Shares in Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity SRI Fund and Brown
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BROWN ADVISORY FUNDS PLC (A company incorporated with limited liability as an open-ended investment company with variable capital under the laws of Ireland) Brown Advisory US Equity Value Fund Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies Fund Brown Advisory American Fund Brown Advisory US Equity Growth Fund Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity SRI Fund Brown Advisory US Small Cap Blend Fund Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity Fund Brown Advisory Global Leaders Fund Condensed Semi-Annual Report For the six months ended 30th April, 2015 (Unaudited) Company Registration No. 409218 BROWN ADVISORY FUNDS PLC TABLE OF CONTENTS Page GENERAL INFORMATION 2 INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REPORT -BROWN ADVISORY US EQUITY VALUE FUND 4 -BROWN ADVISORY US SMALLER COMPANIES FUND 6 -BROWN ADVISORY AMERICAN FUND 8 -BROWN ADVISORY US EQUITY GROWTH FUND 15 -BROWN ADVISORY US FLEXIBLE EQUITY SRI FUND 17 -BROWN ADVISORY US SMALL CAP BLEND FUND 25 -BROWN ADVISORY US FLEXIBLE EQUITY FUND 29 -BROWN ADVISORY GLOBAL LEADERS FUND 31 STATEMENT OF INVESTMENTS -BROWN ADVISORY US EQUITY VALUE FUND 32 -BROWN ADVISORY US SMALLER COMPANIES FUND 34 -BROWN ADVISORY AMERICAN FUND 36 -BROWN ADVISORY US EQUITY GROWTH FUND 41 -BROWN ADVISORY US FLEXIBLE EQUITY SRI FUND 43 -BROWN ADVISORY US SMALL CAP BLEND FUND 45 -BROWN ADVISORY US FLEXIBLE EQUITY FUND 49 -BROWN ADVISORY GLOBAL LEADERS FUND 51 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN THE PORTFOLIO -BROWN ADVISORY US EQUITY VALUE FUND 53 -BROWN ADVISORY US SMALLER COMPANIES FUND 55 -BROWN ADVISORY AMERICAN FUND 57 -BROWN ADVISORY US EQUITY GROWTH FUND 59 -BROWN ADVISORY US FLEXIBLE EQUITY SRI FUND 61 -BROWN ADVISORY US SMALL CAP BLEND FUND 63 -BROWN ADVISORY US FLEXIBLE EQUITY FUND 65 -BROWN ADVISORY GLOBAL LEADERS FUND 67 CONDENSED BALANCE SHEET 69 CONDENSED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT 78 CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS ATTRIBUTABLE TO HOLDERS OF REEDEMABLE PARTICIPATING SHARES 83 NOTES TO THE CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 88 APPENDIX 1 - TOTAL EXPENSE RATIOS 96 APPENDIX 2 - PORTFOLIO TURNOVER RATES 98 MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION 99 BROWN ADVISORY FUNDS PLC GENERAL INFORMATION The following information is derived from and should be read in conjunction with the full text and definitions section of the Prospectus. Brown Advisory Funds plc (the “Company”), was incorporated in Ireland on 11th October, 2005 and is an umbrella fund established as an open-ended investment company with segregated liability between sub-funds and with variable capital under the laws of Ireland as a public limited company pursuant to the European Communities (Undertaking for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) Regulations, 2011 (as amended) (the “UCITS Regulations”) and any regulations made thereunder. At 30th April, 2015 the Company comprised eight separate portfolios of investments (“Funds”), each of which is represented by a separate series of Redeemable Participating Shares. These Funds are the Brown Advisory US Equity Value Fund which commenced operations on 9th February, 2006, the Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies Fund which commenced operations on 9th November, 2007, the Brown Advisory American Fund which commenced operations on 9th May, 2008, the Brown Advisory US Equity Growth Fund which commenced operations on 2nd November, 2009, the Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity SRI Fund which commenced operations on 23rd May, 2011, the Brown Advisory US Small Cap Blend Fund which commenced operations on 8th July, 2013, the Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity Fund which commenced operations on 7th March, 2014 and the Brown Advisory Global Leaders Fund which commenced operations on 1st April, 2015. The Company has segregated liability between its Funds and accordingly any liability incurred on behalf of or attributable to any Fund shall be discharged solely out of the assets of that Fund. The Company offered the following Share Classes in each of the Funds at period end: Fund Share Class Launch Date Launch Price Brown Advisory US Equity Value Fund Sterling Class A 9th February, 2006 STG£10.00 Dollar Class A 4th May, 2006 US$10.00 Dollar Class B 24th July, 2007 US$10.00 Sterling Class B 9th May, 2008 STG£10.00 Sterling Class B Hedged 6th October, 2009 STG£10.00 Euro Class B 30th September, 2010 EUR€10.00 Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies Fund Dollar Class B 9th November, 2007 US$10.00 Dollar Class A 14th December, 2007 US$10.00 Dollar Class C 27th March, 2013 US$10.00 Euro Class B 14th April, 2014 EUR€10.00 Brown Advisory American Fund Dollar Class B 9th May, 2008 US$10.00 Sterling Class A 23rd February, 2009 STG£10.00 Dollar Class