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In the UK registered funds sector Kempen (Lux) Sustainable European Small-Cap Fund I, a £120.38m fund, top ranked over the past one year to 31 October 2015 with a cumulative return of +19.16% versus +50.93%/16th and +51.83%/35th over the past three and five years, respectively.
Second top in this sector on a past one-year view was the £243.18m Standard Life Investments (SLI) UK Ethical Ret Acc fund, which posted +18.84% and compared with +49.65%/20th and +80.97%/8th posted over the past three and five years, respectively.
The larger £2,239.54m Pictet-Water HR USD fund ranked third from top over the past 12-month time horizon, but produced +53.19%/10th and +77.89%/11th over the last three and five years, respectively.
At least 75% of Kempen (Lux) Sustainable European Small-Cap Fund I GBP’s net assets are invested in PEA-eligible assets, which are securities issued in the European Union (EU), Norway and Iceland. The sub-fund’s assets are invested using derivatives in a diversified portfolio of investments in equity and equity equivalent securities of smaller companies.
These are entities defined as having a maximum market capitalization of €5bn at the time of initial purchase, or the highest market capitalization of any company included in the MSCI Europe Small Cap Index whose constituents are adjusted by reducing the UK components by 50%.
By region the Eurozone accounts for 50.60% of the fund, the UK (27.50%) and Europe ex-Euro (21.90%). Consumer Cyclicals accounted for a third (33.34%) of the overall fund in terms of sector asset allocation, Industrials (27.25%), Technology (9.32%), Healthcare (7.77%) and Financial Services (7.43%).
Furthermore, companies invested in will have an official listing on a major European stock exchange or other regulated market of any EU Member State and exhibit a positive ethical, social and environmental stance in pursuing their long-term strategy. The fund’s top three stocks Huhtamäki Oyj (5.22%), Dunelm Group (5.17%) and Dignity Plc (4.96%) - all consumer cyclicals.
Among European funds, the €155.49m DNB Sweden Micro Cap fund scooped top spoils over the past year with a cumulative return of +37.68% and was second top over the last three years with +125.86% and +152.83%/5th over the last five.
It was followed by the €17.63m ID France Smidcaps C fund in second place over the past 12-month period with +34.40%. Over the past three and five years this fund produced a performance of +108.23%/3rd and +108.21%/38th, respectively.
