Financial markets were relatively calm in August despite a busy macroeconomic, political, and geopolitical news cycle. Equity indices posted roughly the same gains in August as in July (MSCI Europe NR +1.1%, MSCI USA NR +1.9%). During this welcome summer break, equity indices extended the gains seen in the first half of the year, rising by around 2% in Europe and 4% in the US. The acceleration of events related to the war in Ukraine is fuelling hopes for a resolution to the conflict in the coming months. On the monetary front, the Jackson Hole symposium, which traditionally brings together the major central bankers at the end of August, gave Jerome Powell the opportunity to pave the way for a new cycle of rate cuts by the Fed starting in September, as economic momentum slows and inflation stabilizes in the US. Only the troubled political situation in France dampened the dynamic of European indices at the end of the month, without however dampening their momentum, which remains buoyant at this stage.

Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a -1.2% return in August, vs. +1.1% for the MSCI Europe NR. Since the start of the year, the fund has outperformed its index by +4.8%.

After a good month of July, driven in relative terms by small and mid caps and by a good sector allocation, the fund had a mixed August, particularly in the industrial sector, and ended the two summer months slightly behind the market. Earnings publications, usually favourable to the strategy, brought good news for the fund throughout the summer, particularly in the finance, energy and materials sectors. The portfolio reviews carried out in August were diversified, mainly increasing our positions in the industry and finance sectors. Among the exits were mainly companies from the materials and utilities sectors. Digital Stars Europe is significantly overweight finance, as well as industry, and underweight healthcare and consumer staples. The UK remains the fund’s top country weight with 19.6%, ahead of Germany at 14.8%, France at 11.7% and Italy (largest overweight) at 11.0%. With a 9.1% weight, Switzerland becomes the largest country underweight.

Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended August at -1.2%, vs. +1.1% for the MSCI Europe ex UK NR. Since the start of the year, the fund has outperformed its index by +10.2%.

After an excellent month of July, buoyed by small and mid caps and good sector allocation in relative terms, the fund had a mixed August, particularly in the industrial sector, and ended the two summer months in line with the market. Earnings publications, which usually favourable to the strategy, impacted the fund positively throughout the summer, particularly in the financial, energy and consumer discretionary sectors. The portfolio reviews carried out in August were diversified, mainly increasing positions in the industry, as well as in the finance sectors. Among the exits were mainly stocks in the utilities, materials and consumer discretionary sectors. Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in finance, as well as in real estate and industry. The fund is underweight in healthcare and consumer staples. Germany represents the fund’s largest country weight at 17.6%, ahead of France at 15.9%. Norway (6.3%) and Italy (11.4%) are the most overweight countries, and the Netherlands (2.6%) the most underweight.

Digital Stars Eurozone Acc posted a +0.6% return in August, beating by +0.2%the MSCI EMU NR (+0.4%). Since the start of the year, the fund has outperformed its index by +3.6%.

The fund’s favourable sector positioning, particularly the overweight of consumer discretionary and underweight of industry, enabled it to perform well in August despite the underperformance of small and mid caps, which are overrepresented in the fund. The fund was also supported by strong individual performances following the publications of results (Banco BPM, Fresenius SE & Co, etc.). The portfolio reviews carried out in August were diversified, mainly increasing the positions in the industry and utilities sectors. Among the exits were mainly consumer discretionary, real estate and materials stocks. The financial sector remains the fund’s main overweight, ahead of real estate and consumer discretionary. The fund is underweight in the industry, consumer staples and IT sectors. Italy remains the fund’s largest weighting at 23.9%, followed by France at 21.1% and Germany at 16.4%. Italy is the most overweight country and France the second most underweight.

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended August at -1.4%, vs. -0.7% for the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR. Year-to-date, the fund has outperformed its index by +7.4%.

After a strong performance in July, the fund’s overweight in growth stocks held it back in August. The reversal in defence stocks amid discussions about the war in Ukraine also contributed negatively to the fund’s performance. However, the fund benefited from positive earnings announcements. The portfolio reviews carried out in August were diversified, mainly increasing positions in industry and IT stocks. Among the outflows were mainly stocks from the healthcare and consumer staples sectors. The portfolio is mainly overweight finance, IT and industry, and underweight real estate. Germany becomes the largest country weight at 16.9%, ahead of the United Kingdom (the most underweight country) at 15.5%, and Switzerland at 14.1%.

Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD ended August at +1.5%, vs. +1.9% for the MSCI USA NR and +5.3% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. Since the beginning of the year, the fund is -4.3% behind its index.

In August, the fund benefited from its all-cap positioning and favourable sector allocation, with its overweight in the healthcare sector and underweight in technology. Mixed earnings announcements, particularly for technology stocks with high P/E ratios, offset these effects. The rebalancing carried out in August was fairly diversified, with the inclusion of healthcare, finance and materials, and the divestment of real estate, media, consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks. The fund is significantly overweight in financials and industrials. The most underweight sectors remain IT and media.