A 2nd March, 2010 US$10.00 Euro Class B 20th April, 2010 EUR€10.00 Sterling Class B 22nd April, 2010 STG£10.00 Euro Class A Hedged 22nd October, 2010 EUR€10.00 Sterling Class B Hedged 18th January, 2011 STG£10.00 Brown Advisory US Equity Growth Fund Dollar Class A 29th June, 2010 US$10.00 Euro Class A Hedged 4th August, 2010 EUR€10.00 Euro Class B 20th September, 2010 EUR€10.00 Dollar Class B 1st November, 2010 US$10.00 (Distributing) Sterling Class A Hedged 17th June, 2011 STG£10.00 Sterling Class B Hedged 17th June, 2011 STG£10.00 Euro Class P Hedged 24th October, 2011 EUR€10.00 Dollar Class B 22nd April, 2013 US$10.00 (Accumulating) BROWN ADVISORY FUNDS PLC GENERAL INFORMATION (continued) Fund Share Class Launch Date Launch Price Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity SRI Fund Dollar Class B 24th May, 2011 US$10.00 Dollar Class A 12th July, 2011 US$10.00 Brown Advisory US Small Cap Blend Fund Dollar Class B 8th July, 2013 US$10.00 Dollar Class C 6th November, 2013 US$10.00 Dollar Class A 22nd January, 2014 US$10.00 Dollar Class B 6th August, 2014 US$10.00 (Distributing) Euro Class A Hedged 6th August, 2014 EUR€10.00 Euro Class B Hedged 6th August, 2014 EUR€10.00 Sterling Class A 6th August, 2014 STG£10.00 (Distributing) Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity Fund Dollar Class B 7th March, 2014 US$10.00 Dollar Class C 22nd April, 2014 US$10.00 Sterling Class B Hedged 22nd May, 2014 STG£10.00 Dollar Class A 1st March, 2015 US$10.00 Brown Advisory Global Leaders Fund Dollar Class Y 1st April, 2015 US$10.00 BROWN ADVISORY FUNDS PLC INVESTMENT MANAGER’S REPORT Brown Advisory US Equity Value Fund For the six months ended 30th April, 2015 Over the reporting period, the U.S. Equity Value Fund Class B USD returned 1.74% vs. 2.89% for the Russell 1000 Value Index. The period saw a ‘game of two halves’ in terms of strategy performance. The final few months of 2014 were by all accounts challenging. A combination of weak energy prices, an advancing U.S. dollar and slowing growth among non-U.S. economies surfaced during the third quarter, putting notable pressure on our portfolio. The underperformance came due to three primary factors: first, our energy positioning, where we were disproportionately impacted by our mix of oil services & production companies which underperformed the integrated oil majors and refiners. Secondly, our underweight in REITS and utilities, the latter being the best- performing sector in the benchmark. We have stayed away from this sector due to what we view as unattractively high valuations for capital-intensive, low-growth businesses. And thirdly, stock-specific weakness in some of our commodity-related and health care names (eg Sanofi). This contrasted to the first four months of 2015, where the portfolio’s relative performance rebounded strongly. The main theme was the surfacing of value in a number of our holdings, driven by corporate action and investor activism. These events highlighted some of the meaningful value embedded within our holdings. We can’t always predict the timing and trigger for the exposure of value, and the trickiest part is maintaining patience. Sector wise, technology accounted for most of the outperformance. We benefited from strong stock selection and generated positive returns. We have cast a relatively wide net over the last six months with regard to new holdings. We have recently taken a position in two new industrial names, Copa Airlines (COP) and General Electric (GE). Having monitored Copa, a leading Latin American airline, for a while as its shares have fallen nearly 35% from its 2014 high due to unfavourable currency exposure and a slowdown in demand in Venezuela. Copa historically has been a well-run carrier, keeping its operating costs low and maintaining a modern fleet. The company enjoys a structurally competitive advantage stemming from its dominant share in Panama City’s airport, centrally-located as the primary international hub serving the region. With the stock trading near historical lows and at a discount to its peers, we believe Copa shares are attractively priced given its industry-leading profitability returns, growth prospects and 3% dividend yield. General Electric, the industrial and financial services conglomerate, announced that it will divest the bulk of its GE Capital businesses over the next couple years. We initiated a position in General Electric with the expectation that GE will generate 90% of its earnings from its industrials operations by 2018, up from 58% in 2014, and that the GE’s valuation will expand as its financial services exposure is reduced and overall earnings quality is improved. Despite a challenging near-term outlook for GE’s oil and gas business, we believe GE is well-positioned in its aviation, transportation, power & water, and health care segments. These growing businesses carry the highest margins for the company in part driven by aftermarket sales and long-term service contracts to a large installed base.