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.

The positive inflation figures published in July on both sides of the Atlantic, the fall in inflation expectations and the encouraging start of quarterly publications helped the indices to gain ground over the month (MSCI Europe NR +1.2%, MSCI USA NR +1.2%). The Fed’s accommodative stance is now assured for September, while the ECB already set this virtuous process in motion in June by cutting its key rates by 25 basis points. In this environment dominated by monetary news, it was logically small and mid caps that stood out in July, especially as these stocks are significantly discounted both in absolute terms and relatively to their historical standards. The MSCI Europe Small NR rose by +4.3% and the MSCI USA Small NR by +7.7% over the month.

Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a monthly performance of +3.6%, outperforming by +2.4% the MSCI Europe NR (+1.2%). The fund is up +15.6% YTD, beating its index by +5.3%. The fund was supported by the small and mid caps rally, but also by its exposure to industrials (Kongsberg, Konecranes, Munters Group), its underweighting of consumer discretionary and the good performance of its financial stocks (BPER, BCP, NatWest). However, the fund was slightly penalised by its underexposure to defensive stocks.

The portfolio reviews carried out in July were diversified, increasing mainly our positions in the finance sector, as well as in utilities and industry. Among the exits were mainly consumer discretionary stocks, as well as energy, IT and healthcare stocks.

Digital Stars Europe is significantly overweight industry. The fund is underweight healthcare, consumer discretionary and consumer staples.

The UK becomes the fund’s largest weight at 17.3%, ahead of Italy (largest overweight) at 16.4% and Germany at 10.6%.

Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended July at +2.7%, outperforming by +2.1% the MSCI Europe ex UK NR (+0.6%). The fund is up +14.3% YTD, beating its index by +5.0%. The fund was supported by the small and mid caps rally, but also by its exposure to industrials (Kongsberg, Konecranes, Munters Group), its underweighting of consumer discretionary and the good performance of its financial stocks (BPER, BAWAG, Piraeus Financial Holdings). However, the underweight in defensive stocks and the positions in chemicals slightly penalised the fund.

The portfolio reviews carried out in July were diversified, increasing mainly our positions in finance, as well as in chemicals and media. Among the exits were mainly IT and consumer discretionary stocks.

Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in industry, as well as in real estate. The fund is underweight healthcare and consumer staples.

Italy (largest overweight) is still the fund’s top weight at 18.5%, ahead of Germany at 13.2% and Sweden at 10.1%.

Digital Stars Eurozone Acc posted a monthly performance of +2.3%, outperforming by +1.9% the MSCI EMU NR (+0.4%). The fund is up +15.4% YTD, beating its index by +6.6%. The fund was supported by the small and mid caps rally, but was slightly penalised by its underweight position in defensive stocks. The good performance of our semiconductor stocks (notably SÜSS MicroTec at +2.3% vs. -11.6% for ASML), as well as good earnings announcements (Konecranes, ATOSS Software, etc.) enabled the fund to outperform its index.

The portfolio reviews carried out in July saw the integration of stocks in the finance, industry and healthcare sectors. On the outgoing side, the media and semiconductor sectors.

Real estate becomes the largest sector overweight, ahead of consumer discretionary and media. The fund is underweight in consumer staples, utilities, energy and healthcare.

France remains the largest country weight at 19.7%, followed by Italy at 18.5% and Germany at 18.4%. Italy remains the fund’s most overweight country, and France the most underweight.

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended up at +3.9% in July, vs. +4.3% for the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR. The fund is up +15.7% YTD, beating its index by +6.3%. The fund benefited from the small and mid caps rally, but suffered from its underweight position in the UK, partially offset by positive earnings publications (Koninklijke Heijmans, Hoist Finance…).

The monthly portfolio reviews have strengthened our positions in the finance, healthcare and industry sectors. Sales occurred mainly in IT and consumer staples sectors. The weight of the UK was significantly increased.

The portfolio is now mainly overweight in industry, finance and healthcare, and underweight in IT, real estate and consumer discretionary.

The UK (largest underweight) remains the largest country weight at 22.1%, ahead of Sweden at 16.0% and Italy (most overweight country) at 12.2%.

Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD ended up at +6.9% in July, outperforming by +5.7% the MSCI USA NR, but behind the MSCI USA Small Cap NR (+7.7%). The fund is up +17.0% YTD, vs. +16.1% for its index and +9.6% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. July was a strong catch-up month for US small and mid caps. This rally benefited the fund, which was heavily underweight GAFAM. The overweight position in the financials sector, particularly in US regional banks, also contributed to the fund’s good performance.

The latest monthly portfolio review mainly increased the positions in the healthcare, IT and finance sectors, and reduced mainly those consumer discretionary, energy and materials sectors.

The portfolio is significantly overweight in consumer discretionary and industry, as well as in finance. The most underweight sectors are IT and media.

