<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC.
HICKORY FUND
Q U A R T E R L Y
R E P O R T
JUNE 30, 1999
ONE PACIFIC PLACE, SUITE 600
1125 SOUTH 103 STREET
OMAHA, NEBRASKA 68124-6008
402-391-1980
800-232-4161 (INFORMATION)
800-773-6472 (AUTOMATED)
402-391-2125 (FACSIMILE)
WWW.WEITZFUNDS.COM
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- HICKORY FUND
PERFORMANCE SINCE INCEPTION
The following table summarizes performance information for the fund as compared
to the S&P 500 over the periods indicated. The table also sets forth average
annual total return data for the fund for the one and five year periods ended
June 30, 1999, and for the period since inception, calculated in accordance with
SEC standardized formulas.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
DIFFERENCE
PERIOD ENDED HICKORY FUND S&P 500 HICKORY FUND -- S&P 500
- ---------------------------------- ------------- ----------- -------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C>
June 30, 1999 (6 months) 23.6% 12.4% 11.2%
Dec. 31, 1998 33.0 28.6 4.4
Dec. 31, 1997 39.2 33.4 5.8
Dec. 31, 1996 35.4 22.9 12.5
Dec. 31, 1995 40.5 37.5 3.0
Dec. 31, 1994 -17.3 1.3 -18.6
Dec. 31, 1993 (9 months) 20.3 5.5 14.8
Since Inception (April 1, 1993)
Cumulative 332.9 248.0 84.9
Compound Annual
Average Return 26.4 22.1 4.3
</TABLE>
The fund's average annual total return for the one and five years ended June 30,
1999, and for the period since inception (April 1, 1993) was 20.9%, 32.8% and
26.4%, respectively. The returns assume redemption at the end of each period and
reinvestment of dividends.
2
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- HICKORY FUND
The chart below depicts the change in the value of a $25,000 investment for the
period since inception of the Hickory Fund (April 1, 1993) through June 30,
1999, as compared with the growth of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index during the
same period. The Standard & Poor's Index is an unmanaged index consisting of 500
companies generally representative of the market for stocks of large-size U.S.
companies. The information assumes reinvestment of dividends and capital gains
distributions. A $25,000 investment in the Hickory Fund on April 1, 1993, would
have been valued at $108,215 on June 30, 1999.
EDGAR REPRESENTATION OF DATA POINTS USED IN PRINTED GRAPHIC
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
HICKORY FUND S&P 500
<S> <C> <C>
April 1, 1993 $25,000 $25,000
Apr-93 $22,905 $24,396
May-93 $24,000 $25,046
Jun-93 $24,152 $25,119
Jul-93 $24,872 $25,018
Aug-93 $26,801 $25,965
Sep-93 $27,001 $25,765
Oct-93 $28,757 $26,298
Nov-93 $27,860 $26,048
Dec-93 $30,067 $26,363
Jan-94 $29,605 $27,258
Feb-94 $29,119 $26,519
Mar-94 $27,527 $25,364
Apr-94 $27,265 $25,690
May-94 $27,516 $26,110
Jun-94 $26,197 $25,470
Jul-94 $26,038 $26,306
Aug-94 $27,590 $27,382
Sep-94 $27,297 $26,714
Oct-94 $26,947 $27,312
Nov-94 $25,452 $26,318
Dec-94 $24,869 $26,708
Jan-95 $24,968 $27,400
Feb-95 $25,999 $28,466
Mar-95 $26,378 $29,305
Apr-95 $26,307 $30,167
May-95 $27,764 $31,370
Jun-95 $29,583 $32,098
Jul-95 $31,215 $33,162
Aug-95 $33,361 $33,244
Sep-95 $34,777 $34,647
Oct-95 $33,309 $34,523
Nov-95 $34,336 $36,037
Dec-95 $34,932 $36,731
Jan-96 $36,745 $37,979
Feb-96 $37,212 $38,332
Mar-96 $37,083 $38,701
Apr-96 $37,913 $39,271
May-96 $39,878 $40,282
Jun-96 $40,846 $40,435
Jul-96 $37,536 $38,650
Aug-96 $40,117 $39,466
Sep-96 $42,189 $41,685
Oct-96 $42,857 $42,834
Nov-96 $44,915 $46,069
Dec-96 $47,281 $45,156
Jan-97 $48,987 $47,976
Feb-97 $50,153 $48,352
Mar-97 $47,530 $46,369
Apr-97 $47,615 $49,135
