Investment Strategy

The Fund pursues its objective of long-term growth of capital by investing at least 80% of its assets in the stock of companies whose principal operations are located in developed and emerging countries outside of the U.S. The Fund generally holds 40-70 individual securities at any given time.

Why Madison International Stock Fund

  • Bottom-up stock selection.
  • Growth-oriented approach.
  • Emphasizes industry-leading companies with sustainable earnings growth.

Key Highlights (As of Monday March 18, 2024)

Class A

Class Y

NAV

9.47

9.38

Change($)

0.03

0.03

YTD(%)

2.82%

2.85%

Ticker

MINAX

MINYX

Inception Date

12/29/97

06/30/06

Expense Ratio

1.61

1.36

Morningstar Overall
Rating™ as of 02/29/24

Among 698 Foreign Large Blend funds

28

Average years of PM industry experience

55

holdings1

$13.4M

net assets1

Commentary

To put the positive final quarter performance into context, consider what had happened earlier in 2023. By mid-year, equity markets had risen too quickly relative to the macro conditions and suffered a set-back. Investors had gotten ahead of the central banks in discounting an end to monetary austerity and then had to adjust back to more of a tighter-for-longer stance. In the fourth quarter, however, the inflation data coming from developed economies began to show tangible signs of slowing and markets reacted positively by rallying again.

Performance

Average annual returns, %

Portfolio Highlights

Top Ten Fund Holdings (As of 02/29/24)

LARSEN + TOUBRO GDR REG S

2.99%

AIRBUS SE

2.58%

CAMECO CORP

2.98%

GRUPO MEXICO SAB DE CV SER B

2.47%

HDFC BANK LTD ADR

2.82%

LASERTEC CORP

2.46%

SHELL PLC

2.71%

SAP SE SPONSORED ADR

2.44%

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG REG

2.65%

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING SP ADR

2.42%

The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or “star rating”, is calculated for funds with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The Morningstar Rating does not include any adjustment for sales loads. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a fund is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics, and may not indicate positive performance.  Ratings may vary by share class.

1 Data as of December 31, 2023.

Performance quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee and is not a reliable indicator of future results. Investment returns and principal values will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than that shown.

Net Asset Value (NAV) is the amount per share you would receive if you sold shares that day. Change refers to the amount (in dollar terms) that the value of the share price changed from the previous day’s close of trading. The Year-to-date (YTD) return is the net change in the value of the fund’s share price (in percentage terms) at NAV from January 1 to the current date shown above. Expense ratios are as of each fund’s most recent prospectus.  For more detailed information on performance, including returns for the most recent month-end or quarter-end, view Performance.

Investment returns assume all distributions are reinvested and reflect all applicable fees and expenses. Benchmark index returns assume all distributions are reinvested. Indexes are unmanaged and, therefore, have no fees. Investors cannot invest directly in an index.

Investment returns presented for all periods prior to March 1, 2021, represents the performance of the previous subadviser.

An investment in the Fund is subject to risk and there can be no assurance the Fund will achieve its investment objective.  The risks associated with an investment in the Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include foreign security and emerging market risk, depository receipt risk, equity risk, growth investing risk, capital gains realization risks to taxpaying shareholders, and market risk.

Investing foreign securities involves risks relating to currency fluctuations and to political, social, and economic developments abroad, as well as risks resulting from differences between the regulations to which U.S. and foreign issuers and markets are subject. These risks may be greater in emerging markets. The investment markets of emerging countries are generally more volatile than markets of developed countries with more mature economies.  More detailed information regarding these risks can be found in the Fund’s prospectus.

MSCI ACWI ex-USA Index (net) is a market-capitalization-weighted index maintained by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) and designed to provide a broad measure of stock performance throughout the world, with the exception of U.S.-based companies. The index includes both developed and emerging markets.

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