Why MFS Value Remains a Top Choice for Investors

Key Morningstar Metrics for MFS Value

• Morningstar Medalist Rating: Gold
• Process Pillar: High
• People Pillar: Above Average
• Parent Pillar: High

MFS Value MEIKX will be losing a longtime comanager in May 2026, and while the strategy will be relatively light on formal portfolio-management experience, the strengths of MFS’ research organization should continue to give it a lasting advantage.

Comanager Nevin Chitkara will retire in May 2026, which creates an experience gap on the management team, but one that can be bridged. Chitkara will leave this portfolio in the hands of Katie Cannan and recently named comanager Tom Crowley. Cannan has just over five years of portfolio-management experience, while this is Crowley’s first charge. However, they both spent over a decade at MFS and came up through the research ranks, where they were steeped in MFS’ quality-first style. Crowley was the lead sector analyst for capital goods before being named a manager, and he covered a large swathe of the portfolio’s holdings at different points in time. Portfolio-management experience certainly matters, especially in volatile markets, but Cannan and Crowley will continue to rely on MFS’ strong, experienced, and stable central research team, which should help them navigate any potential choppy waters.

This strategy’s thoughtful process won’t change, and investors should expect the same patient investing that has benefited them for years. While many portfolio managers talk the talk on being long-term, these managers truly are. They look to own undervalued companies with durable business models, strong cash flow generation, and healthy balance sheets. They are very patient in letting investments play out. The portfolio averaged roughly 12% annual portfolio turnover over the past five years, typically ranking in the lowest decile in the category. Light trading does not mean they sit idle, though, and the managers will often look for market dislocations as opportunities to buy quality businesses at cheap prices.

A persistent underweighting in energy proved a headwind for this portfolio in the past five years through June 2025, though choppy stock-picking was also to blame. Still, this is a long-term play and remains a top option for investors.

MFS Value: Performance Highlights

The strategy’s focus on assessing and mitigating downside risk is the key to the fund’s performance.

By limiting drawdowns, the managers preserve a larger capital base to build off when markets rebound. Since Chitkara joined in May 2006, through June 2025, the fund’s downside-capture ratio of 92% illustrates its buoyancy. Over the same period, the fund’s R6 shares’ 8.7% annualized return bested the Russell 1000 Value Index’s 7.9% gain and the category average’s 7.5% rise.

This strong performance resulted from the strategy’s steady and patient process. Since Chitkara joined, the fund has never placed in the category’s top decile for a given year, but it also never finished in the bottom two deciles. The avoidance of major losses can be just as—if not more—important as reaping major gains, and this fund delivers on the former. Performance is consistent. Across rolling five-year periods over Chitkara’s tenure, the fund topped the index and rivals 81% and 90% of the time, respectively.

The strategy’s trailing three- and five-year results through June 2025 look underwhelming relative to peers, but the fund has seen periods of underperformance before, and it bounced back nicely for investors. For instance, it trailed the Russell 1000 Value Index by more than 20 cumulative percentage points between July 2009 and June 2014. Since then, through June 2025, though, it comfortably topped the index.