May-97 $54,306 $52,124
Jun-97 $55,237 $54,458
Jul-97 $57,395 $58,790
Aug-97 $58,096 $55,499
Sep-97 $62,047 $58,536
Oct-97 $62,877 $56,584
Nov-97 $62,141 $59,201
Dec-97 $65,803 $60,216
Jan-98 $67,763 $60,882
Feb-98 $71,394 $65,270
Mar-98 $81,664 $68,610
Apr-98 $88,465 $69,300
May-98 $85,283 $68,110
Jun-98 $89,485 $70,874
Jul-98 $90,988 $70,121
Aug-98 $80,006 $59,993
Sep-98 $75,548 $63,837
Oct-98 $76,215 $69,025
Nov-98 $81,957 $73,206
Dec-98 $87,522 $77,422
Jan-99 $90,666 $80,658
Feb-99 $91,426 $78,152
Mar-99 $95,887 $81,278
Apr-99 $104,102 $84,425
May-99 $104,548 $82,434
Jun-99 $108,215 $87,005
</TABLE>
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SINCE INCEPTION
1-YEAR 5-YEARS (APRIL 1, 1993)
----------- ----------- -------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C>
HICKORY PORTFOLIO.............................................. 20.9% 32.8% 26.4%
Standard & Poor's 500 Index.................................... 22.8% 27.9% 22.1%
</TABLE>
This information represents past performance of the Hickory Fund and is not
indicative of future performance. The investment return and the principal value
of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may
be worth more or less than the original cost.
3
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- HICKORY FUND
JUNE 30, 1999 - QUARTERLY REPORT
July 6, 1999
Dear Fellow Shareholder:
The second quarter was once again a profitable one for Hickory
shareholders. Our total return was 12.9% during the quarter, bringing our year
to date return to 23.6%. Over the same periods the S&P 500 (with dividends
reinvested) returned 7.0% and 12.4%, respectively. Over the last twelve months,
Hickory's total return was 20.9%. This compares to 22.8% for the S&P 500 and
18.9% for the average growth mutual fund (according to Lipper).
REVIEW AND OUTLOOK
During the second quarter, many of the trends that have dominated the
investment landscape recently were finally broken. Large cap growth stocks did
not outperform everything else. Even technology and Internet stocks did not go
straight up. At the same time smaller cyclical and value stocks performed quite
well. I consider this change in the wind to be quite refreshing. I have no idea
if we have seen the beginning of a new trend, but I do believe the last three
months have been a healthy reminder to investors everywhere that no single
approach can outperform over all time periods.
Hickory's performance in the quarter, while not top of the charts, was
more than satisfactory. We should be quite happy with a three-month period where
our return was greater than 10% and we outperformed the S&P 500. Because our
results have been good lately, I thought it would be timely to use this letter
to remind you, particularly those of you who have only been with Hickory for a
year or so, of the approach used to manage Hickory and some of the implications
of this approach.
My goal in managing Hickory is really quite simple: I want to maximize
long-term investment returns. There are no secondary goals. I believe this
attitude is surprisingly uncommon in the investment world. I try to achieve this
goal in three primary ways. First, I look for and buy companies whose stocks
trade at a large discount to value, favoring those companies whose values are
expected to grow rapidly over time. Value is measured based on the future
potential of the business to generate free cashflow. In other words, the
strategy is to buy growing value, priced at a discount. Second, I concentrate
Hickory's assets on those investment opportunities that appear most attractive.
