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.

April’s rather flat monthly performances (MSCI Europe NR -0.8%, MSCI USA NR -0.5%) are proving to be a trompe-l’oeil behind which lies a rare volatility.

April will long be remembered for its spectacular “V” configuration. The beginning of the month was dominated by Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements and their potential impact on global trade. The breadth and depth of the tariffs triggered a wave of panic among investors, causing indices to fall by close to 15%. This climate of high tension had the merit of forcing the US administration to make a U-turn, leading to a 90-day suspension of tariffs (with the exception of China), and a recovery in the indices towards the beginning-of-month level.

Such an environment is certainly not ideal for investors, but should only be temporary. It seems to us that the primary objective of this political agenda is to put pressure on the Fed to cut rates, before adopting a more conciliatory attitude towards tariffs. The Fed Fund rate expected by investors in December 2025 was 4% in February, and is now close to 3%.

Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a +2.4% return in April, outperforming the MSCI Europe NR by +3.3%.

The rally in mid caps supported the fund’s positive sector and geographical positioning. Some industrial stocks made strong contributions, such as BELIMO and Morgan Sindall, but it was primarily the defence sub-sector that stood out, with MilDef and Kongsberg in particular. Energy also made a positive contribution, as although it was the sector most affected this month, it remains underweight in the fund. On the other hand, the rebound in consumer staples has been costly in relative terms, as this is the most underweight sector in the fund. The portfolio reviews carried out in April were diversified, mainly increasing our positions in the IT and industry sectors. Among the exits were mainly companies from the consumer discretionary and real estate sectors. Digital Stars Europe is still significantly overweight finance and industry, and underweight consumer staples and healthcare. The UK remains the fund’s top country weight with 22.3%, ahead of Italy (largest overweight) which decreased to 14.1% and Germany at 12.2%. With a 6.3% weight, France remains the largest country underweight.

Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended April at +2.9%, vs. -0.3% for the MSCI Europe ex UK NR.

The rally in small and mid caps was accompanied by good sector and geographical allocation. Industrial stocks, such as BELIMO and Addtech, contributed strongly, and in particular defence-related stocks such as MilDef and Kongsberg. Finance (Société Générale, Swissquote) and real estate sectors also made strong contributions. On the other hand, the rebound in consumer staples has been costly in relative terms, as this is the most underweight sector in the fund. The portfolio reviews carried out in April were diversified, mainly increasing positions in IT and industry (defence). Among the exits were mainly stocks in the real estate and consumer discretionary sectors. Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in industry and finance, as well as in real estate. The fund is underweight in consumer staples and healthcare. Italy (first overweight) is still the fund’s largest country but its weight has been reduced to 16.9%, ahead of Sweden at 15.8% and Germany at 14.9%. With a 8.5% weight, France remains the largest country underweight.

Digital Stars Eurozone Acc posted a +2.9% return in April, beating the MSCI EMU NR by +2.7%.

In April, the fund benefited from its overweight in the real estate sector, its underweight in energy, its all-cap profile, and the good performance of stocks that benefited from the geopolitical context. For example, OVH Groupe is surfing the theme of the need for data sovereignty, and Euronext is benefiting from increasing trading in European stocks. The portfolio reviews carried out in April were marked by a significant increase in the finance and real estate sectors. Among the exits were mainly consumer discretionary stocks. The financial sector has become the fund’s main overweight, ahead of real estate and consumer discretionary. The fund is underweight in the consumer staples, materials, energy and industrials sectors. France becomes the fund’s largest weighting at 21.6%, followed by Italy at 20.8% and Germany at 20.0%. Italy remains the most overweight country, and France the second most underweight, ahead of the Netherlands.

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended April at +4.6%, outperforming by +2.7% the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR (+1.8%).

The fund’s strong performance in April was mainly due to good earnings publications from portfolio holdings such as BELIMO Holding, AddLife, STRABAG, MilDef Group, etc. The rebalancing carried out in April were diversified, mainly increasing positions in industrial stocks, as well as in the financial and IT sectors. Among the outflows were mainly consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks. The portfolio is now mainly overweight financials and industrials, and underweight real estate. The United Kingdom (the most underweight country) represents the portfolio’s largest country exposure at 15.1%, ahead of Sweden at 14.0% and Germany at 12.7%.

Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD ended March up +1.1%, vs. -0.5% for the MSCI USA NR and -2.4% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR.

During April, the fund outperformed the MSCI USA, despite its all-cap profile. This was mainly due to an overweight position in the construction sector and positive earnings announcements (Byrna Technologies, Comfort Systems USA, Amphenol Corporation, etc.). The rebalancing carried out in April was fairly diversified, with the inclusion of real estate and consumer staples stocks, and the divestment of consumer discretionary and industrials stocks. The fund is heavily overweight in financials, and overweight in real estate, industrials and healthcare. The most underweight sectors remain IT and media.

Chahine Capital once again rewarded at the LSEG Lipper Fund Awards

Luxembourg, April 22th, 2025

We are delighted to announce that Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies fund has won three LSEG Lipper Fund Awards 2025 in France, Germany and Austria. The granted awards recognize the performance of our “Momentum” equity strategy over time.

The awards are the following:

• LSEG Lipper Fund Award France 2025: Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc, “Best Fund Equity Europe Small & Mid Cap over 5 years” (out of a universe of 95 funds)
• LSEG Lipper Fund Awards Germany 2025: Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc, “Best Fund Equity Europe Small & Mid Cap over 5 years” (out of a universe of 81 funds)
• LSEG Lipper Fund Award Austria 2025: Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc, “Best Fund Equity Europe Small & Mid Cap over 5 years” (out of a universe of 60 funds)

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies

These awards demonstrate the relevance of our differentiating approach, and our ability to generate robust outperformance over the long term. Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies fund, launched in December 2016, has a 5-year delivered annualised performance of +16.9%, compared with +10.6% (Acc Retail share class as of 31/03/2025) for the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR.

Our quantitative “Momentum” equity strategy consists in identifying, within very broad investment universes, companies likely to surprise the market positively and repeatedly. Portfolios are built dynamically, in line with economic cycles.

“In an environment where some are questioning active investment, the systematic, disciplined, high tracking-error approach successfully implemented by Chahine Capital’s team for over 25 years is proving its added value for long-term equity investors,” says Charles Lacroix, CEO at Chahine Capital.

A regularly awarded strategy

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies and Continental Europe funds have received 19 LSEG Lipper Fund Awards over the last 6 years (2019-2025), in the best fund over 3, 5 and 10-year categories.

These distinctions testify to our expertise and commitment to offering our investors high-performance strategies adapted to different market conditions.

About Chahine Capital: www.chahinecapital.com

Chahine Capital is an independent Luxembourg investment management company. Since 1998, it has been a pioneer in quantitative momentum investment applied to European and US equity strategies. Thanks to its unique approach combining research and innovation, the company is the founder of the “Digital Funds” SICAV, which for over 25 years has offered one of the best risk-adjusted performance records in the industry. Chahine Capital’s research and investment team of expert engineers develops algorithmic models with a view to continuous improvement, in order to wining at identifying the stocks that will outperform the market. Chahine Capital is a member of IRIS Finance International Group and is based in Luxembourg and Paris.

WARNING

It is the responsibility of the reader to evaluate and assume all risks associated with the use of the information contained herein, including the risk of reliance on the accuracy, completeness, security or usefulness of such information. The contents of this document are for information purposes only and should not be construed as advice – financial or otherwise – or as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation would be unlawful. Please refer to the Digital Funds prospectus and key information document before making any final investment decision. All information expressed in this document at the date of publication is subject to change without notice. The opinions or statements contained herein do not represent the opinions or beliefs of Chahine Capital. Chahine Capital and/or one or more of its employees or editors may hold a position in any of the securities mentioned in this document.

DISCLAIMER LSEG 

The LSEG Lipper Fund Awards, granted annually, highlight funds and fund companies that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers. The LSEG Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper Leader for Consistent Return rating, which is a risk-adjusted performance measure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 months. The fund with the highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return (Effective Return) value in each eligible classification wins the LSEG Lipper Fund Award. For more information, see lipperfundawards.com. Although LSEG makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, their accuracy is not guaranteed by LSEG Lipper.

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.

