Fidelity Special Values PLC (LON:FSV) has published its monthly factsheet for April 2025.
Portfolio Manager Commentary
UK equities edged lower in April, with heightened volatility impacting markets throughout the month. US President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping shift in trade policy in early April, imposing a 10% baseline tariff on all imports and an additional surcharge for most countries, including 20% on the European Union. While the UK was notably spared from the additional levies, these reciprocal tariffs were significantly harsher than anticipated and they triggered a sharp global sell-off as markets rapidly repriced the risk of a USled recession. However, sentiment recovered to some extent following news of a 90- day pause in implementing the tariffs and a commitment from the US to negotiate terms on a bilateral basis. The underperformance of the energy and basic materials sectors weighed heavily on the value-oriented UK indices.
Despite their improved performance over recent years, UK equities still look cheap relative to other markets, and reasonable on an absolute basis. We believe that the combination of attractive valuations and the large divergence in performance between different parts of the market create good opportunities for attractive returns from UK stocks on a three-to-five-year view. Their unloved status means we continue to find overlooked companies with good upside potential across industries and the market cap spectrum.
On a rolling 12-month basis, the Trust recorded NAV and share price returns of 11.2% and 14.8% respectively, compared to 7.5% for the index.
Fidelity Special Values PLC (LON:FSV) aims to seek out underappreciated companies primarily listed in the UK and is an actively managed contrarian Investment Trust that thrives on volatility and uncertainty.
