FP Carmignac European Leaders

In July, the most significant development was the breakthrough trade agreement between the European Union and the United States which left most imports subject to a 15% tariff rate.

Although these new tariff rates are significantly higher than before Trump’s presidency, equity markets responded positively to the fact that the new agreements reduce the risk of an escalating trade war.

The Magnificent Seven companies continued to report stronger earnings growth, while European technology heavyweights issued cautious statements regarding the potential negative impact of US trade policy on their 2026 growth targets.

In July, the fund delivered a positive absolute return though below its comparator benchmark.

Healthcare was a drag on performance, primarily due to Novo Nordisk issuing a profit warning and revising down its sales and earnings outlook due to softer-than-expected U.S. growth for its key drugs.

The Financials sector also underperformed relative to our benchmark.

That said, UBS, a recent addition to the portfolio, delivered a strong Q2. Earnings more than doubled year-over-year, supported by robust revenue growth in both Investment Banking and Global Wealth Management.

The Industrials sector which we reinforced in the recent months was the biggest relative contributor.

Prysmian continued its strong momentum, capitalizing on robust demand in electrification and digital infrastructure. The company posted strong Q2 results with solid organic growth and margins.

During the month of July, we added a new position to our portfolio, Flatexdegiro, which complements our existing holdings in B2C platforms Nordnet and Fineco, providing us with additional exposure to the increasing penetration of the European savings market.

However, we modestly trimmed our positions in Prysmian and Kion which performed extremely well in the recent weeks.

We maintain relatively low exposure at around 93% as we aim to use any price weakness to add to existing names exposed to potential strong domestic German and European economic growth.

The Fund continues to rely on bottom-up fundamental analysis with a medium-to-long-term horizon.

We remain committed to our philosophy and believe this is a great opportunity for our investors to gain access to some of Europe’s best companies at attractive entry valuations.