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.

September proved to be a rather neutral month for the equity asset class. European equities fell slightly (MSCI Europe NR -0.4%), but this was not the case for small and mid caps (+0.5% for the MSCI Europe Small NR), and US equities progressed (MSCI USA NR +2.1%) with the dollar falling against the euro. The first half of the month was bearish. A logical observation after the strong bullish sequence observed throughout August, a bullish sequence that needed to be digested. The second half of the month was of a completely different nature, and offset the sluggish start seen at the beginning of the month. The announcement of the Fed’s first rate cut of 50 basis points, together with the stimulus plans announced in China, provided powerful support for the equity asset class at the end of the month.

Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a +0.7% increase in September, outperforming by +1.1% the MSCI Europe NR (-0.4%). The fund is up +16.7% since the beginning of the year, outperforming its index by +5.1%.

The fund’s pro-cyclical positioning (overweight small and mid caps) has been favourable. The fund’s sector positioning as well, thanks in particular to our two biggest bets: the overweight position in industry and the underweight position in healthcare. Some stocks particularly stood out, such as SÜSS MicroTec (semi-conductors) and Sectra (healthcare technology). The portfolio reviews carried out in September were diversified, mainly increasing our positions in the telecom sector, as well as in healthcare and consumer discretionary. Among the exits were mainly companies from consumer staples (food) and materials sectors. Digital Stars Europe is significantly overweight industrials and financials. The fund is underweight healthcare, consumer discretionary and consumer staples. The UK remains the fund’s top weight at 18.3%, ahead of Italy (first overweight) at 15.3% and Germany at 11.7%. With 5.4%, France remains the largest country underweight.

Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended September at +0.6%, outperforming by +1.0% the MSCI Europe ex UK NR (-0.4%). The fund is up +15.9% since the beginning of the year, outperforming its index by +5.1%.

The fund’s pro-cyclical positioning (overweight small and mid caps) has been favourable. The fund’s sector positioning as well, thanks in particular to our three biggest bets: the overweight positions in industry and real estate and the underweight position in healthcare. Some stocks particularly stood out, such as SÜSS MicroTec (semi-conductors) and Sectra (healthcare technology). The portfolio reviews out in September were diversified, mainly increasing positions in industrials and real estate. Among the exits were mainly stocks in the IT sector, as well as in consumer discretionary and materials sectors. Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in industrials, as well as in real estate, and underweight in healthcare, consumer discretionary, IT and consumer staples. Italy (first overweight) is still the fund’s top weight, but has been reduced to 15.8%, ahead of Germany at 14.8% and Sweden at 13.7%.

Digital Stars Eurozone Acc achieved +1.7% in September, outperforming by +0.7% the MSCI EMU NR (+1.0%). The fund is up +17.2% since the beginning of the year, outperforming its index by +5.5%.

The fund’s pro-cyclical positioning (overweight small and mid caps) has been favourable. The fund’s sector positioning as well, thanks in particular to three big bets: the overweight in real estate and the underweight in technology and energy. A few stocks stood out in particular, such as SÜSS MicroTec (semiconductors) and CECONOMY (technology). The portfolio reviews out in September were marked by an increase in positions in the financials and utilities sectors. Among the outflows were mainly stocks from the consumer discretionary, industry and paper sectors. The finance sector becomes the fund’s main overweight, just ahead of real estate, followed by consumer discretionary and media. The fund is underweight in consumer staples, materials and energy. Germany becomes the top weighting at 20.9%, followed by France at 19.9% and Italy at 17.8%. Italy remains the most overweight country, and France the most underweight.

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended September up +0.1%, vs. +0.5% for the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR. The fund is up +17.7% since the beginning of the year, outperforming its index by +8.1%.

The strong gains in some of our holdings, such as SÜSS MicroTec and Titan Cement, and the fund’s good positioning in energy, were offset by the underweight in real estate, as well as by the underperformance of IMMOFINANZ (real estate). The portfolio reviews in September were marked by an increase in positions in the financials and energy sectors. Among the outflows were mainly industrial stocks. The portfolio is now mainly overweight in financials, healthcare and industrials, and underweight in real estate, consumer discretionary and technology. The UK (the most underweight country) remains the portfolio’s largest weighting at 25.6%, ahead of Sweden at 15.7% (the most overweight country) and Switzerland at 8.8%.

Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD ended September up +2.3%, outperforming both the MSCI USA NR at +2.1% and the MSCI USA Small Cap NR at +1.3%. The fund is up +22.0% since the beginning of the year, vs. +21.3% for the MSCI USA NR and +10.7% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR.

A good stock selection enabled the fund to finish September ahead of its benchmark index, despite the underperformance of small and mid-cap stocks currently overweighted in the portfolio. The latest monthly portfolio review mainly strengthened positions in media and healthcare, and reduced positions in consumer discretionary, energy and financials. The fund is heavily overweighted in industry and finance. The most underweight sectors remain technology and media.

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.

