FIRST QUARTER 2026
Letter to Investors
May 8, 2026
My fellow investors,
We formed Gurnee Group to provide access to uniquely curated investments that complement and add value to traditional portfolios. We are pleased to report that despite significant geopolitical volatility in the first quarter of 2026, Lux Fund protected your investment, producing a +0.3% return vs the benchmark +1.4% and S&P 500 -4.3%.
The first quarter was marked by a steady drumbeat of macro and geopolitical developments, including the escalation of the Iran conflict, higher energy prices, and continued uncertainty around future interest rates. While these events drove periods of heightened volatility across global markets, Lux Fund’s portfolio holdings proved resilient.
Notably, the portfolio generated modest positive returns for the quarter and outperformed large-cap indices, which were impacted by mega cap technology stock weakness despite continued fundamental strength. This trend has been consistent with the rotation we have observed since mid-2025 with market returns broadening beyond a narrow group of large-cap winners.
Despite increasing earnings estimates for four of the seven companies comprising the Magnificent Seven, each of the seven stocks declined with valuation multiples declining 13% on average in the group.
Despite compression in Magnificent Seven valuation multiples, the S&P 500 continues to trade at a significant premium to the profitable holdings comprising 75% of Lux Fund’s investments. We reiterate our belief that:
a diversified portfolio of quality assets trading at a discount creates a superior investment opportunity than a concentrated portfolio of assets trading at high valuations.
Looking forward, Lux Fund will continue to provide access to what we believe are high quality companies in the smallest segment of the public equity markets. The investment process relies on quantitative portfolio construction tools with investments in underlying businesses operating in fundamentally unique industries. Ultimately, we aim to increase your portfolio’s diversification (holdings have negligible overlap with traditional portfolio holdings), benefit from long run premium returns to the micro cap asset class and finally, capitalize on the rare valuation spread between large public companies and small public companies. We provide more details in our Portfolio Outlook.
We reach our third anniversary of operations in 2026. This is a critical milestone given industry data suggesting 30% of new hedge funds don’t survive beyond 36 months due to poor performance Systemic Risk and Hedge Funds | NBER. We believe our performance is among the top decile of comparable mutual funds. It’s a privilege to have your trust in Gurnee Group and we remain grateful when our investors introduce us to their peers. Thank you for your participation in Lux Fund.
Sincerely,
J.P. Gurnee, CFA
Portfolio Manager
jp@gurneegroup.com | 989.513.0082
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Portfolio Outlook
We believe Lux Fund provides a complementary investment to traditional portfolios.
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Position Changes
Our investment process emphasizes investing in profitable businesses at valuations that permit future appreciation, which we believe will result in long lasting success for our investors.
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Performance Summary
View quarterly results including returns, top contributors and detractors, and portfolio characteristics.
Portfolio Outlook
We believe your investment in Lux Fund complements your traditional portfolio holdings. Here are three reasons to consider:
01
Lux Fund’s holdings have negligible (<1%) overlap with traditional portfolio holdings.
Many holdings are companies generating strong profitability with leadership positions in niche markets. A few examples include:
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Bandwidth is one of the only independent telecommunication network owner-operators, providing the critical infrastructure to power Zoom, Google Voice and Microsoft Teams.
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Coda Octopus Group’s Echoscope and related technologies are leading among subsea surveillance tools.
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Consolidated Water operates desalinization and seawater reverse osmosis plants in water-scarce regions.
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Gencor Industries leads in asphalt mixing equipment critical to highway construction.
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Liquidity Services operates one of the largest surplus asset disposition networks globally.
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Zevra Therapeutics provides the only disease altering treatment for Niemann-Pick Disease Type C.
02
Lux Fund is designed to benefit from long run premium returns to the micro cap asset class.
03
2026 presents an opportunity to capitalize on an unusually large valuation spread between large public companies and small public companies, setting up for potential relative tailwinds to the micro cap asset class.
