Fund performance was positive during the quarter and the fund rose 4.5% in SEK. Turkey, Slovenia and Kazakhstan were the strongest markets in EMEA, rising over 20% during the quarter. Nigeria and Egypt were the weakest markets, where the stock market rose in local currency but fell in SEK by approximately -20% due to devaluations.
The Education theme was the strongest contributor to fund returns with South African Advtech. The Improved Healthcare theme also posted strength with Polish Benefit Systems, which increased its customer base significantly at their gyms and healthcare centers in the past year. The holding in Alkhorayef Water within the Improved Environment theme, which builds and maintains facilities for drinking water and the purification of wastewater, rose sharply when they won several large orders.
On the negative side were companies with exposure to earnings in parts of Africa that had major devaluations, such as the mobile operators MTN and Airtel Africa, as well as banks such as CIB in Egypt and GTC in Nigeria. The market in South Africa is being cautious before the election at the end of May, while Turkey held a municipal election that was a success for the opposition and was received positively by the stock market.
We are expecting a more positive stock market in these markets once the elections have concluded. The countries in Africa that had devaluations can also obtain an improved functioning of the economy with more reasonable currency prices, which is positive.