Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTRicardo PillaiFri, July 24, 2026 at 6:16 PM GMT+2 3 min readArtisan Partners, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for its "Artisan Small Cap Fund". A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund reported strong absolute returns and modestly outperformed the Russell 2000® Growth Index, which gained 25.7%. Global equities rebounded as resilient US growth, moderating inflation, strong earnings and continued AI investment outweighed delayed rate cuts, rising bond yields and geopolitical uncertainty. Investor Class: ARTSX, Advisor Class: APDSX, and Institutional Class: APHSX returned 26.02%, 26.05%, and 26.11%, respectively, in the second quarter, compared to a 25.71% return for the index. Market leadership favored loss-making, highly leveraged companies, creating a difficult environment for quality-focused active managers. Health care was the strongest relative contributor, while energy, materials, financials and real estate also helped. Technology, industrials and consumer discretionary detracted, partly because the fund did not own oversized index contributors. Software holdings also weakened despite strong fundamentals. The fund remains positive on small-cap opportunities, AI infrastructure and health care, but has reduced software exposure and is staying selective as valuations rise and competitive risks increase. In addition, please check the Fund's top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Artisan Small Cap Fund highlighted Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST). Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is a life sciences company that manufactures and sells synthetic DNA-based products. On July 23, 2026, Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) closed at $92.44 per share. One-month return of Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) was -8.38% and its shares gained 154.15% over the past 52 weeks. Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion with a 52-week trading range between $23.30 - $105.47.Artisan Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:"Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ:TWST) is a life sciences company that leverages a proprietary silicon-based DNA writing platform, with synthetic biology applications across drug discovery, diagnostics, agriculture and industrial materials. Shares rose 116% after the company reported results well ahead of expectations, supported by strength in DNA synthesis and protein solutions, improving demand for next-generation sequencing and guidance calling for continued momentum. Management also reaffirmed its expectation of reaching adjusted EBITDA breakeven in fiscal Q4 2026. Investor enthusiasm increased following the company's analyst day, where management highlighted Twist's current positioning as a beneficiary of AI-enabled drug discovery and growing demand for DNA synthesis and data generation. We trimmed the position following the stock's strong appreciation, consistent with our position-sizing discipline."Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info