IRIS Finance International Group announces the creation of IRIVEST Investment Managers, resulting from the merger of its two subsidiaries Chahine Capital and DYNASTY Asset Management, to form its Collective Investment Management division.

This operation, approved by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) on July 31th, 2025 merges Chahine Capital and DYNASTY Asset Management while preserving the DNA that has made the success of these two complementary and recognized areas of expertise. Investment philosophies, teams, and management tools remain unchanged, while the company gains enhanced resources to strengthen its investments in Research & Development, enabling us to deliver even more efficient services to the satisfaction of our clients.

IRIVEST Investment Managers: Strong Expertise Serving Investors

IRIVEST Investment Managers offers 4 high value-added areas of expertise:

• Quantitative “Momentum” Equity Investment: Through the SICAV Chahine Funds (formerly Digital Funds SICAV, subject to CSSF approval), the proprietary quantitative Momentum strategies deliver some of the industry’s best risk-adjusted performances, thanks to an active investment approach supported by continuous research and a systematic, disciplined, and rigorous investment process.

Since 1998 and the launch of the SICAV, Chahine Capital has been the European pioneer in quantitative momentum equity investment. The SICAV currently comprises 5 funds invested in European and U.S. equities.

• Convertible Bond & Credit Investment: Through DYNASTY SICAV, created in 2014, the investment philosophy is characterized by a non-benchmarked, conviction-driven approach, a bottom-up bond selection process, and a conservative strategy (with an average delta below 40% for convertible bond portfolios, in particular), which has enabled investors to benefit from a strong risk-adjusted performance track record.

• Management Company Services: IRIVEST IM provides tailor-made Management Company services in Luxembourg. Its “ManCo Services” offering is aimed at investment managers and investment advisors, with a full and modular range of services adapted to their needs: portfolio management, risk control, valuation, compliance, reporting — in both UCITS and AIF formats.

• Private Wealth Management: IRIVEST IM also provides tailor-made Portfolio Management and Investment Advisory services for wealth management, through partnerships with leading banking institutions.

Preserving Investment Teams and Philosophies

The merger of Chahine Capital and DYNASTY Asset Management follows a principle of preserving the integrity, visibility, and historical roots of each area of expertise. IRIVEST Investment Managers therefore maintains two autonomous investment teams, with no changes to the existing investment processes.

Commercial, IT, risk & compliance, communication, and HR teams are pooled to enhance efficiency and provide IRIVEST IM with greater resources to continue investing and expanding for the benefit of its clients.

A Strengthened Position in the European Investment Management Market

The consolidation of Chahine Capital and DYNASTY Asset Management positions IRIVEST Investment Managers as a leading independent European investment manager, with strategic offices in Luxembourg (headquarters) and Paris (branch), as well as commercial presences in Germany and Italy, and product distribution in Switzerland via its sister company, Compagnie Financière Genevoise 1855.

Supported by a Board of Directors of six members (including two independent directors), governance is entrusted to Michaël Sellam, Chairman of IRIS Finance International Group, as Chairman of the Board of IRIVEST Investment Managers, and Charles Lacroix, CEO of Chahine Capital since 2021 and of DYNASTY AM since 2025, who becomes Director and CEO of IRIVEST Investment Managers.

Promoting Innovation, Expertise, and Sustainability

The primary objective of IRIVEST Investment Managers remains the same as that of Chahine Capital and DYNASTY Asset Management, and which has driven their success: to provide original and innovative active investment solutions, delivering high-performance products, combined with strong proximity to clients. Our expertise across asset classes is consistently demonstrated through performance and reliability.

IRIVEST IM is also committed to responsible finance, embedding sustainable investment processes at the core of its approach, including exclusion policies, ESG voting, engagement, and responsible investment practices.

Several funds within the Chahine Funds SICAV and DYNASTY SICAV have been awarded leading European labels (LuxFLAG ESG Label and French ISR Label), demonstrating the rigorous integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into the investment process.

IRIVEST IM intends to pursue this trajectory in the coming years to meet clients’ growing expectations for transparency and sustainability.

“I am particularly pleased to announce the launch of IRIVEST Investment Managers. This initiative stems from our commitment to continue offering investors unique and high value-added active investment solutions, while equipping ourselves with enhanced resources to further our development — always to the benefit of our clients”, said Michaël Sellam, Chairman of the Board of IRIVEST Investment Managers.

Contact us

contact@irivest.com

Press Contact

Mallawry Lèbre: mallawry.lebre@irivest.com

As every month, you can read our investment report, in which we offer you a macroeconomic analysis of the market, a presentation of the performance of our funds and their results.

You can also watch our video update on the Digital Funds range.

July proved to be fairly calm by recent volatility standards (MSCI Europe NR +0.7%, MSCI USA NR +2.3%). While the traditional quarterly earnings season got off to a positive start, investors’ attention was focused on the outcome of tariff negotiations and the Fed meeting at the end of the month. The announcement of an agreement between the United States and the European Union was greeted with relief that sometimes bordered on complacency, especially as the US Fed’s tone proved to be rather hawkish despite the pressure exerted by the White House.

