Equity indices retreated in April (MSCI Europe NR -0.9%, MSCI USA NR -4.2%), temporarily interrupting the impressive bull run that began at the end of October, despite quarterly publications getting off to a great start. Investors preferred to focus on the resilience of inflation in the United States to challenge the consensus view that central banks will cut interest rates in the near future. This corrects the over-optimistic expectations of rate cuts at the start of the year, but does not call into question the fact that this accommodative process will soon get underway, particularly in the Eurozone.
In mid-April, macroeconomic uncertainty sowed doubts in investors’ minds about the ability to keep inflation under control. Then the markets rallied, particularly in small and mid caps, which are well represented in our all-cap strategies. Overall, the best-performing sectors were energy and the defensive sectors (healthcare, utilities and consumer staples). Against this backdrop, the Digital Stars funds ended the month outperforming their indices.
Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a monthly performance of -0.7% compared with -0.9% for the MSCI Europe NR. The disappointment in materials companies (Buzzi, CRH) was largely offset by the positive publications from our semiconductor stocks (Süss MicroTec, ASM International). But it was industrials that contributed most to the outperformance, particularly those linked to energy (Höegh Autoliners, MaireTecnimont).
The portfolio reviews carried out in April were diversified, increasing significantly our positions in the industry and materials sectors, as well as in the media. Among the exits were mainly consumer discretionary, bank and insurance stocks. The weight of the UK was increased, unlike Sweden.
Digital Stars Europe is overweight industry, finance and real estate. The fund is underweight healthcare, consumer staples and consumer discretionary.
Italy (largest overweight) remains the fund’s top weight at 17.5%, ahead of the UK at 15.4% and Sweden at 9.0%.
Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended April at -1.0% compared with -2.0% for the MSCI Europe ex UK NR. The fund benefited from the performance of the energy sector through its overweight position (Galp Energia) and via its exposure to stocks such as Höegh Autoliners and MaireTecnimont. The disappointment in building materials companies (Buzzi, CRH) was largely offset by the good news from our banks (BPER, Banco de Sabadell, CaixaBank) and semi-conductors (Süss MicroTec, ASM International).
The portfolio reviews carried out in April were diversified, increasing significantly our positions in industry, as well as in materials. Among the exits were mainly stocks in the finance sectors: banking and insurance.
Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in industry, as well as in real estate. The fund is underweight healthcare, consumer staples and consumer discretionary.
Italy (largest overweight) is still the fund’s top weight at 18.5%, ahead of Sweden at 12.5% and Germany at 11.4%.
Digital Stars Eurozone Acc posted a monthly performance of +0.3% compared with -1.9% for the MSCI EMU NR. The fund benefited from its all-cap approach, as well as from good earnings announcements (SÜSS MicroTec). In addition, the poor performance of some large caps (ASML, LVMH) enabled the fund to finish the month +2.5% ahead of its benchmark.
The rebalancing carried out in April saw the integration of consumer discretionary stocks. On the outgoing side, the telecom sector is the most represented.
The consumer discretionary sector becomes the largest overweight, ahead of media and real estate. The fund is underweight in utilities, food, healthcare, energy and materials.
France remains the largest country weight at 26.7%, followed by Italy at 21.1% and Germany at 14.7%. Italy remains the fund’s biggest relative bet, and Germany becomes the fund’s biggest underweight, ahead of France.
Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended up +0.7% in April, vs. -0.8% for the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR. A number of good earnings announcements for some of our holdings (Höegh Autoliners, CMC Markets, etc.) enabled the fund to outperform its benchmark index.
The monthly portfolio reviews have strengthened our positions in the industry and IT sectors. Sales occurred mainly in real estate and consumer staples.
The portfolio is now mainly overweight in industrials and materials, and underweight in finance, real estate and energy.
Sweden (one of the two most overweight countries, along with Italy) is now the biggest country weight in the portfolio and weighs 18.2%, ahead of the UK at 16.5% and Italy at 16.1%.
Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD was down -5.4% in April, vs. -4.2% for the MSCI USA NR and -6.6% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. Despite a good performance from a number of mid-caps (Badger Meter, Haemonetics Corporation, etc.), the fund’s ‘all caps’ profile was impacted by the underperformance of the small and mid-cap segment. It therefore ended the month between the two indices.
The latest monthly portfolio review mainly increased the positions in the industry and consumer discretionary sectors, and reduced mainly those in IT and healthcare 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.
