $     $ 52,548,400     $ 116,887,874  
 
  Common Stock Fund
    16,078,830       92,136,921                   12,922,882       74,398,322  
 
  International Fund
    787,842       269,031                   124,040        
 
 
For corporate shareholders of the Large Cap Fund, the Common Stock Fund and the International Fund, the percentage of dividend income distributed for the year ended September 30, 2013 which is designated as qualifying for the dividends received deduction is 72.3%, 95.9% and 0%, respectively (unaudited). The International Fund intends to elect to pass-through to shareholders the income tax credit for taxes paid to foreign countries. For the year ended September 30, 2013, the foreign source income was $2,138,479 (unaudited) and the foreign tax expense was $121,992 (unaudited). The pass-through of the foreign tax credit will only affect those persons who are shareholders on the dividend record dates.
   
 
For all shareholders of the Large Cap Fund, the Common Stock Fund and the International Fund, the percentage of dividend income distributed for the year ended September 30, 2013 which is designated as qualified dividend income under the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Act of 2003, is 100%, 95.9% and 96.3%, respectively (unaudited).

 

 

 
37

 
FMI Funds
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)
September 30, 2013

 
(7)
Subsequent Event —
 
 
On September 27, 2013, the Board of Directors unanimously approved an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which the FMI Common Stock Fund would transfer all of its assets and liabilities (the “Reorganization”) to FMI Common Stock Fund, a new series of FMI Funds, Inc. (the “Acquiring Fund”).  The Agreement requires approval of the FMI Common Stock Fund’s shareholders and will be submitted to the shareholders for their consideration at a meeting to be held on November 25, 2013.  In the event the shareholders approve the Agreement, upon closing of the Reorganization, shareholders of the FMI Common Stock Fund would receive shares of the Acquiring Fund in exchange for their shares of the FMI Common Stock Fund and the FMI Common Stock Fund would liquidate and cease operations.

 
 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
 


To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
  FMI Large Cap Fund, FMI Common Stock Fund, Inc. and FMI International Fund:
 
In our opinion, the accompanying statements of assets and liabilities, including the schedules of investments, and the related statements of operations and of changes in net assets and the financial highlights present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of FMI Large Cap Fund (a series of FMI Funds, Inc.), FMI Common Stock Fund, Inc. and FMI International Fund (also a series of FMI Funds, Inc.) (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Funds”) at September 30, 2013, the results of each of their operations for the year then ended, the changes in each of their net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended and the financial highlights for each of the periods presented, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.  These financial statements and financial highlights (hereafter referred to as “financial statements”) are the responsibility of the Funds’ management; our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.  We conducted our audits of these financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.  An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.  We believe that our audits, which included confirmation of securities at September 30, 2013 by correspondence with the custodian and brokers, provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
 
As disclosed in Note 7, the Board of Directors approved an agreement and plan of reorganization on September 27, 2013 of the FMI Common Stock Fund which will be subject to the approval of the Fund’s shareholders on November 25, 2013. In the event the shareholders approve the agreement, upon closing of the reorganization the shareholders of the FMI Common Stock Fund, Inc. would receive a corresponding number of shares of the FMI Common Stock Fund, a new series of FMI Funds, Inc., in exchange for their shares and the Fund would liquidate and cease operations.
 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
November 1, 2013
 

 

 

 

 
38

 
FMI Funds
COST DISCUSSION
 


As a shareholder of the FMI Funds you incur ongoing costs, including management fees and other Fund expenses. You do not incur transaction costs such as sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, reinvested dividends, or other distributions; redemption fees; and exchange fees because the Funds do not charge these fees. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in each Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds. The example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period from April 1, 2013 through September 30, 2013.
 
Actual Expenses
 
The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in these lines, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the line under the heading entitled “Actual Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.
 
In addition to the costs highlighted and described below, the only Fund transaction costs you might currently incur would be wire fees ($15 per wire), if you choose to have proceeds from a redemption wired to your bank account instead of receiving a check. Additionally, U.S. Bank charges an annual processing fee ($15) if you maintain an IRA account with the Fund. To determine your total costs of investing in a Fund, you would need to add any applicable wire or IRA processing fees you’ve incurred during the period to the costs provided in the example at the end of this article.
 
Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes
 
The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on each Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in a Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.
 
Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), redemption fees or exchange fees. Therefore, the hypothetical line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.
 
 
 
FMI
FMI
FMI
 
Large Cap
Common Stock
International
 
Fund
Fund
Fund
       
  Actual Beginning Account Value 4/01/13
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
       
  Actual Ending Account Value 9/30/13
$1,077.20
$1,102.00
$1,053.60
       
  Actual Expenses Paid During Period* 4/01/13-9/30/13
$       5.05
$       6.27
$       5.15
       
  Hypothetical Beginning Account Value 4/01/13
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
$1,000.00
       
  Hypothetical Ending Account Value 9/30/13
$1,020.21
$1,019.10
$1,020.05
       
  Hypothetical Expenses Paid During Period* 4/01/13-9/30/13
$      4.91
$       6.02
$       5.06
       
  Annualized Expense Ratio*
     0.97%
     1.19%
       1.00%
 
*
Expenses are equal to the Fund’s annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183/365 (to reflect the one-half year period between April 1, 2013 and September 30, 2013).

 
 
39

 
FMI Funds
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
 


   
Term of
Principal
# of Funds
Other
 
Positions
Office and
Occupation(s)
in Complex
Directorships
Name, Age
Held with
Length of
During Past
Overseen
Held by
and Address*
the Funds
Time Served
Five Years
by Director
Director or Officer
Non-Interested Directors
         
Barry K. Allen, 65
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Allen is President of Allen Enterprises, LLC
4
BCE, Inc. (Bell
   
Since 2001
(Boca Grande, FL) a private equity investments
 
Canada Enterprise),
     
and management company, and Senior Advisor
 
CDW Corp. and
     
for Providence Equity Partners (Providence, RI)
 
Harley-Davidson,
     
since September, 2007.
 
Inc.
           
Robert C. Arzbaecher, 53
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Arzbaecher is Chief Executive Officer of
4
Actuant Corporation
   
Since 2007
Actuant Corporation (Menomonee Falls, WI),
 
and CF Industries  
     
a manufacturer of a broad range of industrial
 
Holdings, Inc.
     
products and systems, and the Chairman of the
   
     
Board of Directors of Actuant Corporation.
   
           
Gordon H.
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Gunnlaugsson retired from M&I Corporation
4
None
  Gunnlaugsson, 69
 
Since 2001
(Milwaukee, WI) in December, 2000.
   
           
Paul S. Shain, 50
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Shain is President and Chief Executive Officer
4
None
   
Since 2001
of Singlewire Software, LLC (Madison, WI), a
   
     
provider of IP-based paging and emergency
   
     
notification systems. Prior to joining Singlewire in
   
     
April, 2009, Mr. Shain was Senior Vice President
   
     
of CDW Corporation (Vernon Hills, IL) and Chief
   
     
Executive Officer of Berbee Information Networks,
   
     
a strategic business unit of CDW which CDW
   
     
acquired in 2006. Mr. Shain was employed in
   
     
various capacities by CDW and Berbee Information
   
     
Networks from January, 2000 to October, 2008.
   
           
Interested Directors
         
John S. Brandser,** 51
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Brandser is President, Secretary, Chief
1
None
   
Since 2009
Operating Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer
   
 
Vice
One Year Term
of Fiduciary Management, Inc. and has been
   
 
President
Since 2008
employed by the Adviser in various capacities
   
 
and
One Year Term
since March, 1995 and a Director for only FMI
   
 
Secretary
Since 2009
Common Stock Fund, Inc.
   
           
Patrick J. English,** 52
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. English is Chief Executive Officer, Chief
4
None
   
Since 2001
Investment Officer and Treasurer of Fiduciary
   
 
Vice
One Year Term
Management, Inc. and has been employed by the
   
 
President
Since 2001
Adviser in various capacities since December, 1986.
   
           
Ted D. Kellner,** 67
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Kellner is Executive Chairman of Fiduciary
4
None
   
Since 2001
Management, Inc. which he co-founded in 1980.
   
 
President
One Year Term
     
 
and
Since 2001
     
 
Treasurer
       
           
Richard E. Lane,** 57
Director
Indefinite Term
Mr. Lane is President of Broadview Advisors, LLC,
3
None
   
Since 2001
the sub-adviser to the FMI Focus Fund and a
   
     
Director for only FMI Funds, Inc.
   

