Artemis European Growth Fund
Fund Manager's Comment
Data as at 30 April 2012
With around half of Europe’s companies having reported quarterly results in the past couple of months, we have had plenty of material from which to get a feel for what is going on in Europe. In general, forecasts have held steady for the past few months (having seen persistent cuts prior to that). Supposedly defensive sectors such as telecoms and utilities have seen large cuts to forecasts (excess capacity means weak pricing), whilst the autos and luxury goods stocks have benefitted from strength outside of Europe.
This has helped us and as per previous quarters, our stocks have had pleasant surprises come their way. Stocks such as Pirelli, Swedbank and Volkswagen have had big upgrades and strong performance; others like BASF, Swiss Re and SE Banken have had good results, upgrades and weak share price performance. As ever, we continue to recycle the portfolio into those with the best combination of value and growth. In the past month this has meant selling the likes of Red Electrica, Natixis, Tele2 and KBC; we have invested the proceeds in stocks such as Solvay, Yara and Stada. Indeed, we are now slightly overweight in the chemical sector. Our largest overweight sector is autos, with healthcare being at the other end of the spectrum.
Fund Manager
Philip Wolstencroft
Manager of the Artemis European Growth Fund Fund since launch
Co-Fund Manager
Peter Saacke
Co-Manager of the Artemis European Growth Fund Fund since 1 December 2002
Awards
European Growth PDFKey Facts
| IMA Sector | Europe Excluding UK |
|---|---|
| Sedol Number | 0660084 |
| Fund Size (offer basis) | £194.5m |
| Historic yield | 2.3% |
| Unit offer price | 165.58p |
| Unit bid price | 156.87p |
| Valuation (UK business days) | 12:00 |
| Minimum lump sum investment | £1,000 |
|---|---|
| Minimum monthly investment | £50 |
| Launch | 7 March 2001 |
| Launch price | 100p |
| Preliminary charge | 5.25% |
| Annual Management Fee | 1.50% |
| Unit type | Accumulation |
| Accumulation date | 31 May |
| Total Expense Ratio | 1.67% |
Data as at 30 April 2012.
Performance
| Since Launch* | 5 Years | 3 Years | 1 Year | 6 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Growth Fund (TR)† | 65.1 | -35.7 | 18.0 | -21.5 | -2.9 |
| FTSE Europe ex UK (TR)† | 32.8 | -10.1 | 20.1 | -19.8 | -0.9 |
| Sector Average | 29.5 | -10.9 | 22.5 | -16.1 | -0.5 |
| Position in Sector | 7 | 81 | 53 | 99 | 76 |
| Funds in Sector | 55 | 81 | 97 | 103 | 105 |
| Quartile | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
Please remember that past performance is not a guide to the future.
*Data from 7 March 2001. Source: Lipper Limited, bid to bid in sterling with net income reinvested to 30 April 2012. All figures show total returns. †Percentage Growth. Sector is IMA Europe (ex UK).
Percentage Growth
Artemis European Growth Fund Fund 12 Months to 31 December 2009
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -15.0 | 11.4 | 42.6 | -44.2 | -6.3 |
Source: Lipper Limited, bid to bid in sterling with net income reinvested. All figures show total returns.
Value of £1,000 invested at Launch to 30 April 2012.
Data from 7 March 2001. Source Lipper Limited, bid to bid in sterling with net income reinvested to 30 April 2012.
Asset Allocation*
*Without cash. Source: Internal
Top Ten Holdings*
| Pirelli | 3.8% |
|---|---|
| Swedbank | 3.7% |
| Freenet | 3.5% |
| Volkswagen | 3.4% |
| Gazprom | 2.9% |
| BASF | 2.6% |
| Telecom Italia | 2.6% |
| Astaldi | 2.6% |
| Svenska Handelsbanken | 2.3% |
| Swiss RE | 2.2% |
* Without cash.
Source: Internal.
Market Sector Split*
| Banks | 16.6% |
|---|---|
| Industrial Goods & Services | 13.4% |
| Automobiles & Parts | 12.2% |
| Oil & Gas | 8.2% |
| Chemicals | 7.6% |
| Insurance | 5.3% |
| Construction & Materials | 5.1% |
| Telecommunications | 4.7% |
| Travel & Leisure | 4.6% |
| Other | 22.3% |
* Without cash.
Source: Internal.
Risk Warning
Issued by Artemis Fund Managers Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (www.fsa.gov.uk), 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS and is a member of the IMA. Artemis Fund Managers Ltd is a member of the Artemis Marketing Group. We only market our own unit trusts. The value of an investment, and any income from it, can fall as well as rise as result of market and currency fluctuations and you may not get back the amount originally invested.
All data is sourced internally unless otherwise stated.
The historic yield reflects distributions declared over the past twelve months as a percentage of the mid-market unit price, as at the date shown. It does not include any preliminary charge and investors may be subject to tax on their distributions.
