Portfolio manager comments — Q1 2025
Q1 included some drama in the US equity market. As the quarter progressed, concerns increased about how the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs would impact the economy and inflation. At the same time, the geopolitical risk premium rose as the US appeared to get closer to Russia. This led to a clear shift in sentiment, with capital flows moving away from the US and instead being directed to Europe.
These developments affected not least the so-called MAG 7 companies, which had weak returns overall in the quarter. Even the technology sector as a whole, as well as cyclical companies with exposure to the US consumer, posted weak performance. In contrast, defensive companies within the insurance and healthcare sectors, for example, performed significantly stronger.
Fund returns benefited from a number of companies within the financial sector, which included Jack Henry, Tradeweb and Brown & Brown. The transport company Uber also began the year on a strong note.
However, results were weighed down for a number of larger companies within technology-related companies such as Alphabet, Amazon.com, Broadcom and ServiceNow. In addition, the USD weakened against the SEK, which had a negative impact on fund returns.
The fund changed its portfolio manager to Rikard Forssmed on 1 March, whereby a number of changes were made to the fund in conjunction with the switch. A number of holdings were decreased, while the exposure to the technology sector was reduced.
New companies in the fund included the trading platform Tradeweb, the insurance broker Brown & Brown, and the pharmaceutical distributor McKesson. Companies that exited the fund included the software companies ServiceNow, Oracle and Bentley Systems, the pharmaceutical company Merck, and the industrial companies Clean Harbors and Quanta Services.
The fund continues to hold high-quality companies with exposure to structurally strong themes, such as re-shoring, electrification and digitalization.