Was hat sich zuletzt bei den Aktien aus den Bereichen Umweltschutz und Erneuerbare Energien getan, die das Portfolio des Pictet Global Environmental Opportunities P EUR (WKN A1C3LN, ISIN LU0503631805) bestimmen? Pictet-Fondsmanager Luciano Diana hat die Antworten für alle Investoren der FondsStrategie SJB Nachhaltig parat. Der aktuelle Marktbericht per Ende April thematisiert die FondsPerformance, die Veränderungen im Portfolio sowie den Ausblick für die Aktienmärkte des Environmental-Sektors.
Market review
Global equities rallied in April, with the MSCI World Index reaching record highs. The gains were driven by cyclical, high beta sectors. Financials, IT, communication services and consumer discretionary sectors each gained between 5% and 7% over the month, in local currency terms. In contrast, healthcare and real estate underperformed, ending April in the red. The energy sector eked out a gain of just 0.4% despite a 7.5% rally in the price of oil. On a regional basis, most major markets achieved solid gains. European shares added over 5%, while the US market rose 4%. Strong consumer spending data helped the S&P 500 hit record highs. Global bonds lost a bit of ground. Most major sovereign bond markets were flat or negative, w31ith the biggest losses sustained by gilts. UK government debt lost 1.6% after Britain was granted an extension on its departure from the European Union and Parliament passed a bill to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Corporate debt fared better, with gains of 0.5% to 1.5%. High yield was particularly strong, both in Europe and US. The dollar edged slightly higher, hitting a two-year high against a trade-weighted basket of currencies.
Performance analysis
The strategy outperformed world equity markets during the month. A large part of the positive performance came from the dematerialised economy segment, which includes companies such as Aspen Technology, Asml Holdings and Autodesk all of which had encouraging results or analyst days. In industrial efficiency, Kion and Spirax both stood out with stellar stock performance underpinned by resilient results. In pollution control, Tetra Tech, the California based consulting company, surprised positively as it beat Q1 expectations despite a 3% revenue drag from the Federal Government shutdown. Other good contributors included Equinix,, the efficient data centre company; Smurfit Kappa, the wood based packager; Veolia, the water utility/waste management company; and Kingspan, the insulation material producer. Negative performance came from diverse segments: Beijing Enterprise Water in water utilities, Shimano in advanced transportation, MKS Instruments in industrial efficiency, Waters in pollution control, on disappointing results, and lumber company Canfor in wood products.
Portfolio activity – overweightings & underweightings
During the month, we mainly took profits in companies that had performed very well and whose valuation had become less attractive, allowing us to reallocate funds to better opportunities. In water utilities, we reduced American Water Works and increased Veolia. In industrial efficiency, we decreased MKS Instruments and added to Kion. We took some profits in US waste stocks. We lowered the weight of Halma, Agilent, Danaher and Waters in pollution control. We also cut our positions in Cadence and Synopsys in dematerialised economy. We added Canfor, a very cheap Canadian lumber company trading well below replacement value.
Market outlook
The fundamentals for our portfolio companies look solid. The secular trends of resource efficiency and pollution control remain strong despite lingering risks associated with global trade uncertainties, decelerating manufacturing activity and a Chinese slowdown. The technologies and solutions that our companies offer remain in high demand because they contribute to cost-reduction initiatives and address changing consumer preferences. The sell-off in equity markets during Q4 2018 impacted our portfolio more than a broadly solid business environment would have warranted. This created some attractive buying opportunities, which we have exploited. For the remainder of 2019, we see continued upside to our portfolio holdings, provided that they can continue to deliver on their earnings growth as we expect them to. Several exciting investment opportunities for the year exist across software, semiconductors and semiconductor equipment manufacturing, environmental monitoring and pollution control.
Portfolio strategy
We believe that exposure to environmental trends can offer investors an attractive long-term risk-return profile. We focus on companies that play an active role in contributing to a cleaner environment and a less natural-resources-intensive economy. Our bottom-up investment process results in a concentrated global portfolio that is diversified across sectors and has a strong growth bias. Population growth, economic expansion and the rise of the global middle class are increasing the strain on natural resources. Pollution is becoming a widespread political issue, particularly in developing countries where environmental awareness is rising. With public opinion about environmental policies becoming increasingly favourable, we believe that companies providing solutions to resource scarcity and pollution challenges will experience increasing demand for their products and services. A globally diversified portfolio that benefits from such opportunities should outperform the broader market.
Pictet Global Environmental Opportunities Management Team
Luciano Diana
Gabriel Micheli
Yi Du
