Kinsale & the Curious Case of Capital

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It has come to my attention – and, frankly, it is a matter that has caused a certain…disquiet – that Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors, a fund whose name suggests a particularly meticulous accounting of buttons and thimbles, has seen fit to acquire a further 6,661 shares of Kinsale Capital Group. A mere 6,661 shares! As if one could truly own a portion of such an enterprise. The transaction, amounting to some $2.72 million – a sum large enough to purchase a respectable number of samovars, or perhaps a small, disgruntled principality – occurred, as these things invariably do, on January 20th. One wonders if the date itself holds some occult significance.

A Peculiar Increase

The increase in holdings, you see, brings the total to a rather substantial $16.78 million. A figure that, when whispered aloud, sounds suspiciously like a debt. The prior quarter’s valuation, a paltry $15.41 million, seems almost…insulting in comparison. As if the fund were merely testing the waters, dipping a toe into the vast, murky ocean of specialty insurance. The addition, coupled with a slight upward drift in share price, has clearly pleased someone, though whether that someone is a rational actor or merely a particularly well-fed pigeon remains to be seen.

The Fund’s Affections

This Kinsale Capital Group, it appears, now accounts for 2.82% of the fund’s reported assets. A modest sum, to be sure, but sufficient to raise an eyebrow – or, in my case, to inspire a lengthy memorandum detailing the potential for shareholder value. The rest of their holdings, as revealed in the obligatory 13F filing, are equally…eccentric. IUSB, APH, AMZN, FSV, MBB – a veritable alphabet soup of acronyms and questionable investment strategies. One half expects a troupe of clowns to emerge from the spreadsheet, juggling dividend yields and price-to-earnings ratios.

  • NASDAQ: IUSB: $36.26 million (6.1% of AUM)
  • NYSE: APH: $33.36 million (5.6% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ: AMZN: $29.88 million (5.0% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ: FSV: $22.55 million (3.8% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ: MBB: $21.81 million (3.7% of AUM)

As of the aforementioned January 20th, Kinsale shares were trading at $405.12 – a price that seems, frankly, arbitrary. A year prior, they fetched a slightly higher sum, but the market, as we all know, is a fickle beast, prone to fits of irrational exuberance and sudden, inexplicable collapses. It has underperformed the S&P 500 by some 20 percentage points, a fact that should give any sensible investor pause – or, at the very least, a strong cup of tea.

Concerning the Company Itself

Kinsale Capital Group, for those unfamiliar with its peculiar operations, is a specialty insurer. They deal in the mundane, the unusual, and the downright improbable – construction risks, small business liabilities, and other forms of commercial misfortune. They serve clients across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and various other territories, primarily through a network of independent brokers – a labyrinthine system of intermediaries that would make a bureaucrat weep with joy.

Metric Value
Revenue (TTM) $1.80 billion
Net income (TTM) $474.09 million
Dividend yield 0.17%
Price (as of market close 1/20/26) $405.12

They leverage “deep underwriting expertise” – a phrase that sounds suspiciously like witchcraft – and a “disciplined approach to risk selection.” This, they claim, drives “profitable growth.” One wonders if they have considered the possibility that true profit lies in embracing chaos.

A Calculated Tilt, or a Descent into Madness?

This modest addition to the portfolio, at under 3% of reported assets, seems a sensible move. A quality tilt, as the analysts say. Anchored by diversified ETFs, mega-cap tech, and those reliable, plodding “compounders.” But what truly catches the eye is the underlying business itself. In a world where insurers are struggling to maintain margins, Kinsale seems…unfazed.

Their latest quarterly report reveals a net income of $141.6 million, or $6.09 per diluted share – a 24% increase year over year. Underwriting income reached $105.7 million. Gross written premiums grew by 8.4%. Even as competition weighed on certain property lines. They even repurchased $20 million worth of shares – a gesture that, while fiscally responsible, feels strangely…hollow.

The shares have lagged the broader market, yes. But the fundamentals remain stubbornly solid. For the long-term investor – the patient, the discerning, the slightly mad – this looks like a calculated allocation. A bet on a high-ROE insurer that continues to generate capital, repurchase shares, and compound book value. Without, it seems, succumbing to the siren song of reckless expansion. Or, perhaps, they simply haven’t realized how delightfully absurd it all is.

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2026-01-21 19:02