 

 
40

 
FMI Funds
DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS (Continued)
 


   
Term of
Principal
# of Funds
Other
 
Positions
Office and
Occupation(s)
in Complex
Directorships
Name, Age
Held with
Length of
During Past
Overseen
Held by
and Address*
the Funds
Time Served
Five Years
by Director
Director or Officer
Other Officer
         
Kathleen M. Lauters, 61
Chief
At Discretion
Ms. Lauters has been the Fund’s Chief Compliance
N/A
None
 
Compliance
of Board
Officer since September, 2004.
   
 
Officer
Since 2004
     
________
 
   *  The address of each Director and Officer is c/o Fiduciary Management, Inc., 100 E. Wisconsin Ave., Suite 2200, Milwaukee, WI  53202.
 
**    Messrs. Brandser, English and Kellner are interested directors of the Funds because they are officers of the Funds and the Adviser. Mr. Brandser is a director of the FMI Common Stock Fund, Inc. only. Mr. Lane is an interested director of only the FMI Funds, Inc. which includes the FMI Large Cap Fund and the FMI International Fund, because he is an officer of the FMI Focus Fund’s sub-adviser.
 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 

For additional information about the Directors and Officers or for a description of the policies and procedures that the Funds use to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities, please call (800) 811-5311 and request Statements of Additional Information. They will be mailed to you free of charge. The Statements of Additional Information are also available on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) at http://www.sec.gov. Information on how each of the Funds voted proxies relating to portfolio securities is available on the Funds’ website at http://www.fmifunds.com or the website of the Commission no later than August 31 for the prior 12 months ending June 30. The Funds file their complete schedules of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Funds’ Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website. The Funds’ Forms N-Q may be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C., and that information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.




DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
 

Securities named in the Letters to Shareholders or in the Management Discussions, but not listed in the Schedules of Investments are not held in the Funds as of the date of this disclosure.  Portfolio holdings are subject to change without notice and are not intended as recommendations of individual securities.
 
As of the Funds’ Prospectuses dated January 31, 2013, the FMI Large Cap Fund, FMI Common Stock Fund and FMI International Fund’s annual operating expense ratios are 0.96%, 1.20% and 1.00%, respectively.  FMI International Fund’s (“FMIJX”) annual operating expense ratio is 1.45%, less an expense reimbursement of 0.45% for a net operating expense ratio of 1.00%. Fiduciary Management, Inc. (“FMI”) has contractually agreed to waive its advisory fee to the extent necessary to ensure that net expenses of FMIJX do not exceed 1.75% of the average daily net assets.  In addition to the reimbursement required under the FMIJX investment advisory agreement, FMI will reimburse FMIJX for expenses in excess of 1.00% of the daily net assets.  FMI will not terminate this reimbursement prior to January 31, 2014.
 

 

 

 
41

 
FMI Funds
DISCLOSURE INFORMATION (Continued)
 

Risks associated with investing in the Funds are as follows:
 
 
FMI Large Cap Fund: Stock Market Risk, Medium and Large Capitalization Companies Risks, Value Investing Risk, Foreign Securities Risk (fluctuation of currency, different financial standards, and political instability) and Non-Diversification Risk.  Non-Diversified Funds are subject to higher volatility than funds that are invested more broadly.
 
 
FMI Common Stock Fund: Stock Market Risk, Medium and Small Capitalization Companies Risks, Value Investing Risk and  Foreign Securities Risk (fluctuation of currency, different financial standards, and political instability).
 
 
FMI International Fund: Stock Market Risk, Value Investing Risk, Foreign Securities Risk (fluctuation of currency, different financial standards, and political instability), Geographic Concentration Risk, Currency Hedging Risk, Large Capitalization Companies Risk and Non-Diversified Risk.  Non-Diversified Funds are subject to higher volatility than funds that are invested more broadly.
 
For details regarding these risks, please refer to the Funds’ Prospectuses or Summary Prospectuses dated January 31, 2013.
 
Please note the FMI Common Stock Fund and the FMI Large Cap Fund are currently closed to new investors.
 
