Equity indices continued to rise in March (MSCI Europe NR +3.9%, MSCI USA NR +3.1%). The impressive rally that began last October is the logical consequence of a context in which a virtuous double inflection of the growth and monetary cycles is taking shape. The obvious undervaluation of indices from a fundamental point of view has been corrected. European indices are now priced close to their historical average. This is less true in the United States, where the S&P 500 index is overvalued, due to the high representation of the expensive “Magnificent” stocks. However, the small- and mid-cap segment, whose relative behaviour is traditionally pro-cyclical, remains at a discount on both sides of the Atlantic (MSCI USA Small Cap PER 18.5x vs. 20-year average of 19.2x, MSCI Europe Small Cap PER 13.4x vs. average of 14.7x) and could emerge as a good performance driver in the coming months.
The positioning of our funds (positive bets on real estate and finance, negative bets on defensives) enabled them to take advantage of the strong market in March, despite some disappointments on certain technology stocks. Against this backdrop, the Digital Stars funds ended the month outperforming their indices.
Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a monthly performance of +4.2% compared with +3.9% for the MSCI Europe NR. The overweight in the real estate and finance sectors benefitted the fund (Fastighets AB Balder, BPER, Banco de Sabadell, BBVA), as did the underweight in the consumer staples segment. A few disappointments on technology stocks weighed negatively, accentuating the sector’s relative underperformance.
The portfolio reviews carried out in March were diversified, increasing significantly our positions in the industry sector. Among the exits were mainly real estate, energy, utilities and consumer discretionary stocks.
Digital Stars Europe is overweight industry, finance and real estate. The fund is underweight healthcare and consumer staples.
Italy (largest overweight) becomes the fund’s top weight at 17.4%, ahead of the UK at 14.5% and Sweden at 10.7%.
Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended March at +4.2% compared with +3.7% for the MSCI Europe ex UK NR. The overweight in the real estate and finance sectors benefitted the fund (Fastighets AB Balder, BPER, Banco de Sabadell, BBVA), as did the underweight in the consumer staples segment. In the construction materials sector, a number of stocks stood out (Buzzi, Heidelberg Materials), while some technology stocks disappointed and added to the sector’s underperformance.
The rebalancings carried out in March were diversified, increasing significantly our positions in industry, as well as in finance and pharmaceuticals. Among the exits were mainly energy, utilities and communication services stocks.
Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight real estate, finance and industry. The fund is underweight healthcare and consumer staples.
Italy (largest overweight) is still the fund’s top weight at 17.8%, ahead of Sweden at 14.4% and Germany at 12.1%.
Digital Stars Eurozone Acc posted a monthly performance of +4.3% compared with +4.4% for the MSCI EMU NR. The fund benefited from the same trends in absolute terms, but had to deal with some poor earnings announcements. However, the weak performance of some large caps (ASML, LVMH) enabled the fund to finish the month in line with its benchmark.
The rebalancing carried out in March saw the integration of financial, paper and real estate stocks. On the outgoing side, the technology sector is the most represented.
The media sector remains the top relative bet of the fund, which is also overweight in the consumer discretionary and real estate sectors. The fund is underweight in utilities, food, healthcare, energy and materials.
France remains the largest country weight at 24.7%, followed by Italy at 21.1% and Germany at 16.7%. Italy remains the fund’s biggest relative bet, and France the fund’s biggest underweight.
Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended up +3.6% in March, vs. +4.3% for the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR. A number of good results announcements for some of our stocks (CMC Markets, Maire Tecnimont) partly offset more disappointing reports earlier in the month (Clas Ohlson, Mota Group).
The monthly portfolio reviews have strengthened our positions in the industry and healthcare sectors. Sales occurred mainly in energy, telecommunications, consumer discretionary and IT.
The portfolio is now mainly overweight in industrials, materials and consumer staples, and underweight in finance and energy.
Sweden (one of the two most overweight countries, along with Italy) is now the biggest country weight in the portfolio and weighs 21.1%, ahead of Italy at 17.0% and the United Kingdom (the most largely underweight country) at 16.8%.
Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD was up +3.5% in March, vs. +3.1% for the MSCI USA NR and +3.8% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. The US market performed fairly homogeneously this month. It was the behaviour of individual stocks that made the difference, thanks to positive announcements from some of our portfolio holdings, like GAP, Honest Company.
The latest monthly portfolio review mainly increased the positions in the media and real estate sectors, and reduced mainly those in industry, materials and consumer discretionary sectors.
The portfolio is significantly overweight in industry, as well as in consumer discretionary and finance. The most underweight sectors are IT, media and healthcare.