The number of companies owned in Hickory has recently increased somewhat, but
you should not expect this to be a trend. Over time you should expect that our
assets would be invested in about thirty to forty stocks. Finally, I am patient
with our investments. I do not think I can predict when the market will
recognize the value of a company, but this does not particularly trouble me. It
does, however, mean that I should give promising opportunities the time they
need to develop.
4
<PAGE>
I believe these strategies are appropriate given my goal, and that this
approach has a reasonable chance of success. However, there are several
implications of this investment style that deserve to be highlighted.
First, a concentrated portfolio should be expected to be more volatile in
the short-run than a more diversified approach. Several of you have commented
that it is hard to predict what Hickory will do based on the daily results of
the popular averages. Sometimes the market goes up and Hickory goes down, and
sometimes it works the other way around. Short-term gyrations do not tell us
much about long term results. I tend to ignore them, but some people find them
disconcerting.
Second, an approach that is different from the market as a whole will
inevitably experience times when the differences work against us, not for us. In
other words, Hickory will experience periodic episodes of significant
underperformance. We have already had at least two such periods (1994 and the
fall of 1998), and we should be mentally prepared for more in the years to come.
Third, not every stock purchased for Hickory will work right away, and
some will never work as anticipated. An investment approach that does not try to
predict timing will naturally get the timing wrong at times. I realize that it
can be troubling to watch some of our holdings perform poorly for extended
periods of time. However, many of our largest winners over the years have come
after significant periods of underperformance. And while I work hard to minimize
my mistakes, the reality is I do occasionally misjudge a company. In the past,
our overall investment performance has been quite good despite these periodic
goofs.
Finally, the approach used to manage Hickory does not lend itself to easy
classification. Many investors and commentators feel a need to pigeonhole mutual
funds into a particular category. People often ask if Hickory is a value fund or
a growth fund. They also want to know if Hickory is a small cap fund. They are
sometimes dissatisfied when I tell them that Hickory does not fit comfortably
into any category. I consider myself a value investor, but I do not necessarily
buy "value" stocks. This classification is often done mechanically based on
ratios such as price to book or price to earnings. In my view neither ratio is
sufficient to determine the true value of a business.
I also do not consider Hickory to be a small cap fund. I do believe that
it is easier to find value among smaller companies and Hickory has historically
held a number of small companies. But it would never cross my mind to not buy an
attractive large company just because it is large. Nor would I sell a company
merely because it was no longer small. Those actions would be inconsistent with
my objective of maximizing long-term returns. Further, given Hickory's recent
growth, my strategy of concentrating on the most promising ideas is now leading
me away from considering new investments in very small companies. It just isn't
5
<PAGE>
reasonable to expect that I can buy enough of a $100 million market cap company
to matter to a concentrated $800 million fund.
In summary, I am quite comfortable with the investment approach I use to
manage Hickory. I believe that my objective is appropriate and that my
strategies are sound. I am so comfortable with this approach that I do all of my
own personal investing through Hickory. However, it is also important that you
understand some of the implications of this approach. Hickory is not for
everyone. If you are going to decide that it's not for you, it would be better
that you do so now, while our results are good, than later after one of our
inevitable bouts of underperformance.
TRANSFER AGENT SYSTEM
As many of you know, we have been going through the process of converting
to a new transfer agent system. Our previous system was relatively
unsophisticated, which allowed us to over-ride it to provide clients with
certain services that were unique in the industry (though very inefficient to
perform). We enjoyed being different and surprising clients with these "extras."
However, we wanted to be able to offer new features, such as automated telephone
access to account information and statements that could show multiple accounts.
We also needed a more powerful computer system and stronger technical support,
both for disaster recovery and Y2K compliance and for developing new services
and products. Finally, we needed a system that could reliably accommodate our
expanded client roster. Hence the change.
The new system is more sophisticated, and we expect that it will allow us
to provide better service, with better quality control, at a very reasonable
cost. In the meantime, the process of converting files from the old system to
the new is taking an enormous amount of staff energy. There have also been
occasional glitches that have annoyed some shareholders, and that is harder on
the staff than the long hours, because we do not like to disappoint clients.
