Carmignac Absolute Return Europe

• April witnessed a period of unprecedented volatility following President Trump's introduction of a set of 'Liberation Day' trade tariffs that were broader and more punitive than expected.• Equity markets reacted aggressively, with global equities experiencing their worst one-day return since the 2020 crash, the S&P 500 enduring its fifth worst day since 1950 (-10%), and the VIX spiking to its highest level since the pandemic. • A few days later, in a completely unexpected turn of events, the President softened his stance on tariffs, effectively announcing a temporary U-turn with a 90-day pause on the implementation of these tariffs. • By the end of the month, equity markets had recovered the majority of the intra-month losses, with European equities finishing the month with a negative return of -1.2%. • Sector leadership was driven by domestically facing sectors such as Retail, Real Estate, Utilities, and Construction. The main laggards were Consumer Discretionary, Healthcare, Basic Resources, and Energy.

• April was challenging for the Fund posting negative performance due to the random volatility created by constant changes, U-turns, and often misquoted announcements from various White House representatives, including Trump himself.• Most of the losses were due to the costly spike in volatility and disruption from our futures and options hedges. Within the single-stock equity book, positive returns were achieved from our technology, real estate, utilities, materials, and healthcare exposures. • Meanwhile, the main detractors at the sector level were communications, consumer discretionary, energy, and financials. • Key stock selection winners included long positions in Fresenius, propelled by a rerating of earnings, Tesco following stronger-than-expected earnings, and short positions in semiconductor stocks that suffered due to inventory correction and a weak earnings outlook. • The main laggards from stock selection included long positions in JD.com, which were impacted by China tariffs; Azelis Group, which suffered due to a missed earnings forecast; and Adidas, which was hit by an unexpected Vietnam tariff announcement.

• In a highly volatile month, our focus was on risk management to protect capital, while capitalizing on opportunities to lock in profits on short positions and add to oversold names with high conviction in both existing and new positions. • We increased exposure to favored names in technology & communications, industrials, domestic non-tariff-exposed names like Tesco, and high-quality businesses such as Munich Re. • Additionally, we covered shorts in semiconductors, materials, consumer, and industrial cyclicals to lock in profits. • We continue to operate amid elevated uncertainty, where breaking headlines can swiftly change the narrative, making high short-term conviction difficult. This environment, however, offers significant opportunities for both our long and short books. Mistiming can be costly, necessitating a nimble and patient approach before deploying more capital. • We are waiting for clarity on: 1) actual tariffs, 2) their impact on the economy, sectors, and stocks, and 3) identifying the best opportunities for capital allocation. • Currently, we favor lower tariff-risk names and sectors, such as EU banks and structural growth names, including oversold tech, communication, and AI-related plays. • Simultaneously, we are ready to increase exposure to names trading at elevated risk premia, anticipating significant relief once clearer information emerges.