History indicates that either large-cap valuations will compress or micro-cap valuations will expand. On balance, we maintain a relative preference for micro caps. This dynamic was evident throughout the quarter, as reflected in the progression of earnings estimates and valuation multiples for the S&P 500, as well as for our portfolio and the IWC.
Position Changes
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New positions are initiated in the fund when they are attractive per LuxβetaTM (quantitative review) and validated through LuxαlphaTM (qualitative analysis). The fund initiated new positions in the following companies during the quarter:
AMPCO-PITTSBURGH
APYX MEDICAL
AQUESTIVE THERAPEUTICS
ARS PHARMACEUTICALS
CHAMPIONS ONCOLOGY
CORMEDIX
EGAIN
GERON
HARROW
KORU MEDICAL SYSTEMS
LENSAR
LIMBACH HOLDINGS
MASTECH DIGITAL
NIAGEN BIOSCIENCES
NOVOCURE
NVE CORPORATION
OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION
PHIBRO ANIMAL HEALTH
POWER SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL
POWERFLEET
SANUWAVE HEALTH
SENSUS HEALTHCARE
SOLENO THERAPEUTICS
ZEVRA THERAPEUTICS
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Positions are sold from the fund when their LuxβetaTM profile deteriorates, the company develops significant off model, appreciates out of the micro cap asset class, or the company is acquired. The fund sold positions in the following companies during the quarter:
APOGEE ENTERPRISES
AEHR TEST SYSTEMS
CASS INFORMATION SYSTEMS
DAY ONE BIOPHARMACEUTICALS (received acquisition offer)
FONAR (received acquisition offer)
GRAHAM CORPORATION
IDENTIV
INFUSYSTEM
MIMEDX GROUP
L.B. FOSTER
NATHAN’S FAMOUS (received acquisition offer)
NWPX INFRASTRUCTURE
PHIBRO ANIMAL HEALTH
RESEARCH SOLUTIONS
SKYWATER TECHNLOGY (received acquisition offer)
SMARTRENT
SOUND THINKING
TREACE MEDICAL CONCEPTS
TIPTREE
VANDA PHARMACEUTICALS
WHITESTONE REIT
Performance Summary
Let’s keep in touch.
ⁱUnaudited return net of fees.
Gurnee Group, LLC (the “General Partner”) is not registered as an investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, the General Partner is registered as an investment adviser with the Department of Commerce of the State of Ohio. The limited partnership interests (the “Interests”) in Gurnee Group Lux Fund, LP (the “Fund”), are offered under a separate private offering memorandum (the “Offering Memorandum”), have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act"), nor any state's securities laws, and are sold for investment only pursuant to an exemption from registration with the SEC and in compliance with any applicable state or other securities laws. Interests are subject to restrictions on transferability and resale and may not be transferred or resold except as permitted under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. Investors should be aware that they could be required to bear the financial risks of this investment for an indefinite period of time.
This presentation is being furnished to you on a CONFIDENTIAL basis to provide preliminary summary information regarding an investment in the Fund managed by the General Partner and may not be used for any other purpose. Any reproduction or distribution of this presentation or accompanying materials, if any, in whole or in part, or the divulgence of any of its contents is prohibited. The information set forth herein does not purport to be complete and no obligation to update or otherwise revise such information is being assumed. It is meant to be read in conjunction with the Offering Memorandum prepared in connection herewith, and does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the making of such an offer or solicitation would be unlawful. The information contained herein does not purport to contain all of the information that may be required to evaluate an investment in the Fund. The information herein is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Offering Memorandum, including, without limitation, the risk factors therein.