We are confident that our selection of the DST system was a good decision
and that both clients and staff will be happy about the change ... hopefully
soon. In the meantime, thanks for your patience.
As always, I appreciate your support.
Sincerely,
/s/ Richard F. Lawson
Richard F. Lawson
Portfolio Manager
6
<PAGE>
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
7
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- HICKORY FUND
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES
JUNE 30, 1999
(UNAUDITED)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SHARES
OR UNITS COST VALUE
- ------------ ------------- -------------
<C> <S> <C> <C>
COMMON STOCKS -- 88.7%
AUTO SERVICES -- 2.5%
1,275,700 Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.* $ 16,579,335 $ 20,570,662
------------- -------------
CABLE TELEVISION -- 5.8%
133,800 Adelphia Communications Corp. CL A* 2,811,481 8,513,025
838,000 Century Communications Corp. CL A* 13,057,323 38,548,000
------------- -------------
15,868,804 47,061,025
------------- -------------
CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES -- 6.5%
1,523,200 American Classic Voyages Co.* 21,706,958 36,556,800
425,100 Premier Parks, Inc.* 11,633,797 15,622,425
------------- -------------
33,340,755 52,179,225
------------- -------------
DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES -- 0.5%
54,700 Lynch Corp.* 4,935,065 4,372,581
------------- -------------
FINANCIAL GUARANTEE INSURANCE -- 4.2%
540,000 The PMI Group, Inc. 23,132,333 33,918,750
------------- -------------
FINANCIAL SERVICES -- 14.7%
845,700 Allied Capital Corp. 14,509,567 20,296,800
260 Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. CL A* 19,238,600 17,914,000
387,000 Capital One Financial Corp. 9,274,530 21,551,062
574,275 Healthcare Financial Partners Inc. 13,138,665 19,668,919
4,983,600 Imperial Credit Industries, Inc.* 76,714,986 35,352,412
1,226,000 United Panam Financial Corp.* 11,284,534 3,984,500
------------- -------------
144,160,882 118,767,693
------------- -------------
HEALTH CARE -- 0.7%
393,900 Lab Holdings, Inc. 7,710,952 5,465,363
------------- -------------
INFORMATION SERVICES -- 5.1%
1,454,200 Data Transmission Network Corp.* 39,862,744 40,899,375
------------- -------------
LODGING AND GAMING -- 2.9%
1,063,500 Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.* 15,692,726 23,397,000
------------- -------------
</TABLE>
8
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- HICKORY FUND
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES, CONTINUED
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SHARES
OR UNITS COST VALUE
- ------------ ------------- -------------
<C> <S> <C> <C>
MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT -- 11.1%
1,336,400 AT&T Corp -- Liberty Media Group A* $ 23,358,081 $ 49,112,700
1,099,050 Valassis Communications, Inc.* 25,565,988 40,252,706
------------- -------------
48,924,069 89,365,406
------------- -------------
MORTGAGE BANKING -- 3.6%
777,100 New Century Financial Corp.* 7,757,301 14,084,938
1,492,500 Resource Bancshares Mtg. Grp., Inc. 22,846,411 15,298,125
------------- -------------
30,603,712 29,383,063
------------- -------------
OIL AND GAS DRILLING -- 2.4%
995,000 Noble Drilling Corp.* 12,525,538 19,589,063
------------- -------------
PRINTING SERVICES -- 3.5%
1,734,400 Mail-Well, Inc. 22,171,292 28,075,600
------------- -------------
REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION -- 0.5%
147,200 Forest City Enterprises, Inc. CL A 3,882,144 4,121,600
------------- -------------
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS -- 4.0%
2,008,850 Dynex Capital, Inc. 13,469,492 4,017,700
879,332 Fortress Investment Corp. 16,612,841 14,948,644
222,600 Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings, Inc. 3,555,031 1,196,475
25,000 Healthcare Financial Partners Units** 2,500,000 2,500,000
