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Over the month of August, the fund had a flat absolute return but lagged its reference indicator.
Our exposure to IT had the largest detracting effect on this month’s performance. The overweight to the sector and more specifically our stock selection in the software space with names like Intuit, Microsoft, SAP and Oracle did not support our performance.
Similarly our underweight to Healthcare and a few detracting stocks like Eli Lilly and Lonza did not support performance over the month.
On the other hand, our underperformance was limited through our stock selection in communication services and Industrials. Alphabet reported an earnings beat marking a 14% year on year driven by cloud momentum and raising their 2025 capital expenditure forecast for its cloud and AI services.
In August, we undertook few changes to the portfolio. We continued building our position in Eli Lilly, which we initiated in July.
We also added to Roche in the Pharma space and slightly increased our weight to Sherwin-Williams the materials company that specialises in paints, coatings and related products. To reinforce these positions we reduced our weight in technology companies like Oracle, Nvidia and Cisco.
We remain cautious in positioning our portfolio and continue to focus on higher quality companies.
North America | 61.2 % |
Europe | 25.7 % |
Asia | 9.9 % |
Asia-Pacific | 3.3 % |
The social theme is one of the most disregarded areas within ESG. Yet we believe that companies providing positive experiences to both their customers and employees are better positioned to achieve superior returns over the long run.
Market environment
• At Jackson Hole, following the release of July’s US non-farm payrolls—which suggested a slowing labour market—Powell opened the door to potential mid-September rate cuts. This fueled expectations of an aggressive cutting cycle.
• European markets underperformed in local currencies, with France lagging in particular due to political uncertainties.
• Chinese onshore equities rose to decade highs, supported by optimism around anti-involution reforms, strength in the technology sector, and incremental government measures aimed at boosting the equity market.
• The euro appreciated against the dollar over the period, creating a divergence between local currency and euro-denominated index performances.