A prospective investor should only commit to an investment in the Fund if such prospective investor understands the nature of the investment and can bear the economic risk of such investment. THE FUND IS SPECULATIVE AND INVOLVES A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK. The Fund may lack diversification, thereby increasing the risk of loss. The Fund's performance may be volatile. There can be no guarantee that the Fund's investment objectives will be achieved, and the investment results may vary substantially from year to year or even from month to month. AS A RESULT, AN INVESTOR COULD LOSE ALL OR A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF ITS INVESTMENT. In addition, the Fund's fees and expenses may offset its profits. There are restrictions on withdrawing and transferring interests from the Fund. In making an investment decision, you must rely on your own examination of the Fund and the terms of the Offering Memorandum and such other information provided by the General Partner to you and your tax, legal, accounting or other advisors. The information herein is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, accounting, legal, or tax advice or investment recommendations. You should consult your tax, legal, accounting or other advisors about the matters discussed herein. The Fund's ability to achieve its investment objectives may be affected by a variety of risks not discussed herein. Please refer to the Offering Memorandum for additional information regarding risks and conflicts of interest.
No representations or warranties of any kind are made or intended, and none should be inferred, with respect to the economic return or the tax consequences from an investment in the Fund. No assurance can be given that existing laws will not be changed or interpreted adversely. Prospective investors are not to construe this presentation as legal or tax advice. Each investor should consult his or its own counsel and accountant for advice concerning the various legal, tax, ERISA and economic matters concerning his or its investment.
No person other than the General Partner, and its Principal, has been authorized to make representations, or give any information, with respect to these membership interests, except the information contained herein, and any information or representation not expressly contained herein or otherwise supplied by the Principal in writing must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the General Partner or any of its members. Any further distribution or reproduction of these materials, in whole or in part, or the divulgence of any of its contents, is prohibited.
An investment in the Fund has not been approved by any U.S. federal or state securities commission or any other governmental or regulatory authority. Furthermore, the foregoing authorities have not passed upon the accuracy, or determined the adequacy, of this document, the Offering Memorandum or limited partnership agreement associated with the Fund. Any representation to the contrary is unlawful.
Certain information contained in this document constitutes “forward-looking statements” which can be identified by use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “target,” “should,” “expect,” “attempt,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate,” “intend,” “seek,” “continue,” or “believe” or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. Due to the various risks and uncertainties, actual events or results in the actual performance of the Fund may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such forward-looking statements. The General Partner is the source for all graphs and charts, unless otherwise noted.
This document may present past performance data regarding prior/other investments, funds, and/or trading accounts managed by the General Partner and/or the Principal. This is presented solely for explanatory purposes. The Fund may face risks not previously experienced or anticipated by the General Partner and/or Principal, and therefore, prospective investors should evaluate the Fund on its own merits. Furthermore, there is no guarantee the General Partner and/or Principal will be able to replicate the mandate, strategy, portfolio construction and risk management parameters reflected in their prior performance data. Market factors and unforeseen circumstances both internally and externally may result in a wide deviation from the returns reflected in the prior performance data, and there is no guarantee the General Partner and/or Principal will be able to avoid and/or remediate such internal and external factors.
Furthermore no representation or warranty can be given that the estimates, opinions or assumptions made herein will prove to be accurate. Any such estimates, opinions or assumptions should be considered speculative and are qualified in their entirety by the information and risks disclosed in the Offering Memorandum. The assumptions and facts upon which any estimates or opinions herein are based are subject to variations that may arise as future events actually occur. There is no assurance that actual events will correspond with the assumptions. Potential investors are advised to consult with their tax and business advisors concerning the validity and reasonableness of the factual, accounting and tax assumptions. Neither the General Partner nor any other person or entity makes any representations or warranty as to the future profitability of the Fund.
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OR A GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS.
This document may also present “sample holdings” or “case studies” of a type of asset(s) the Fund may invest in or are expected to be typical of its holdings. Such “sample holdings” are not currently holdings of the Fund and are presented solely for explanatory purposes. Prospective Investors should not assume that such “sample holdings” will actually be purchased by the Fund when determining whether to make an investment in the Fund.