Fidelity European Trust PLC (LON:FEV) monthly factsheet for March 2025.
Portfolio Manager Commentary
After a positive start to 2025, continental European equities retreated in March due to intensifying tariff risks and geopolitical uncertainty. Investors reacted unfavourably to the Trump administration’s tariff announcements on automotives, steel and aluminium.
The Trust underperformed the index during the month, primarily due to weak stock picking in the healthcare and industrials sectors, while impact of gearing also exacerbated the underperformance. Novo Nordisk declined after a late-stage trial of its next-generation obesity drug, CagriSema, showed results that fell short of investor expectations, marking a second major disappointment for the drug in recent months. Shares in 3i Group declined after announcing that supply issues caused a sluggish start to 2025 at Action, a Dutch discount retailer, with like-for-like sales growth below expectation. Positively, the Trust’s exposure to Deutsche Börse added notable value. Shares rose after the company reported in line Q4’24 results in February, while Spanish banking group Bankinter rose in line with the sector. Our focus is on finding attractively valued companies with good prospects for cash generation and dividend growth over the longer term.
On a rolling 12-month basis, the Trust recorded NAV and share price returns of -1.4% and -0.4% respectively, compared to FTSE World Europe (ex UK) Index that returned 3.8%.
Fidelity European Trust PLC (LON:FEV) aims to be the cornerstone long-term investment of choice for those seeking European exposure across market cycles.
