The Jupiter European Opportunities Trust has a much higher weighting to the UK (currently 27 per cent) than many of its peers. But while Alex Darwall, fund manager of the Jupiter European Opportunities Trust describes himself as a "pan-European investor" he takes a very bottom-up approach to stock selection, focusing on the company rather than the country it is domiciled in - or for that matter - the market it is listed on.
"The UK looks every bit as bad as southern Europe, but I hold UK companies because they are not necessarily about the UK," says Mr Darwall.
Similarly, his low exposure to Europe's PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) economies is due to the fact that he cannot currently find a company here which meets his stock selection criteria.
Mr Darwall seeks out strong companies with attributes such as a flexible business, pricing power and recurrent demand, which produce a differentiated product or service in an industry with high barriers to entry. Around 70 per cent of the fund's portfolio is in companies described as 'global winners' - have a strong technology and business franchises; while the remaining 30 per cent have strong, sustainable local franchises.
Diverse earnings are also an important criterion: top 10 holdings Novo Nordisk and Syngenta, for example, achieve less than 1 per cent of their sales in the countries in which they are registered - Denmark and Switzerland respectively.
The approach seems to have paid off: the trust has outperformed its benchmark and peer group over one and five years.
| JUPITER EUROPEAN OPPORTUNITIES TRUST (JEO) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE | 215.5p | NAV | 250.94p |
| SIZE OF FUND | £235m* | PRICE DISCOUNT TO NAV | 14.12% |
| BENCHMARK | FTSE World Europe Ex-UK | 1 PRICE PERFORMANCE | 73.7%* |
| SET UP DATE | November 2000 | 3 YR PRICE PERFORMANCE | -0.01%* |
| MANAGER START DATE | November 2000 | 5 YR PRICE PERFORMANCE | 11.2%* |
| BETA | 1.4* | TOTAL EXPENSE RATIO | 1.29% |
| 3-YR MEAN | 7.53%* | YIELD | 0.34%* |
| STANDARD DEVIATION | 33%* | GEARING | 117.50% |
| 3 YR SHARPE RATIO | 0.12* | MORE DETAILS | www.jupiteronline.co.uk |
Source: Datastream, *Morningstar
Performance figures as at 26 April 2010
Top ten holdings as at 31 March 2010
| Holding | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk | 6.9 |
| Novozymes | 6.9 |
| Experian | 6.3 |
| Neopost | 6.0 |
| Johnson Matthey | 5.7 |
| Croda International | 5.7 |
| Syngenta | 5.2 |
| Reed Elsevier | 5.0 |
| Vopak | 4.9 |
| Aixtron | 4.3 |
Source: Jupiter
Geographic Allocation
| Country | Percentage |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 27.0 |
| France | 21.0 |
| Denmark | 17.8 |
| Germany | 13.3 |
| Netherlands | 12.6 |
| Sweden | 9.2 |
| Switzerland | 6.9 |
| Norway | 6.1 |
| Others | 1.5 |
| Cash | -15.5 |