Equity markets declined in March (MSCI Europe NR -4.0%, MSCI USA NR -5.9%) and ended the quarter in dispersed order (MSCI Europe NR +5.9%, MSCI USA NR -4.6%). European indices, whose valuations at the end of February had exceeded the historical average for the first time in 3 years and the invasion of Ukraine, logically “retraced” part of the spectacular rally observed since the second half of December in a troubled international political context. In the United States, the decline continues as economic statistics deteriorate significantly, unlike in Europe. Fundamental stock market normalization therefore remains at the heart of the current market dialectic. Geographically, the overvaluation of the United States is gradually receding, while Europe is now trading at fair value. Stylistically, the Value segment continues its fine run and is also gradually reducing the valuation discount still observable at this stage. The only thing missing is for small and mid caps to confirm their revival after a good month of March in relative terms in Europe.

Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a -4.2% return in March, in line with the MSCI Europe NR at -4.0%.

The fund’s sector and geographical positioning remained once again well oriented over the month, offsetting the underperformance of mid caps. Among the top contributors were financials (Talanx, Banca Mediolanum) and defence stocks (Kongsberg, Rheinmetall, MilDef). Among the worst performers were British stocks (ICA, Burberry, Trustpilot). The portfolio reviews carried out in March were diversified, mainly increasing our positions in the finance and IT sectors. Among the exits were mainly companies from the consumer staples and healthcare sectors. Digital Stars Europe is still significantly overweight finance and industry, and underweight consumer staples and healthcare. The UK saw its weight reduced to 21.8%, but it remains the fund’s top weight, ahead of Italy (biggest overweight) at 18.1% and Germany at 11.1%. With a 5.8% weight, France remains the largest country underweight.

Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended March at -1.5%, vs. -4.3% for the MSCI Europe ex UK NR.

The fund’s sector and geographical allocation was once again favourable in March, offsetting the underperformance of mid caps. It was primarily the individual contributions of some of our stocks that made the difference, particularly in finance (Talanx, Banca Mediolanum) and defence (Kongsberg, MilDef), as well as the absence of certain large caps from the index. The portfolio reviews carried out in March were diversified, mainly increasing positions in finance, consumer discretionary and materials. Among the exits were mainly stocks in the consumer staples and real estate sectors. Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in finance, industry and real estate, and underweight in consumer staples, healthcare and IT. Italy (first overweight) is still the fund’s top weight at 20.6%, ahead of Sweden at 15.7% and Germany at 13.1%. With a 8.4% weight, France remains the largest country underweight.

Digital Stars Eurozone Acc posted a -2.2% return in March, ahead of the MSCI EMU NR at -3.1%.

In March, the fund benefited from its overweight position in the financial sector, its underweight position in semi-conductors, its small-cap profile and a number of positive earnings reports (Puuilo, SPIE, Talanx, etc.). The portfolio reviews carried out in March were marked by a significant increase in the finance sector. Among the exits were mainly real estate, industry, media and consumer discretionary stocks. The consumer discretionary sector remains the fund’s main overweight, ahead of finance and real estate. The fund is underweight in consumer staples, materials, energy and industry. Italy becomes the fund’s largest weighting at 23.1%, followed by France at 22.0% and by Germany at 19.8%. Italy remains the most overweight country, and France the second most underweight ahead of the Netherlands.

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended March at -1.2%, outperforming by +2.0% the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR (-3.2%).

The fund’s good performance in March was mainly due to good earnings announcements from portfolio holdings such as Friedrich Vorwerk Group and Theon International. Portfolio reviews in March diversified, increasing mainly positions in materials, as well as in consumer discretionary, finance and industry. Among the exits were mainly media, consumer staples, energy and IT stocks. The portfolio is now mainly overweight in finance and industry, and underweight in real estate and IT. The UK (most underweight country) remains the portfolio’s largest weighting at 16.8%, ahead of Italy (largest overweight) at 14.6% and Sweden at 14.3%.

Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD ended March down -7.4%, vs. -5.9% for the MSCI USA NR and -6.4% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR.

Despite the fund’s good sector positioning, with an overweight in financials and industrials and an underweight in technology, the all-cap exposure and the correction in some technology stocks that had outperformed strongly in recent months led to an underperformance in March. The portfolio review carried out in March was fairly diversified, with the integration of finance, consumer discretionary and healthcare stocks, and the exit of companies from the IT and industry sectors. The fund is heavily overweight in finance, as well as in industry and consumer discretionary. The most underweight sectors remain IT and the media.