Mesirow’s Gamble: Akre Focus ETF

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Right, so Mesirow Financial Investment Management decided to throw a bit of money – $131.8 million, to be precise – at the Akre Focus ETF (AKRE +0.00%). February 4th, 2026. Marked it in my calendar. Not that I need to, I just like the feeling of being…prepared. It’s a control thing, okay? Don’t judge.

What Actually Happened

They picked up 2,012,662 shares. A decent chunk. The valuation, as of December 31st, 2025, matched the average trading price. Which, honestly, is just good housekeeping. It’s the messy bits that worry me. Like, what were they thinking? Or, more accurately, what were they trying to signal?

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Let’s Dig a Little Deeper, Shall We?

  • This is a brand new position for Mesirow, representing 2.7% of their 13F-reported AUM. A smallish bet, really. Unless… it’s a test run. I’m always suspicious of the small bets.
  • Their top holdings, for context:
    • BRK-B: $408 million (8.4% of AUM) – Solid. Predictable. Boring.
    • AAPL: $271 million (5.6% of AUM) – Of course. Everyone loves Apple. It’s like comfort food for investors.
    • MOAT: $205 million (4.2% of AUM) – A moat, how quaint.
    • GOOG: $164 million (3.4% of AUM) – Can’t go wrong with Google.
    • MSFT: $140 million (2.9% of AUM) – See above.
  • AKRE shares were trading at $58.33 on February 4th, 2026 – 14.5% below their 52-week high. A discount, then. Or a warning.
  • Over the last year, AKRE was down 14.5%, underperforming the S&P 500 by a rather embarrassing 30 percentage points. Ouch. That’s… not ideal.

A Quick Look Under the Hood

Metric Value
Fund assets $7.5 billion
Price (as of market close 2/4/26) $58.33
Sector Financial Services
Industry Asset Management

The Pitch

  • A diversified portfolio of U.S. equities, preferred stocks, warrants, options, cash equivalents, and select foreign securities. Sounds…complicated.
  • An actively managed ETF, seeking companies with high returns on capital, strong management, and attractive reinvestment opportunities. The usual buzzwords.
  • Exposure to high-quality U.S. and select global equities through a concentrated, fundamentals-driven investment approach. Basically, they’re picking stocks.

Akre Focus ETF specializes in high-quality U.S. companies with strong shareholder returns and disciplined management. They buy businesses at reasonable valuations and aren’t afraid to throw in a bit of foreign flair. It’s a focused, fundamentals-driven approach. Sounds… sensible. Almost too sensible.

What Does This Mean For Us?

Mesirow has a portfolio of growth stocks and ETFs. They’ve been trimming positions in the big tech names – Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet – and adding AKRE. Interesting. They’re rotating out of the winners. A bit late to the party, perhaps? Or maybe they see something we don’t. I’m leaning towards the former.

AKRE is the ETF version of a mutual fund with a solid track record since 2009. They hold around 20 to 30 quality stocks, thoroughly researched and believed to compound at above-average rates. Ambitious. I like ambition, even if it’s misguided.

Since 2009, AKRE has returned about 14% annually – almost identical to the S&P 500. But over the last five years, it’s underperformed by about six percentage points. That’s… a trend. A worrying trend.

After a year of soaring tech stocks, Mesirow is rotating out and into a quality, actively managed fund. AKRE’s focus on undervalued “compounding machines” could pay off. Or it could just be a very expensive mistake. Honestly, it’s a toss-up. But hey, that’s investing, isn’t it? A beautifully orchestrated gamble. And I, for one, am here for the chaos.

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2026-02-20 17:15