JPMorgan European Discovery Trust plc (LON:JEDT) has released its latest factsheet for March 2026.
Month in review
As of 31/03/2026
- The trust underperformed the benchmark over March.
- At the stock level, our overweight position in Lottomatica Group, a leading Italian gaming company, contributed to performance over the month given the release of solid full-year results, including market share gains, and FY2026 guidance. Management also announced plans for a EUR 700 million share buyback program.
- Our overweight position in Alzchem, the German specialty chemical company, also contributed to performance over the month. The company’s full year results released at the end of February beat expectations, demonstrating how Alzchem is set up to benefit from continued defence spending across Europe (Nitroguanidine) and healthy lifestyle trends (creatine).
- Our overweight position in Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company, detracted from performance over the month as company guidance for FY2026 materially missed consensus expectations.
- Our overweight position in Indra Sistemas, Spain’s leading defence and IT company, also detracted from performance over the month as the Spanish government pressured the chairman of the board to step down to address conflicts of interest.
Looking ahead
As of 31/03/2026
- Under a normalised environment, the outlook for corporate profits is healthy, and revisions are trending higher in most regions and industries. Solid economic growth – fuelled by fiscal and monetary stimulus, and, of course, the artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom – is supportive of earnings.
- Geopolitical escalation has begun to show up in activity data, with recent survey evidence pointing to weaker services momentum across major euro area economies as uncertainty rises.
- The economic outlook for the eurozone is characterised by cautious optimism. Activity in continental Europe is expected to rise, driven in part by the substantial fiscal stimulus announced by Germany in 2025.
- Policymakers are likely to remain willing to deploy targeted measures to cushion households and energy-intensive sectors when energy volatility spikes, which can help stabilise demand but may complicate inflation dynamics.
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust plc is an investment trust company. The Investment Trust JEDT objective is to achieve capital growth from a portfolio of quoted smaller companies in Europe, excluding the United Kingdom.
