Factsheet: December 2020
In spite of the outgoing US President's deeds, investors, who have been euphoric following the announcements of new vaccines against Covid-19, considered that the resulting uncertainties were insufficient to cause negatively impact the markets, but have on the contrary even reinforced certain areas of exuberance (Bitcoin, Tesla, SPACs).
In this context, all of the main indices have risen: the S&P 500 gained 2.82%, the Dow Jones Industrials 1.81%, and the NASDAQ 100 2.21%.
From a sectoral perspective, there has been a significant rebound in sectors that have been in difficulty until now, with casinos and oil services each rising by 9%. On the other hand, shopping centers and car manufacturers have corrected by 3%.
About the Fund
The performance of the fund was in line with the indices with a 2.60% rise. Among our winners, Idexx Laboratories, the world leader in veterinary diagnostics, maintained its progress with an 11% rise. These types of companies, which are lesser-known than the classics such as Facebook, Alphabet, or Paypal, are typically stocks that we highly appreciate. Idexx continues, year after year, to improve its economic value by constantly innovating and being the one player in the veterinary sector, both for farm animals and pets.
Among the losers, we find one of the main winners of last month, IHS Markit with a 4% drop. Following the announcement that S&P Global (another company in our portfolio) had acquired the company, the stock price of the company fell slightly as the 'currency' of purchase (S&PGlobal shares) also fell by 4% during the month.
Forecast
The beginning of the year is still marked by a persistent uncertainty related to the pandemic and political instability in the United States. Furthermore, sector reallocations are still being made in favor of the sectors most affected by the crisis. While this could result in a slight decline in our out-performance in the short term, we obviously do not intend to deviate from our guiding principles to invest in companies whose investments do not even cover their cost of capital (what we call value destroyers).
The companies in which we have invested remain attractive in view of their growth prospects and, if there were to be a moment of underperformance, we would see this in a positive light, offering new purchasing opportunities. As you are aware, better win the war than a battle.
For more information, please email us: contact@fisconsult-sinews.com