Month End Recap:
For the month of April, the Caldwell U.S. Dividend Advantage Fund (UDA or Fund) returned 4.5% versus a 7.8% return for the benchmark, the S&P 500 Total Return Index (Index)1. From a sector standpoint, Communication Services, Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary were relative outperformers, whereas all other sectors underperformed the Index.
Top performers in the month of April were Comfort Systems USA (FIX), Quanta Services (PWR) and KLA Corp. (KLAC)2. FIX maintained its momentum as it reported strong momentum across its construction, service, and modular businesses, supported by record backlog and broad demand from industrial and technology customers. The modular segment remained capacity-constrained with its 3 million square feet effectively sold out, reinforcing visibility into 2026 and beyond. Recent acquisitions added meaningful revenue and earnings contributions beginning in the fourth quarter of 2025, while service revenue continued to grow at a double-digit pace. With a robust opportunity pipeline, ongoing workforce expansion, and continued investment in automation and capacity, the company started the year with reinforced confidence in its growth outlook. PWR delivered robust earnings results, reporting its largest top and bottom line beat in the last three years. Secular mega trends such as grid modernization, data center builds and renewable energy projects continue to provide strong demand visibility many years ahead. This is demonstrated by the company’s record $30 billion backlog which further supports the outlook for sustained double-digit organic growth. KLAC also reported strong earnings, beating on the top and bottom line. As semiconductor transistors shrink in size, the size of the wafer on which they are printed is increasing which also increases the cost of faulty wafers. This phenomenon is driving higher demand for KLAC’s quality inspection tools and supports multi year visibility. Additionally, as artificial intelligence (AI) transitions from training (building models) to inference (using models), demand for semiconductors other than graphics processing units (GPU), such as central processing units (CPU) and memory chips has increased significantly, driving higher demand for semiconductor fabrication equipment from customers that previously had more subdued capital spending plans. Physical space is the current bottleneck for KLAC, but we expect a significant acceleration in revenue growth in 2027 as customers become able to take delivery of KLAC’s tools.
During the month of April, the Fund initiated positions in PriceSmart (PSMT) and Matador Resources (MTDR).
PSMT is a leading operator of warehouse shopping clubs in South and Central America, and the Caribbean with 60+ stores expected to be in operation by the end of 2026. The company is underpenetrated in its core markets and has a long growth runway in existing and new markets such as Chile, which is politically stable with relatively high-income consumers. They’ve demonstrated success in upselling members from a basic to platinum membership which drives higher spend and margin expansion. Lastly, the company’s new CEO is aggressively investing to modernize the company’s tech stack. This supports higher digital sales growth and penetration which is important as these orders tend to have higher average tickets than in-store orders.
MTDR continues to demonstrate superior capital efficiency and operational execution, highlighted by a 25% year-over-year increase in total production and a significant upward revision to their 2026 production guidance. The bull case is centered on their strategic “brick-by-brick” acquisition strategy in the Delaware Basin, which has expanded their high-quality inventory to over 2,000 net locations while maintaining a best-in-class leverage ratio below 1.0x. Furthermore, the company’s unique midstream ownership (San Mateo) provides a structural cost advantage and a growing stream of third-party revenue, ensuring robust free cash flow generation and increased shareholder returns even in a volatile commodity price environment
The Fund held an 16.6% cash weighting at month-end. While we remain mindful of the macro environment, the Fund employs a bottom-up investment approach designed to seek out attractive investment opportunities in any market. Over the long run, given its unique momentum-driven investment approach and focus on well-managed, dividend growth companies, we believe UDA is well-positioned to provide strong performance by way of both attractive regular monthly distributions and long-term capital appreciation potential. We expect that our approach to dividend growth investing should continue to provide a means of generating compelling risk-adjusted returns for our investors over the long term.
1All returns (for the fund, individual stocks and sectors) are in total return, Canadian dollar terms. All stock returns represent performance for the full period noted. All fund returns are in respect of Series F.
Standard performance as at April 30, 2026:
Caldwell U.S. Dividend Advantage Fund (Series F): 1 Year: 27.3%, 3 year: 11.6%, 5 year: 9.0%, 10 year: 9.8%, Since Inception (June 19, 2015): 8.9%.
S&P500 Total Return Index: 1 Year: 29.1%, 3 year: 21.8%, 5 year: 15.5%, 10 year: 16.2%, Since Inception (June 19, 2015): 15.0%.
2Actual investments, first purchased: FIX 5/1/2025, PWR 10/9/2025, KLAC 10/15/2025.
All data is as of April 30, 2026 sourced from Morningstar Direct or S&P Capital IQ, unless otherwise indicated. Fund returns are from FundData. UDA, Index total return numbers, sector returns and individual stocks returns are in CAD terms. The Fund was first offered to the public as a closed-end investment since May 28, 2015. Effective November 15, 2018 the Fund was converted into an open-end mutual fund such that all units held were redesignated as Series F units. Performance prior to the conversion date would have differed had the Fund been subject to the same investment restrictions and practices of the current open-end mutual fund.
The information contained herein provides general information about the Fund at a point in time. Investors are strongly encouraged to consult with a financial advisor and review the Simplified Prospectus and Fund Facts documents carefully prior to making investment decisions about the Fund. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Rates of returns, unless otherwise indicated, are the historical annual compounded returns including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any unitholder that would have reduced returns. Mutual funds are not guaranteed; their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. The payment of distributions should not be confused with a fund’s performance, rate of return or yield. If distributions paid are greater than the performance of the fund, your original investment will shrink. Distributions paid as a result of capital gains realized by a fund, and income and dividends earned by a fund, are taxable in your hands in the year they are paid. Your adjusted cost base (“ACB”) will be reduced by the amount of any returns of capital and should your ACB fall below zero, you will have to pay capital gains tax on the amount below zero.
Publication date: May 21, 2026.