Bericht des Fondsmanagements (Stand: 29.02.2024)
Eurozone equity markets rebounded sharply during the month, lifted by retreating bond yields and by the growing likelihood of a soft-landing scenario for the global economy. In this environment, cyclical growth stocks outperformed by a large margin and enabled the fund to deliver a strong positive return during the month. After our rather defensive positioning in 2023, our growing conviction that a scenario combining soft-landing and disinflation would unfold prompted us, at the end of October/early November, to reallocate a large part of the portfolio towards these cyclical growth plays, notably companies benefiting from the electrification and digitalisation trends (new positions initiated in Infineon while Siemens, Schneider Electric and ASML were strengthened). In return, the funds exposure to financials was largely reduced after we sold our holding in Munich Re and trimmed Axa, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Adyen (which has risen over 50% since it was added to the portfolio in September)