This report is not authorized for use as an offer of sale or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of the Fund unless accompanied or preceded by the Fund’s current prospectus.
 
For more information about the FMI Funds, call 1-800-811-5311 for a free Prospectus or Summary Prospectus.  Please read these Prospectuses carefully to consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses, before investing or sending money.  These Prospectuses contain this and more information about the FMI Funds.  Please read the Prospectuses or Summary Prospectuses carefully before investing.
 
The TOPIX, also known as the Tokyo Stock Price Index, is a capitalization weighted index of all companies listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.  The index is supplemented by the sub-indices of the 33 industry sectors.  The index calculation excludes temporary issues and preferred stocks, and has a base value of 100 as of January 4, 1968.
 
The FTSE 100 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of the 100 most highly capitalized companies traded on the London Stock Exchange.  The equities use an investibility weighting in the index calculation.  The index was developed with a base level of 1000 as of January 3, 1984.  The index is maintained by the FTSE Group, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group.
 
An investment cannot be made directly into an Index.
 
Reference definitions found at Investopedia.com
 
P/E ratio (forward 4 quarters) – Price to Earnings ratio (forward 4 quarters) is a measure of the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) using forecasted earnings for the P/E calculation. While the earnings used are just an estimate and are not as reliable as current earnings data, there is still a benefit in estimated P/E analysis. The forecasted earnings used in the formula can either be for the next 12 months or for the next full-year fiscal period.
 
EBIT – Earnings Before Interest & Tax – An indicator of a company’s profitability, calculated as revenue minus expenses, excluding tax and interest.
 
EV/EBITDA – Enterprise Value to Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization is a measure of the value of a stock that compares a company’s enterprise value (market cap plus debt, minority interest and preferred shares, minus total cash and cash equivalents) to its earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization. EV/EBITDA is one of several fundamental indicators that investors use to determine whether a stock is priced well. The EV/EBITDA multiple is also often used to determine a company’s valuation in the case of a potential acquisition.
 
EV/Sales – Enterprise-Value-To-Sales – A valuation measure that compares the enterprise value of a company to the company’s sales. EV/sales gives investors an idea of how much it costs to buy the company’s sales.
 
EBITDA – Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization is essentially net income with interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization added back to it, and can be used to analyze and compare profitability between companies and industries because it eliminates the effects of financing and accounting decisions.
 
ROIC – Return On Invested Capital – A calculation used to assess a company’s efficiency at allocating the capital under its control to profitable investments. The return on invested capital measure gives a sense of how well a company is using its money to generate returns.
 
Distributed by Rafferty Capital Markets, LLC
 

 
42

 
FMI Funds
NOTICE OF PRIVACY POLICY
 

 
Protecting the privacy of our shareholders is important to us. This notice describes the practices and policies through which we maintain the confidentiality and protect the security of your non-public personal information.
 
What Information We Collect
 
In the course of providing services to you, we may collect the following types of “non-public personal information” about you:
 
Information we receive from you on applications or other forms, such as your name, address and social security number, the types and amounts of investments and bank account information, and
 
Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates and others, as well as other account data.
 
What Information We Disclose
 
We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our current or former shareholders to anyone, except as permitted by law. For example, we are permitted by law to disclose all of the information we collect, as described above, to our transfer agent to process your transactions. Furthermore, we restrict access to your nonpublic personal information to those persons who require such information to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your nonpublic personal information.
 
In the event that you hold shares of any Fund through a financial intermediary, including, but not limited to, a broker-dealer, bank or trust company, the privacy policy of your financial intermediary may govern how your nonpublic personal information would be shared with nonaffiliated third parties.
 

 

 


IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING DELIVERY OF SHAREHOLDER DOCUMENTS
 

In order to reduce expenses, we will deliver a single copy of prospectuses, proxies, financial reports, and other communication to shareholders with the same residential address, provided they have the same last name or we reasonably believe them to be members of the same family. Unless we are notified otherwise, we will continue to send you only one copy of these materials for as long as you remain a shareholder of the Funds. If you would like to receive individual mailings, please call (800) 811-5311 and we will begin sending you separate copies of these materials within 30 days after we receive your request.
 
Thank you for allowing us to serve your investment needs.
 

