Riverwater Partners Reports Micro Opportunities Underperformance

Riverwater Partners released its Q4 2025 Micro Opportunities Strategy investor letter on Jan. 19, 2026, saying the strategy failed to match benchmark performance in Q4 and full-year 2025 due to underweight exposure to speculative low-quality stocks. The letter names American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) as a detractor despite operational gains — inventory down ~20% YoY, gross margin rising to 29% from 15%, adjusted EBITDA improving to $8 million — and says the fund will target higher-quality micro-caps in 2026.