The Fund delivered a positive return but trailed its reference indicator.
It benefitted from favourable conditions for growth stocks, but our selection of defensive stocks weighed on relative performance.
The technology sector and, more specifically, our substantial positions in semiconductor companies ASML and Nvidia continued an excellent start to the year and were among the main sources of performance.
Some of the Fund’s top healthcare and consumer names were down. These included Estée Lauder, whose forecasts were slightly lower than expected as the macroeconomic environment deteriorated for consumers.
Our macroeconomic analysis still calls for relatively defensive positioning, which is reflected in the portfolio’s overall construction – its healthcare and consumer staples names in particular.
We still have high exposure to technology and healthcare, and are limiting exposure to the momentum factor by resizing Eli Lilly and Nvidia.
We sold our remaining interest in Diasorin and added a position in Accenture.
North America | 67.6 % |
Europe | 32.4 % |
Total % Equities | 100.0 % |
Market environment
The United States and Europe are starting to diverge at macroeconomic and monetary policy levels.
Although the US economy remains firm, signs of cooling were observed in May.
In Europe, PMIs published during the month confirmed an improvement in economic activity.
The downward trend for US interest rates helped growth stocks.
Nvidia continued to benefit from investors’ excitement about artificial intelligence after publishing its results.