 

 

 

 
43

 
 
 
 

FMI Large Cap Fund
FMI Common Stock Fund
FMI International Fund
 
100 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2200
 
 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202
 
 
www.fmifunds.com
 
 
414-226-4555
 

 
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 
 
BARRY K. ALLEN
 
GORDON H. GUNNLAUGSSON
 
 
ROBERT C. ARZBAECHER
 
TED D. KELLNER
 
 
JOHN S. BRANDSER*
 
RICHARD E. LANE**
 
 
PATRICK J. ENGLISH
 
PAUL S. SHAIN
 

 
*
 
Common Stock Fund only
 
 
**
 
Large Cap Fund and International Fund only
 
 

INVESTMENT ADVISER
FIDUCIARY MANAGEMENT, INC.
100 East Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 2200
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202
 
ADMINISTRATOR, ACCOUNTANT, TRANSFER
AGENT AND DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT
U.S. BANCORP FUND SERVICES, LLC
615 East Michigan Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin  53202
800-811-5311 or 414-765-4124

CUSTODIAN
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
U.S. BANK, N.A.
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
 
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
DISTRIBUTOR
 
RAFFERTY CAPITAL
LEGAL COUNSEL
MARKETS, LLC
FOLEY & LARDNER LLP


 
 
 


   
fmi funds door logo
FMI Funds
1-800-811-5311
www.fmifunds.com
   

 
 
 

 
 

 
Item 2. Code of Ethics.

Registrant has adopted a code of ethics.  See attached Exhibit 12 (a) (1).

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

Registrant’s Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Gordon Gunnlaugsson, a member of its audit committee, is an audit committee financial expert.  Mr. Gunnlaugsson is “independent” as such term is defined in Form N-CSR.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
 
(a) Audit Fees

$65,093 (FY 2013) and $60,283 (FY 2012) are the aggregate fees billed for each of the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant for the audit of the registrant’s annual financial statements or services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years.

(b) Audit-Related Fees

There were no fees billed in the last two fiscal years for Audit-Related Fees.

(c) Tax Fees

There were no other fees billed in the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant for tax compliance, tax advice, tax planning and tax return preparation.

There were no fees billed in the last two fiscal years for professional services rendered by the principal accountant to registrant’s investment adviser for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning that were required to be approved by the audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.

(d) All Other Fees

There were no fees billed in the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the principal accountant to the registrant, other than the services reported in paragraphs (a) – (c) of this Item 4.

There were no fees billed in the last two fiscal years for products and services provided by the principal accountant to registrant’s investment adviser, which were required to be approved by the audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) or Rule 2-01 or Regulation S-X.


(e) (1) None

(e) (2) None

(f) Not applicable.

(g) See the tax fees disclosed in paragraph (c) of this Item 4.

(h) Not applicable, as no non-audit services were provided to registrant’s investment adviser.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

Not applicable to registrants who are not listed issuers (as defined in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).
 
 
Item 6. Schedule of Investments.

(a)  
The Schedule of Investments in securities of unaffiliated issuers is included as part    of the report to shareholders filed under Item 1 of this Form.

(b)  
Not applicable.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies

Not applicable.

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable.

Item 9.  Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.

Not applicable.

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

None.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures.

(a)  
The Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures are periodically evaluated.  As of November 4, 2013, the date of the last evaluation, the Registrant’s officers have concluded that the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures are adequate.

(b)  
The Registrant’s internal controls are periodically evaluated.  There were no changes in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of the period covered by this report  that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, such controls.

Item 12. Exhibits.

(a)  
(1) Any code of ethics or amendment thereto. Filed herewith.

 
(2) Certifications pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.  Filed herewith.

(3)  
Any written solicitation to purchase securities under Rule 23c-1 under the Act sent or given during the period covered by the report by or on behalf of the Registrant to 10 or more persons.  Not applicable to open-end investment companies.

(b)  
Certification pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.  Furnished herewith.



 
 

 

 
SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.


FMI Funds, Inc.
Registrant

By   /s/Ted D. Kellner
        Ted D. Kellner, Principal Executive Officer


Date     November 5, 2013



Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

FMI Funds, Inc.
Registrant


By   /s/Ted D. Kellner
       Ted D. Kellner, Principal Financial Officer
 
 

Date     November 5, 2013