Fidelity European Trust PLC (LON:FEV) monthly factsheet for August 2025.
Portfolio Manager Commentary
Continental European equities ended higher in August, navigating a month influenced by company earnings, geopolitical events, and ongoing trade tensions.
The Trust underperformed the index during the month. Select financials and technology names weighed on returns, as did the use of gearing. Shares in insurance business AXA sold off along with the broader French market following the calling of a parliamentary no-confidence vote. Within technology, software companies SAP and Dassault Systèmes came under pressure as investors weighed the competitive implications of AI adoption, with uncertainty around how evolving technologies may reshape demand dynamics in the sector. On a positive note, the holding in bancassurance business KBC Groupe advanced as quarterly earnings beat expectations, and management upgraded full year income and organic loan growth guidance. Shares in Novo Nordisk performed well after a late-stage trial showed competitor Eli Lilly’s oral weight-loss drug underperformed Novo’s injectable treatment, Wegovy. The latter was also granted accelerated approval by the US FDA to treat liver disease.
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 1.3% and 4.9% respectively, compared to FTSE World Europe ex UK Total Return Index that returned 10.9%.
Fidelity European Trust PLC (LON:FEV) aims to be the cornerstone long-term investment of choice for those seeking European exposure across market cycles.
