Investment trust insider on Fidelity European – James Carthew: Fidelity’s Sam Morse provides good guide through Europe’s gloom
As Gazprom restricts gas supplies to Europe and gas prices hit new highs as governments face difficult decisions about how to react, it is probably not surprising that investment companies focused on European equities have been struggling.
None of the seven large company-focused and four ‘small-cap’ funds in Europe has made money for investors over the past 12 months. The euro has been a little weaker than the pound over the past year and that is reflected in these figures, but even in euro terms every investment company has lost money.
Of the first group, Baillie Gifford European Growth (BGEU) has been hit hardest, with a 37% drop in net asset value (NAV) and a 43% fall in its share price. Of the smaller company funds, European Assets (EAT) is the laggard, losing 29% in both NAV and share price terms.
There are no bright spots among the small-cap trusts, but a clutch of funds, including Fidelity European (FEV) and European Opportunities (EOT) have been beating the MSCI Europe ex-UK index in the past six months. In EOT’s case, this is in part due to its pan-European remit which includes the UK.
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