615,800 Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. 9,121,609 3,117,487
520,000 NovaStar Financial, Inc. 9,356,282 3,315,000
220,000 Redwood Trust, Inc. 4,964,257 3,643,750
------------- -------------
59,579,512 32,739,056
------------- -------------
RESTAURANTS -- 0.9%
245,000 Applebee's International 5,024,688 7,380,625
------------- -------------
RETAIL DISCOUNT -- 3.2%
961,500 Consolidated Stores Corp.* 18,925,844 25,960,500
------------- -------------
SATELLITE SERVICES -- 4.0%
1,358,900 Orbital Sciences Corp. 31,116,972 32,104,013
------------- -------------
</TABLE>
9
<PAGE>
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC. -- HICKORY FUND
SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS IN SECURITIES, CONTINUED
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SHARES
OR UNITS COST VALUE
- ------------ ------------- -------------
<C> <S> <C> <C>
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES -- 11.9%
112,000 Cellular Communications of Puerto Rico* $ 844,374 $ 3,192,000
421,744 Centennial Cellular Corp. CL A* 5,687,011 15,024,630
1,500 East/West Communications, Inc.* 225 7,406
1,064,600 Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. 42,628,141 77,782,338
------------- -------------
49,159,751 96,006,374
------------- -------------
MISCELLANEOUS SECURITIES -- 0.7% 3,207,965 5,742,750
------------- -------------
Total Common Stocks 586,405,083 717,099,724
------------- -------------
WARRANTS -- 0.0%
424,300 Hanover Capital Mtg. Holdings, Inc., Expiring 9/15/00 1,248,753 53,037
260,000 NovaStar Financial, Inc., Expiring 2/03/01 1,688,775 130,000
------------- -------------
Total Warrants 2,937,528 183,037
------------- -------------
CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS -- 0.7%
871,429 NovaStar Financial, Inc. 7% Pfd. Class B Cumulative 6,100,003 6,100,003
------------- -------------
<CAPTION>
<C> <S> <C> <C>
FACE
AMOUNT
- ------------
SHORT-TERM SECURITIES -- 11.3%
$43,165,754 Norwest U.S. Government Money Market Fund 43,165,754 43,165,754
25,000,000 Freddie Mac Discount Note 11/22/99 24,517,000 24,513,000
24,000,000 Fannie Mae Discount Note 12/10/99 23,443,800 23,469,600
------------- -------------
91,126,554 91,148,354
------------- -------------
Total Investments in Securities $ 686,569,168 814,531,118
------------- -------------
-------------
Other Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets -- (0.7%) (5,823,673)
-------------
Total Net Assets -- 100% $ 808,707,445
-------------
-------------
Net Asset Value Per Share $ 37.77
-------------
-------------
</TABLE>
*Non-income producing
**Each unit, which is restricted as to sale, consists of five shares of common
stock and one stock purchase warrant. The company distributed an additional
warrant per unit to unitholders during 1998. The warrants currently have no
value or cost assigned to them.
10
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEITZ SERIES FUND, INC.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lorraine Chang
John W. Hancock
Richard D. Holland
Thomas R. Pansing, Jr.
Delmer L. Toebben
Wallace R. Weitz
OFFICERS
Wallace R. Weitz, President
Mary K. Beerling, Vice-President & Secretary
Linda L. Lawson, Vice-President
Richard F. Lawson, Vice-President
INVESTMENT ADVISER
Wallace R. Weitz & Company
DISTRIBUTOR
Weitz Securities, Inc.
CUSTODIAN
Norwest Bank Minnesota, N.A.
TRANSFER AGENT AND DIVIDEND PAYING AGENT
Wallace R. Weitz & Company
SUB-TRANSFER AGENT
National Financial Data Services, Inc.
This report has been prepared for the information of shareholders of Weitz
Series Fund, Inc. -- Hickory Fund. For more detailed information about the Fund,
its investment objectives, management, fees and expenses, please see a current
prospectus. This report is not authorized for distribution to prospective
investors unless preceded or accompanied by a current prospectus.
508590
