Factsheet: July 2021
Strategy
The Fund's objective is to achieve optimal capital growth over the long term through the active management of a portfolio of large-capitalisation stocks based primarily in a member country of the European Union or the European Economic Area.
The investment strategy is based on a fundamental analysis. The stock selection process is based on the activity of companies, their governance, financial structure, and development prospects. The fund aims to identify companies with dominant positions, high reinvestment capacity, and low debt.
The recommended investment horizon is 5 years. The reference currency is the Euro.
Markets
After a difficult start due to the underlying fears about the Delta variant, European markets ended up having a positive month of July. In addition to the rising services index, retail sales rose spectacularly and the basic resources sector (+7.21%) was by far the best performer during the month, in contrast to the energy sector (-4.81%), which calmed down after a strong start of the year.
The European Commission revised its growth forecasts from 4.3% to 4.8% for 2021 and from 4.4% to 4.5% for 2022. Inflation fears have also faded, with the French 10-year rate dropping back into the negative zone to end the month at -0.1%.
All these factors enabled the markets to consolidate their recovery and end on a positive note, with the Euro Stoxx 50 gaining 0.12%, the CAC 40 gaining 0.91% and the Stoxx Europe 600 1.08%.
The Fund
The fund significantly outperformed the Stoxx Europe 600 (+5.26% vs. +1.08%). The top three performers were Alfa Laval (+18.17%), Dassault Systèmes (+13.74%) and Coloplast (+11.43%). On the other hand, Temenos (-1.16%), Air Liquide (- 0.73%) and Christian Hansen (-0.38%) constituted the bottom trio.
The sector rotation, which began in June, is still ongoing and the companies we favour are gradually catching up. Quarterly results are excellent and our analysis thereof confirms the soundness of our choices, as reflected in the markets' reaction to the results of Alfa Laval and Dassault Systèmes.
For more information, please email us: contact@fisconsult-sinews.com