Chris Davis

Christopher Charles Davis runs Davis Selected Advisers with a value discipline that shows up in the fund’s top ten. The largest position is a preferred share of Capital One Financial at 7.1% of the portfolio, followed by U.S. Bancorp preferred stock at 5.6%. These are income-oriented bank securities, not common equity, which separates Davis from most large-cap value managers. He is accepting lower growth for higher yield and seniority in the capital structure, a defensive posture in financials. The rest of the book mixes beaten-down consumer and industrial names with a few mega-cap tech holdings. CVS Health, Viatris, and MGM Resorts each sit near 5% of assets. These are businesses with real cash flows but persistent market skepticism. Davis also holds Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta, though each is under 4.5% of the portfolio. That tech exposure is smaller than what most growth-oriented peers run, and it is funded by the same value screen: large, liquid, and cheap relative to earnings power. Devon Energy adds an energy kicker at 4.5%, and Markel Group rounds out the top ten at 3.4%, a classic Davis holding that blends insurance and equity investing. The fund’s $23.3 billion in assets is spread across roughly 60 positions, so the top ten concentration is moderate. Davis has not chased momentum in AI or financial engineering. His preferred share positions in Capital One and U.S. Bancorp are unusual for a 13F filer of this size, and they suggest a manager more concerned with downside protection than upside optionality. The portfolio leans into sectors that have lagged the broader market, and the tech names are held at weights that would not distort the fund if they fell further.