FP Carmignac Global Equity Compounders: Letter from the Fund Managers - Q4 2025
FP Carmignac Global Equity Compounders A GBP Acc delivered a performance of +1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, below its comparator benchmark, which was up 3.21%. Over the full year 2025, the Fund achieved a performance of +1.1%, underperforming its comparator benchmark, which returned +12.75%.
Market environment during the period
During the fourth quarter, global developed equity markets delivered a positive return of 3.2%, as investor sentiment continued to improve. Markets were supported by interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve in October and December, alongside expectations of further easing in 2026. The impact of US-imposed tariffs earlier in the year gradually faded, as markets absorbed their effects and progress was made towards clearer trade relationships thereby reducing a key source of uncertainty.
As is often the case, markets experienced periodic bouts of volatility, driven by valuation concerns, uncertainty around US policy direction and intermittent external shocks. These episodes, however, proved temporary and did not materially disrupt the broader positive trend.
How did we fare in this context?
During the fourth quarter of 2025, the Fund underperformed its reference indicator.
Market performance during the period was led by the Healthcare sector, which rebounded after a prolonged period of weakness. Several healthcare companies reached agreement with the US administration on drug pricing and manufacturing capacity investments in the United States, helping to remove a key source of uncertainty that had weighed on the sector throughout the year. This acted as a clearing event, driving strong performance across pharmaceutical and related subsectors.
Healthcare exposure was a positive contributor to relative performance for the Fund, with notable gains from Eli Lilly (+40%), Align Technology (+25%) and Thermo Fisher (+20%). We modestly increased our position in Novo Nordisk during the quarter, as we were encouraged by the company’s agreement on Medicare and Medicaid pricing with the US government, as well as the long-anticipated approval of the company’s oral obesity treatment. We expect these developments to support an acceleration in prescription growth going forward.
While the artificial intelligence (AI) theme continued to dominate market narratives, performance within the Technology sector became more differentiated during the period. Several established AI beneficiaries, such as Microsoft (-6%) and Nvidia (+0%), lagged both the sector and the broader market, while other names including Alphabet (+29%), Amazon (+5%) and ASML (+11%) delivered solid gains.
Software stocks were particularly weak, as they were increasingly perceived as potential losers from AI adoption — a view we disagree with. As a result, holdings such as ServiceNow (-17%) and SAP (-8%) underperformed. We maintain our positions in these companies, as we continue to see AI as a long-term growth catalyst rather than a structural threat.
We believe that this periodic rotation within the technology space is creating attractive entry points, as AI-related winners occasionally fall out of favour. During the quarter, Arista Networks declined by approximately 25% from its recent peak, which we viewed as an opportunity to add to this position. We see Arista as a key provider of networking equipment for data centres, with multi-year growth potential driven by sustained AI-related investment.
Elsewhere, markets were influenced by a reflationary narrative, with expectations that authorities would seek to stimulate economic activity through monetary and fiscal measures. This supported Financials and commodity-linked cyclicals, although these areas remain outside our focus for long-term investment.
Finally, consumer-related stocks were broadly weak. Both Consumer Staples, such as Colgate (-1%) and Procter & Gamble (-6%), and Consumer Discretionary names including Home Depot (-14%) and Adidas (-6%) underperformed, reflecting a cautious consumer environment in the US and globally.
Outlook & positioning
Over recent months, we have been actively adjusting the portfolio. We believe the derating of Consumer Staples has been excessive. While we do not anticipate an immediate catalyst for a re-rating, we view these businesses as attractive long-term investments at current valuation levels. For example, Colgate is trading at approximately 21x forward earnings, close to the lower end of its historical valuation range.
We have also used the similar derating of several quality growth stocks to initiate new positions. These include RELX, the legal and information services provider, where market concerns around AI disruption appear overstated. On the contrary, we see meaningful opportunities for the company to enhance revenues through new product launches over the coming months. We also added Doximity, the healthcare professional networking platform, which had been similarly sold off, despite a business model that continues to connect the vast majority of general practitioners in the US. We see no evidence of structural disruption to its franchise.
In the current environment, earnings visibility and balance sheet strength are likely to be increasingly rewarded. We believe the portfolio remains positioned to benefit from secular growth trends, notably AI and digital transformation, while retaining the flexibility and discipline required to navigate an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop.
FP Carmignac Global Equity Compounders
FP Carmignac Global Equity Compounders A GBP ACC
- Recommended minimum investment horizon
- 5 years
- Risk indicator*
- 5/7
- SFDR - Fund Classification
- Article -
*Risk Scale from the KIID (Key Investor Information Document). Risk 1 does not mean a risk-free investment. This indicator may change over time.
Main risks of the fund
Fees
- Maximum subscription fees paid to distributors
- -
- Redemption Fees
- -
- Conversion Fee
- -
- Ongoing Charges
- 0.75%
- Management Fees
- 0.67% MAX
- Performance Fees
- -
Footnote
Performance
| FP Carmignac Global Equity Compounders | +1.1 | +17.6 | +21.0 | −19.0 | +22.6 | +23.0 |
| Reference Indicator | +12.8 | +20.8 | +16.8 | −7.8 | +22.9 | +19.8 |
| FP Carmignac Global Equity Compounders | +12.9% | +7.4% | +10.5% |
| Reference Indicator | +16.7% | +12.5% | +14.7% |
Source: Carmignac at 31 Dec 2025.
Date of 1st NAV : 15/05/2020.
Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. Performances are net of fees (excluding possible entrance fees charged by the distributor). The Fund presents a risk of loss of capital.
The return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations, for the shares which are not currency-hedged.
Reference Indicator: MSCI World NR index