
Carmignac Portfolio Merger Arbitrage Plus: Letter from the Fund Managers - Q2 2026
Dear investors,
During the second quarter of 2026, despite a volatile market, Carmignac Portfolio Merger Arbitrage Plus (I EUR Acc share class) delivered a positive performance of +0.61%.
Market environment
During the second quarter of 2026, markets remained volatile, with both equity and credit assets continuing to be affected by geopolitical uncertainty, renewed pressure on energy prices and lingering concerns around parts of the private credit market. Risk appetite remained fragile through April and May, before improving somewhat later in the quarter as investors became more selective and market stress became increasingly idiosyncratic rather than broad-based.
In this environment, merger arbitrage remained broadly resilient, supported by the strategy’s limited directional exposure to equity and credit markets. However, the quarter was marked by significant dispersion across deal spreads. Several situations remained under pressure, including transactions exposed to regulatory approvals, geopolitical risk or delayed closing timelines. Allied Gold, Subsea 7, Warner Bros and certain financial-sector deals experienced periods of spread widening or profit-taking, often without a material deterioration in deal fundamentals.
M&A activity remained healthy over the quarter. Deal volumes were broadly stable in April and May, before accelerating in June, with 25 new transactions announced for a total value of around USD 138 billion. Activity remained concentrated in North America and was supported by several sizeable transactions, including deals in communication services, healthcare, energy and consumer sectors.
Overall, despite a still uncertain macro backdrop and continued volatility across equities and credit, merger arbitrage remained primarily driven by deal-specific catalysts. The quarter highlighted both the importance of selectivity in managing regulatory and geopolitical risks, and the continued availability of attractive opportunities as M&A activity recovered into the quarter end.
Performance review
The M&A strategy demonstrated resilience during the quarter as spreads continued to be driven by idiosyncratic, deal-level catalysts rather than directional equity or credit markets. While market volatility led to temporary spread widening in certain names, this did not reflect higher deal break risk. Quarterly performance was driven by:
- Completion of several big deals: Cantaloupe, Hologic and American Woodmark.
- Performance was also pressured by Allied Gold, whose acquisition by China’s Zijin Mining saw its spread widen amid heightened execution concerns regarding geopolitical tensions in Mali and the pending Chinese antitrust approval.
- M&A pipeline remained robust. Global transaction values were up around 30% year over year according to Bloomberg data.
- Importantly, our deal selection avoided any transaction failures during the quarter.
That said, a handful of spreads proved more volatile than average, detracting modestly to quarterly performance, notably Warner Bros, Norfolk Southern and International Money Express.
Outlook
M&A activity remains well supported despite a more uncertain macro and geopolitical backdrop. The recent wave of large transactions reflects renewed corporate confidence, with companies continuing to pursue scale, synergies and strategic positioning. We expect this momentum to continue in H2 2026, supported by a more pragmatic US antitrust environment and still attractive financing conditions for strategic buyers.
Financial sponsors are also increasingly active, backed by significant dry powder and growing pressure to deploy capital. Improved credit market conditions should continue to support private equity activity, including larger and more complex transactions.
Against this backdrop, merger arbitrage offers an attractive opportunity set. Elevated deal flow, wider spreads and a more supportive execution environment create visible risk-adjusted return potential, while the strategy’s exposure to idiosyncratic corporate events provides useful diversification in markets still marked by uncertainty and elevated correlations. We believe the Fund is well positioned to capture these opportunities.
The Merger Arbitrage Team
Carmignac Portfolio Merger Arbitrage Plus I EUR Acc
- Empfohlene Mindestanlagedauer
- 3 Jahre
- Risikoskala*
- 2/7
- SFDR-Klassifizierung**
- Artikel 8
*Die Definition der Risikoskala finden Sie im KID/BIB (Basisinformationsblatt). Das Risiko 1 ist nicht eine risikolose Investition. Dieser Indikator kann sich im Laufe der Zeit verändern. **Die Offenlegungsverordnung (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation - SFDR) 2019/2088. Die SFDR-Klassifizierung der Fonds kann sich im Laufe der Zeit ändern.
Hauptrisiken des Fonds
Kosten
- Einstiegskosten
- Wir berechnen keine Einstiegsgebühr.
- Ausstiegskosten
- Wir berechnen keine Ausstiegsgebühr für dieses Produkt.
- Verwaltungsgebühren und sonstige Verwaltungs- oder Betriebskosten
- 1,12 % des Werts Ihrer Anlage pro Jahr. Hierbei handelt es sich um eine Schätzung auf der Grundlage der tatsächlichen Kosten des letzten Jahres.
- Erfolgsgebühren
- 20,00 % Anteil an der Outperformance, wenn die Wertentwicklung positiv ist und der Nettoinventarwert die High-Water Mark übertrifft. Der tatsächliche Betrag hängt davon ab, wie gut sich Ihre Anlage entwickelt. Die vorstehende Schätzung der kumulierten Kosten enthält den Durchschnitt der letzten fünf Jahre bzw. seit der Auflegung des Produkts, wenn diese vor weniger als fünf Jahren erfolgte.
- Transaktionskosten
- 0,23 % des Werts Ihrer Anlage pro Jahr. Hierbei handelt es sich um eine Schätzung der Kosten, die anfallen, wenn wir die Basiswerte für das Produkt kaufen oder verkaufen. Der tatsächliche Betrag hängt davon ab, wie viel wir kaufen und verkaufen.
Performance
| Carmignac Portfolio Merger Arbitrage Plus | +1,6 | +4,6 | +3,7 | +3,2 |
| Carmignac Portfolio Merger Arbitrage Plus | +3,5 % | +4,6 % | +4,1 % |
Quelle: Carmignac Stand 30. Jun 2026.
Datum des ersten NAV : 14/04/2023.
Die Wertentwicklung der Vergangenheit ist keine Garantie für die zukünftige Wertentwicklung. Sie verstehen sich nach Abzug von Gebühren (außer eventuellen Ausgabeaufschlägen, die von der Vertriebsstelle erhoben werden).
Bei den nicht währungsgesicherten Anteilen kann die Rendite aufgrund von Währungsschwankungen steigen oder fallen (bei Aktien, die nicht gegen das Währungsrisiko abgesichert sind).
Referenzindikator: -
