GF European Smaller Companies Fund | Liontrust Asset Management PLC

Fund launch date 01/02/2017

Fund size €6,908,186.86

Number of holdings 30

Managed by current team for 6 years

The Fund

The Fund has been managed since launch on 1 February 2017 by James Inglis-Jones and Samantha Gleave. The Fund aims to achieve long-term capital growth (at least 5 years) by investing primarily in European smaller companies, with the majority having a market capitalisation of less than €5 billion at inception, and through having an equally weighted portfolio.

You are able to redeem your investment from the Fund at any time and there is no exit fee for doing so.

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Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. Reference to specific securities is not intended as a recommendation to purchase or sell any investment.

Key Information

Manager Inception Date of Fund

01/02/2017

Class Launch Date

01/02/2017

Comparator Benchmark 1

MSCI Europe Small Cap

Price

Single Price

€14.373

Offer Price

Price Date

27/11/2023

Cashflow Solution Q1 2023 Review

In this video Samantha Gleave and James Inglis-Jones discuss which stocks are their current Cashflow Champions, what their indicators are telling the managers about style positioning and what changes they have made to their portfolios. Samantha and James provide their market outlook, their view on valuations and the current state of corporate aggression. Samantha and James also discuss the momentum efficiency measure that they have developed and what this is currently indicating.

Watch Full Review

Awards and ratings

Citywire Manager Rating: AAA

Meet the team

James Inglis-Jones formed the Cashflow Solution team on joining Liontrust in March 2006 and was joined by Samantha Gleave in 2012. James and Samantha jointly manage the GF European Smaller Companies Fund having first worked together in 1998 and with an average industry experience of 25 years. James previously managed funds at Fleming Investment Management, JP Morgan Fleming and Polar Capital. Samantha began her career at Sutherlands and, among others, previously worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where she won awards for Top Stock Pick and Earnings Estimates.

More about the team

"In the world of investment, it seems we should beware the wisdom of crowds, especially when levels of investor anxiety are elevated."

Our Investment Process

The fund managers focus on the historic cash flows generated and invested by companies to support their forecast profits growth. As forecasts are often unreliable, the scale of cash invested to support forecasts is key.

The fund managers seek to own companies that generate significantly more cash than they need to sustain their planned growth yet are lowly valued by investors on that measure and are run by managers committed to an intelligent use of capital.

To identify companies’ annual cash flow, balance sheet development and valuation efficiently across all equity markets the fund managers have developed a simple screen as a starting point for further qualitative analysis. The investment screen consists of two cash flow ratios that are combined equally to highlight the process characteristics that they seek.

The two cash flow measures are:

Cash flow relative to operating assets
Cash flow relative to market value

The strongest relative performance of the Fund can be during episodes of stock market inflection – the point at which markets move from a bull market to a bear market, or vice versa. During periods when share prices are driven by investor excitement around speculative growth stocks rather than cash flow fundamentals, the process may perform relatively less well.

Performance

Download factsheet Read latest fund update

Performance since manager inception date (%)

Discrete performance (%)

As at previous quarter 12 months ending:	Sep 23	Sep 22	Sep 21	Sep 20	Sep 19
Liontrust GF European Smaller Companies	14.2	-20.7	59.1	-1.9	-6.7

Cumulative performance (%)

As at previous day end	1 month	3 months	6 months	YTD	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years	Since Inception
Liontrust GF European Smaller Companies	8.6	0.1	0.5	2.7	3.7	21.4	56.6	-	43.7

Source: FE fundinfo as at 28/11/2023. Performance figures are shown in EUR. Total return performance figures are calculated net of costs and charges, on a bid price to bid price basis (mid to mid for OEICs) with net income (dividends) reinvested. Where applicable the quartile rank is for the primary share class within the sector. If your investment is made in a currency other than that used in the past performance calculation the return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations.