The stock selection process for our European equity strategies contains three inflection point smoothing mechanisms, designed to detect periods of overheated momentum, either in our funds or in the market. One of these mechanisms has just crossed a threshold, indicating that some of our holdings were excessively polarised towards overheating trends. This triggered an adjustment in the “Price Momentum” sub-portfolio of our European strategies, resulting in partial profit-taking in the defence and financial sectors in favour of more diversifying and defensive sectors. As the trigger materialised from 01/07/2025, the resulting transactions are part of the portfolio reviews described below. The impact of this mechanism is now fully reflected in the monthly reports at the end of July. If you would like more information, feel free to contact us.

Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a +2.4% return in July, outperforming the MSCI Europe NR by +1.7%. Since the start of the year, the fund has outperformed its index by +7.5%.

Small and mid caps, which are well represented in the fund, performed very well in July in relative terms. The fund’s sector allocation was still well-orientated, especially thanks to the overweight in finance. Banks particularly stood out, with BPER, Banco de Sabadell, BPM and Société Générale. In the financial services, Just Group rose by +65% on the announcement of the buyout offer from Brookfield. The fund also benefitted from the strong earnings publications of other stocks like Accelleron Industries, Exail Technologies or Friedrich Vorwerk. The portfolio reviews carried out in July included the smoothing mechanism. They were diversified, mainly increasing our positions in the consumer discretionary sector, as well as in IT and utilities. Among the exits were mainly companies from the defence and finance sectors. Digital Stars Europe is still significantly overweight finance, and underweight healthcare and consumer staples.
The UK remains the fund’s top country weight with 22.0%, ahead of Germany at 14.0% and Italy (largest overweight) at 12.3%. With an 10.0% weight, France remains the largest country underweight.

Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended July at +2.2%, vs. 0% for the MSCI Europe ex UK NR. Since the start of the year, the fund has outperformed its index by +12.8%.

The outperformance of small and mid caps continued to significantly support the fund in July. The fund’s good sector allocation contributed positively in relative terms, with the overweight in finance. The underperformance of defence stocks (reduced at the beginning of the month) was more than offset by the solid performance of banks like Société Générale, Swissquote, BPM or BPER. The fund also benefitted from strong earnings publications of companies like Exail Technologies, Friedrich Vorwerk or R&S Group. The portfolio reviews carried out in July included the smoothing mechanism. They were diversified, mainly increasing positions in consumer discretionary, as well as in IT and consumer staples. Among the exits were mainly stocks in the defence and finance sectors. Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in finance, as well as in real estate. The fund is underweight in healthcare and consumer staples. Germany represents the fund’s largest country weight at 17.2%, ahead of Italy (first overweight) at 14.1%, and France at 14.0% (which remains the largest country underweight).

Digital Stars Eurozone Acc posted a +1.9% return in July, beating the MSCI EMU NR by +0.9%. Since the start of the year, the fund has outperformed its index by +3.4%.

The fund’s good sector positioning, in particular its overweight in banks and underweight in semi-conductors, contributed to a good month of July. The fund was also supported by positive individual contributions, following the earnings publications at the end of the month. The portfolio reviews carried out in July included the smoothing mechanism. They were diversified, mainly increasing the positions in the IT, consumer discretionary and consumer staples sectors. Among the exits were mainly finance and industry stocks. The financial sector remains the fund’s main overweight, ahead of real estate and consumer discretionary. The fund is underweight in the industry, consumer staples and IT sectors. Italy remains the fund’s largest weighting at 23.5%, followed by Germany at 19.2% and France at 19.1%. Italy is the most overweight country and France the second most underweight.

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended July at +2.9%, outperforming by +1.8% the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR (+1.1%). Year-to-date, the fund has outperformed its index by +8.3%.

The fund’s good performance in July was due to its good positioning, with an overweight position in financials and an underweight position in property. Good earnings announcements from stocks in a variety of sectors (Friedrich Vorwerk Group, Cicor Technologies, R&S Group Holding, Dometic Group, etc.) also made a positive contribution to the month’s performance. The portfolio reviews carried out in July included the smoothing mechanism. They were diversified, mainly increasing positions in consumer discretionary and IT stocks. Among the outflows were mainly stocks from the finance and industry sectors. The portfolio is now mainly overweight finance, IT and industry, and underweight real estate. Germany becomes the largest country weight at 19.0%, ahead of the United Kingdom (the most underweight country) at 16.5%, and Switzerland at 11.6%.

Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD ended July at 0%, vs. +2.3% for the MSCI USA NR and +2.0% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. Since the beginning of the year, the fund is -3.8% behind its index.

Against a backdrop of contrasted earnings announcements in July, the good performance of the fund’s industrial stocks, such as Comfort Systems USA, was not enough to offset the impact of the fund’s overweighting of the financial sector and underweighting of the technology sector. The rebalancing carried out in July was fairly diversified, with the inclusion of consumer discretionary, finance and healthcare, and the divestment of industry, real estate and media stocks. The fund is heavily overweight in financials and industrials. The most underweight sectors remain IT and media.