The summer was dominated by an upsurge in volatility. In the first days of August, a combination of adverse factors of various kinds led to a significant decline in equity indices. Poor economic data from the US and China, a liquidity squeeze following the BoJ’s rate hike, and geopolitical risk premium tensions – all these factors, at a time of year when volumes are traditionally low, weighed on equity indices at their all-time highs. However, the strength of the subsequent rebound enabled indices to end the month up (MSCI Europe NR +1.6%, MSCI USA NR +2.4%). This V-shaped recovery is reassuring, and tells investors a lot about the strength of the market and its micro and macro-economic fundamentals.

Following a +3.6% rise in July (+2.4% in relative terms), Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a +0.3% increase in August, compared with +1.6% for the MSCI Europe NR. The fund is up +15.9% since the beginning of the year, outperforming its index by +3.8%. Over the course of the month, the fund gradually made up some of the ground lost in the early days of August, following a defensive market movement exacerbated by the summer context. This catching-up took place thanks to stocks in a wide variety of sectors, such as Ferrari, Talanx, ALK-abello, Keller and Lotus Bakeries. The portfolio reviews carried out in August were diversified, mainly increasing our positions in the finance sector, as well as in utilities and healthcare. Among the exits were mainly in the consumer discretionary, consumer staples and industrial sectors. Digital Stars Europe is significantly overweight industrials and financials. The fund is underweight healthcare, consumer discretionary and consumer staples. The UK remains the fund’s top weight at 17.9%, ahead of Italy (first overweight) at 15.6% and Germany at 10.3%.

After a rise of +2.7% in July (+2.1% in relative terms), Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended August at +0.8%, vs. +1.8% for the MSCI Europe ex UK NR. The fund is up +15.2% since the beginning of the year, outperforming its index by +3.9%. Over the course of the month, the fund gradually made up some of the ground lost in the early days of August, following a defensive market movement exacerbated by the summer context and unfavourable to our stock-picking. This catching-up was achieved thanks to stocks in very different sectors, such as ALK-abello, Ferrari, Lotus Bakeries and Talanx. The portfolio reviews out in August were diversified, mainly increasing positions in healthcare, real estate and finance. Among the exits were mainly stocks in the consumer discretionary and basic materials sectors (metals, chemicals and paper). Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in industrials and real estate, and underweight in healthcare, consumer discretionary and consumer staples. Italy (first overweight) is still the fund’s top weight at 17.3%, ahead of Sweden and Germany at 13.4%.

After a +2.3% rise in July (+1.9% on a relative basis), Digital Stars Eurozone Acc achieved -0.1% in August, compared with +1.6% for the MSCI EMU NR. The fund is up +15.2% since the beginning of the year, outperforming its index by +4.7%. Over the course of the month, the fund gradually made up some of the ground lost in the early days of August, following a defensive market movement exacerbated by the summer context and unfavourable to our stock-picking. This catching-up was achieved thanks to stocks in very different sectors, such as Vonovia, Sogefi, Hornbach and Aena. The portfolio reviews in August were marked by an increase in positions in the finance, real estate and healthcare sectors. Among the exits were mainly technology stocks in the service and semiconductor sectors. Real estate remains the fund’s main overweight, ahead of consumer discretionary, media and finance. The fund is underweight in consumer staples, utilities, energy and technology. France remains the top weighting at 21.0%, followed by Germany at 20.3% and Italy at 18.3%. Italy remains the most overweighted country, and France the most underweighted.

After a +3.9% rise in July (-0.4% in relative terms), Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended August up +1.6%, outperforming the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR (-0.3%) by +1.9%. The fund is up +17.6% since the beginning of the year, outperforming its index by +8.5%. Over the course of the month, the fund more than made up the ground lost in the early days of August, following a defensive market movement exacerbated by the summer context and initially unfavourable to our stock-picking. This catch-up was achieved thanks to stocks in a wide variety of sectors, such as Ambea, Keller, Hoist Finance, IMMOFINANZ and Lotus Bakeries. The portfolio reviews in August were marked by an increase in positions in the finance and healthcare sectors, particularly in the UK. Among the outflows were mainly consumer discretionary and energy stocks, and mainly Italian stocks. The portfolio is now mainly overweight in industrials, finance and healthcare, and underweight in real estate, consumer discretionary, energy and technology. The United Kingdom (the most underweight country) remains the portfolio’s largest weighting at 24.3%, ahead of Sweden at 15.8% (the second most overweight country behind Finland) and Switzerland at 8.0%.

Following a +6.9% rise in July (+5.7% on a relative basis), Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD ended August up +1.9%, versus +2.4% for the MSCI USA NR and -0.4% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. The fund is up +19.2% since the beginning of the year, versus +18.8% for the MSCI USA NR and +9.2% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. August was marked by the underperformance of small and mid-cap stocks, despite the poor performance of GAFAMs. The fund was more affected by the former than the latter. Against this backdrop, good earnings announcements from stocks such as SharkNinja and Crexendo enabled the fund to come close to outperforming its index. The latest monthly portfolio review mainly strengthened positions in financials, and sharply reduced positions in consumer discretionary, bringing the fund back in line with its benchmark index. The fund is heavily overweighted in industry and finance. The most underweight sectors are technology and media.