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The blow of the dissolution of the French National Assembly mainly weighed on French stocks (MSCI France NR -6.3% in June), and more modestly on European indices (MSCI Europe NR -1.0%). US indices, meanwhile, continued to rise (MSCI USA NR +3.5%). Is this troubled electoral context likely to throw the global economy off course? In our view, this is unlikely. On the one hand, previous election-related shocks have not had a lasting impact on the trend, as was the case with the election of Donald Trump, the Brexit vote or the rise to power of populist parties in Europe. Furthermore, the scenario in France of an absolute majority for a coalition of the « extremes » seems to be receding, as is the risk of a budgetary breakdown in the Eurozone’s 2nd largest economy. Fundamentals should therefore once again support the equity asset class, once the economic turmoil has passed. The global economic momentum remains robust, the Fed is poised to cut interest rates in the wake of the ECB, and valuations remain attractive, both in Europe and in the United States for most stocks, while the earnings momentum is currently positive.

Digital Stars Europe Acc posted a monthly performance of -2.1%, vs. -1.0% for the MSCI Europe NR. The fund is up +11.6% YTD, beating its index by +2.5%. Technology (ASM Int’l, SÜSS MicroTec, BESI, SAP, ASML) and healthcare (UCB, Ypsomed) were the only two positive sectors this month, both in the fund and in the market, but their underweight and our remaining cyclical positioning penalised the fund in relative terms. The troubled electoral environment weighed on all the small and mid caps, which are currently well represented in the portfolio.
The portfolio reviews carried out in June were diversified, increasing significantly our positions in the consumer staples and discretionary sectors, as well as in IT. Among the exits were mainly energy stocks, as well as healthcare and media stocks. France, already heavily underweight, has seen its weight further reduced.
Digital Stars Europe is significantly overweight industry. The fund is underweight healthcare, consumer discretionary and consumer staples.
Italy (largest overweight) remains the fund’s top weight at 16.0%, ahead of the UK at 15.3% and Germany at 10.4%.

Digital Stars Continental Europe Acc ended June at -2.3%, vs. -1.1% for the MSCI Europe ex UK NR. The fund is up +11.3% YTD, beating its index by +2.6%. Technology (ASM Int’l, SÜSS MicroTec, BESI, SAP, ASML) and healthcare (UCB) were the only two positive sectors this month, both in the fund and in the market, but their underweight and our remaining cyclical positioning penalised the fund in relative terms. The troubled electoral environment weighed on all the small and mid caps, which are currently well represented in the portfolio.
The portfolio reviews carried out in June were diversified, increasing significantly our positions in consumer staples and discretionary, as well as in industrials. Among the exits were mainly energy stocks, as well as healthcare and media stocks. France, already heavily underweight, has seen its weight further reduced.
Digital Stars Continental Europe is overweight in industry, as well as in real estate. The fund is underweight healthcare and consumer staples.
Italy (largest overweight) is still the fund’s top weight at 18.1%, ahead of Germany at 13.3% and Sweden at 10.6%.

Digital Stars Eurozone Acc posted a monthly performance of -3.2%, vs. -2.5% for the MSCI EMU NR. The fund is up +12.8% YTD, beating its index by +4.5%. The fund suffered from its ‘all-cap’ positioning, partially offset by its underweight positions in France and energy.
The portfolio reviews carried out in June saw the integration of finance stocks, as well as materials. On the outgoing side, the media and consumer discretionary sectors.
The media sector remains the largest overweight, ahead of consumer discretionary and real estate. The fund is underweight in consumer staples, utilities, energy and healthcare.
France remains the largest country weight at 21.3%, followed by Italy at 19.4% and Germany at 18.0%. Italy remains the fund’s most overweight country, and Germany the most underweight with France.

Digital Stars Europe Smaller Companies Acc ended up at -1.6% in June, outperforming by +1.8% the MSCI Europe Small Cap NR (at -3.3%). The fund is up +11.4% YTD, beating its index by +6.4%. Positive publications from several of our stocks (XPS Pensions Group, CMC Markets) enabled the fund to outperform the index, despite a few disappointments.
The monthly portfolio reviews have strengthened our positions in the finance and healthcare sectors. Sales occurred mainly in materials and real estate sectors. The weight of Sweden was significantly reduced.
The portfolio is now mainly overweight in industrials, IT and healthcare, and underweight in finance, real estate and consumer discretionary.
The UK (largest underweight) becomes the largest country weight at 17.4%, ahead of Sweden at 15.8% and Italy (most underweight country) at 12.5%.

Digital Stars US Equities Acc USD ended up at -1.4% in June, vs. +3.5% for the MSCI USA NR and -1.3% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. The fund is up +9.5% YTD, vs. +14.6% for its index and +1.8% for the MSCI USA Small Cap NR. The excellent performance of the “Magnificent 7” buoyed the index, accounting for most of the fund’s underperformance.
The latest monthly portfolio review mainly increased the positions in the real estate, energy and materials sectors, and reduced mainly those consumer discretionary and finance sectors.
The portfolio is significantly overweight in consumer discretionary and industry, as well as in finance. The most underweight sectors are IT, media and healthcare.