US-Aktien konnten im Handelsmonat August kräftig zulegen und setzten somit die im März begonnene Erholungsbewegung fort. Im Portfolio des T. Rowe Price US Large Cap Growth Equity Fund (WKN A0BMAB, ISIN LU0174119429) machte sich die Titelauswahl im IT-Sektor negativ bemerkbar, wo besonders die Untergewichtung von Apple die Performance dämpfte. Einen positiven Beitrag zur Wertentwicklung lieferte hingegen die Positionierung im Bereich der Konsumwerte sowie bei Immobilientiteln. Welche weiteren Entwicklungen zu verzeichnen waren, berichtet FondsManager Taymour Tamaddon aus dem Large-Cap Growth Team für US-Aktien bei T. Rowe Price. Der Aktienstratege liefert in seinem Monatsbericht für August die aktuellsten Informationen über den US-Aktienfonds, der in der Strategie SJB Stars enthalten ist.
U.S. equities produced strong gains in August, continuing their recovery from March lows. Within the portfolio, stock selection in the information technology sector had the most negative impact on relative returns. An underweight to Apple dragged as investors reacted positively to the company’s 4-for-1 stock split announcement. We maintain an underweight position due to concerns over saturation and elongation of replacement cycles for smartphones and Apple’s ability to grow its services business enough to sustain high levels of growth. Stock choices in the consumer discretionary and communication services sectors also hurt. Within the latter, shares of internet giant Tencent Holdings ended the month slightly lower as the Trump administration’s decision to ban U.S. residents from doing business with the company’s WeChat app weighed on investor sentiment. However, the losses were almost fully checked after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings due primarily to its gaming business, as consumers spent more time at home during the pandemic. On the positive side, a lack of exposure to the consumer staples and real estate sectors boosted relative returns. We have no exposure to both sectors as they generally lack the compelling growth opportunities that meet our investment criteria.
In this new digitised world, we believe scale is crucial. Companies with the most capital to deploy can invest in the latest technology, which in turn attracts more customers. The technology giants that have best embodied this phenomenon are the world’s leading platform companies, a list that typically includes Facebook, Alphabet (Google), and Amazon.com in the U.S. and Alibaba and Tencent in China. We believe these major technology platforms can not only continue to grow earnings and cash flow in a challenging economic environment, but also have opportunities to gain market share from weaker competitors, such as bricks and mortar retailers.