Current positioning

Top 10 Holdings (%)

4IMPRINT GROUP PLC	6.93
PANDORA A/S	5.90
RINGKJOEBING LANDBOBANK	5.87
BEKAERT SA	4.99
SERCO GROUP PLC	4.73
BANK OF IRELAND GROUP PLC	4.51
BANKINTER SOCIEDAD ANONIMA	4.15
REXEL	4.04
IPSOS	3.98
Betsson AB OrdB	3.38

Sector Breakdown (%)

Industrials	20.37
Communications	19.36
Consumer Discretionary	19.35
Financials	17.86
Materials	13.28
Information Technology	4.87
Money Market	2.45
Consumer Staples	2.41

Geographic Breakdown (%)

Source: Liontrust as at 31/10/2023.
UK	29.51
Denmark	11.77
France	10.28
Germany	9.10
Sweden	7.67
Italy	6.69
Spain	6.56
Belgium	4.99
Ireland	4.51
Austria	2.66
Money Market	2.45
Norway	1.96
Switzerland	1.79

Key features of the Fund

The investment objective of the Fund is to achieve long term capital growth by investing primarily in European smaller companies. The Fund may invest in all economic sectors in all parts of the world, although it is intended it will invest primarily in equities and equity related derivatives (i.e. total return swaps, futures and embedded derivatives) in European companies (including the UK and Switzerland). The majority of the assets of the Fund (more than 85%) are expected to be invested in smaller companies (with a market capitalisation of less than 5 billion euros at the time of the initial investment). In normal conditions, the Fund will aim to hold a diversified portfolio, although at times the Investment Adviser may decide to hold a more concentrated portfolio, and it is possible that a substantial portion of the Fund could be invested in cash or cash equivalents. The Fund may use FX forwards to hedge the Fund’s currency exposures. The Fund has both Hedged and Unhedged share classes available. The Hedged share classes use forward foreign exchange contracts to protect returns in the base currency of the Fund.

5 years or more.

5 (Please refer to the Fund PRIIP KID for further detail on how this is calculated)

Active.

The Fund is considered to be actively managed in reference to MSCI Europe Small -Cap Index net total return (the “Benchmark”) by virtue of the fact that it seeks to outperform the Benchmark. However the Benchmark is not used to define the portfolio composition of the Fund and the Fund may be wholly invested in securities which are not constituents of the Benchmark.

Additional Information

Minimum initial investment

€5,000,000

Minimum additional investment

€1,000

Ex-dividend date

1 January, 1 July

Distribution date

31 January, 31 July

Sedol code

BYXLK63

ISIN code

IE00BYXLK632

Charges

Initial charge

Ongoing Charges Figure

0.95%

Included within the OCF is the Annual Management Charge

0.75%

For more information on the OCF, see our costs and charges page.

Key fund literature

Factsheet A3 KIID A3 Acc Liontrust Global Funds plc - Prospectus

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Fund Manager Insights

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Assessment of Value Read the report

Key Risks

Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of an investment and the income generated from it can fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. You may get back less than you originally invested. The issue of units/shares in Liontrust Funds may be subject to an initial charge, which will have an impact on the realisable value of the investment, particularly in the short term. Investments should always be considered as long term.

The portfolio is invested in smaller companies - these stocks may be less liquid and the price swings greater than those in, for example, larger companies. Investment in the Fund involves a foreign currency and may be subject to fluctuations in value due to movements in exchange rates. A Performance Fee for each Performance Period shall be equal to 10% of the amount, if any, by which the Net Asset Value before Performance Fee accrual of the Fund exceeds the Indexed Net Asset Value of the Fund on the last Business Day of the Performance Period. The Performance Period of the Fund is every 12 months ending on the last business day of each calendar year. Details of the Fund's performance fee in the last financial year can be found in the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) which can be obtained free of charge from the Liontrust website.

Disclaimer

This is a marketing communication. Before making an investment, you should read the relevant Prospectus and the Key Investor Information Document (KIID), which provide full product details including investment charges and risks. These documents can be obtained, free of charge, from www.liontrust.co.uk or direct from Liontrust. Always research your own investments. If you are not a professional investor please consult a regulated financial adviser regarding the suitability of such an investment for you and your personal circumstances.

This should not be construed as advice for investment in any product or security mentioned, an offer to buy or sell units/shares of Funds mentioned, or a solicitation to purchase securities in any company or investment product. Examples of stocks are provided for general information only to demonstrate our investment philosophy. The investment being promoted is for units in a fund, not directly in the underlying assets. It contains information and analysis that is believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but is subject to change without notice. Whilst care has been taken in compiling the content of this document, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Liontrust as to its accuracy or completeness, including for external sources (which may have been used) which have not been verified. It should not be copied, forwarded, reproduced, divulged or otherwise distributed in any form whether by way of fax, email, oral or otherwise, in whole or in part without the express and prior written consent of Liontrust.