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GF European Strategic Equity Fund

Fund launch date 15/02/2012
Fund size €129,985,703.51
Number of holdings 129
Managed by current team for 10 years
Currently viewing:

The Fund

The Fund has been managed since launch in April 2014 by James Inglis-Jones and Samantha Gleave. The fund managers seek to deliver a positive absolute return over the long term by taking long and short positions, primarily in European companies. The Fund buys companies that can generate strong cash returns from their capital and appear cheap on these cash flows and shorts companies that are both expensive and struggling to generate cash.

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

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
25/04/2014
Class Launch Date
25/04/2014
Comparator Benchmark 1
MSCI Europe
Comparator Benchmark 2
HFRX Equity Hedge
Price
Single Price
€22.750
Offer Price
-
Price Date
15/04/2024

Awards and Ratings

Citywire fund manager rating Citywire Manager Rating: AAA
FEfundinfo Crown Rating FE fundinfo Crown Rating: 5
Morningstar Fund Rating: 5 Morningstar Rating: 5

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. 

Meet the tea

"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. 
They sell short stocks that are expensive, are struggling to generate any cash and are run by management investing heavily for future growth.
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.

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.

Performance

Performance since manager inception date (%)

Discrete performance (%)

As at previous quarter 12 months ending: Mar 24 Mar 23 Mar 22 Mar 21 Mar 20
Liontrust GF European Strategic Equity 15.4 7.6 28.9 28.2 -13.9
HFRX Equity Hedge 10.3 0.2 15.1 15.7 -7.3

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 Strategic Equity -1.1 9.3 10.9 11.2 15.0 53.4 73.5 - 125.1
HFRX Equity Hedge 2.7 5.4 6.1 7.0 11.8 28.3 38.2 - 78.1

Source: FE fundinfo as at 17/04/2024. 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 (%)

NOVO NORDISK A/S
6.06
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP PLC
5.67
INDITEX
5.56
UNICREDIT, SOCIETA` PER AZIONI
5.07
HERMES INTERNATIONAL
4.66
KONGSBERG GRUPPEN ASA
4.64
4IMPRINT GROUP PLC
4.55
RENAULT
4.31
SERCO GROUP PLC
4.23
RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINIUM
4.19

Sector Breakdown (%)

Consumer Discretionary
33.83
Money Market
20.57
Financials
17.53
Information Technology
12.95
Communications
12.77
Industrials
3.76
Health Care
2.82
Consumer Staples
0.64
Materials
-0.25
Energy
-0.43
Futures
-1.01
Utilities
-3.25

Geographic Breakdown (%)

UK
22.21
Cash & Cash Equivalents
20.57
Spain
11.34
France
11.12
Denmark
8.99
Sweden
6.97
Netherlands
5.93
USA
2.71
Finland
2.52
Norway
2.38
Germany
2.33
Italy
2.08
Luxembourg
1.47
Portugal
0.92
Switzerland
0.55
Canada
-0.38
Belgium
-0.82
Austria
-0.97

Key features of the Fund

The investment objective of the Fund is to achieve a positive absolute return over the long term for investors through a portfolio of long, synthetic long and synthetic short investments primarily in European equities and equity related derivatives. The Fund may invest anywhere in the world but will primarily invest in European companies either directly or via derivatives. The Fund may use financial derivative instruments for investment purposes and for efficient portfolio management (including hedging). The Fund will take both long and short positions in derivatives meaning the gross exposure of the Fund will typically be greater than 100% of the net asset value of the Fund. The Investment Adviser will alter the ratio of long and short exposures in the Fund depending on the Investment Adviser’s confidence in the investment process’ ability to generate returns from the short positions. Where sufficient short opportunities can be found, the Fund will have an approximately equal weighting in long and short positions. At other times, the Fund will have a net long position i.e. more long positions than short positions held in the Fund. Where investments are held in a currency other than the base currency, the exposure to currency risk may be minimised by hedging. The Fund expects to provide a positive absolute return under all market conditions over the medium to long term. However, there is no guarantee this will be achieved over this or any other time period. Income from the Fund's investments is reinvested. 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.
4 (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 Index and the HFRX Equity Hedge (EUR) Index (the “Benchmarks”) by virtue of the fact that it uses the Benchmarks for performance comparison purposes. The Benchmarks are 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 Benchmarks.
Additional Information
Minimum initial investment
€1,000
Minimum additional investment
€1,000
Ex-dividend date
1 January
Distribution date
Sedol code
BLG2W00
ISIN code
IE00BLG2W007
Charges
Initial charge
-
Ongoing Charges Figure
1.71%
Included within the OCF is the Annual Management Charge
1.50%

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

Fund Manager Insights

See all related
Lionesses Samantha Gleave & James Inglis-Jones
Celebrating a decade of secondary scores The Cashflow Solution team look back to the 2013 introduction of core analytical tools which have been instrumental in providing style flexibility
icon 4 March 2024
Analytics 2 456x456
Lionesses Samantha Gleave and James Inglis-Jones
European market outlook – positive but finely poised The Cashflow Solution team assess the prospects for European shares in 2024
icon 30 January 2024
Europe
James Inglis-Jones James Inglis-Jones
Sharp sell-off in growth stocks – a good thing? Over-aggressive company spending has dropped this year.
icon 5 June 2023
Traffic lights
Lionesses Multiple authors
Cashflow – the key takeaways James Inglis-Jones and Samantha Gleave talk through the cashflow solution process and the performance of their portfolios against the recent market environment.
icon 23 May 2023
Samantha Gleave

How to invest in Liontrust funds

Through a fund platform
Through a financial adviser
Direct with Liontrust

Key Risks 

Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. Overseas investments may carry a higher currency risk. They are valued by reference to their local currency which may move up or down when compared to the currency of the Fund. The Fund may, under certain circumstances, invest in derivatives, but it is not intended that their use will materially affect volatility. Derivatives are used to protect against currencies, credit and interest rate moves or for investment purposes. There is a risk that losses could be made on derivative positions or that the counterparties could fail to complete on transactions. The use of derivatives may create lever-age or gearing resulting in potentially greater volatility or fluctuations in the net asset value of the Fund. A relatively small movement in the value of a derivative's underlying investment may have a larger impact, positive or negative, on the value of a fund than if the underlying investment was held instead. The use of derivative contracts may help us to control Fund volatility in both up and down markets by hedging against the general market. The Fund may encounter liquidity constraints from time to time. The spread between the price you buy and sell shares will reflect the less liquid nature of the underlying holdings. The Fund uses derivative instruments that may result in higher cash levels. Outside of normal conditions, the Fund may choose to hold higher levels of cash. Cash may be deposited with several credit counterparties (e.g. international banks) or in shortdated bonds. A credit risk arises should one or more of these counterparties be unable to re-turn the deposited cash. Counterparty Risk: any derivative contract, including FX hedging, may be at risk if the counterparty fails. ESG Risk: In reference to any component (where applicable) of a fund's investment process that uses external ESG data, there may be limitations to the availability, completeness or accuracy of ESG information from third-party providers, or inconsistencies in the consideration of ESG factors across different third party data providers, given the evolving nature of ESG. There is no guarantee that an absolute return will be generated over a three year time period or within another time period.

Disclaimer

This is a marketing communication. Before making an investment, you should read the relevant Prospectus and the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) and/or PRIIP/KID, which provide full product details including investment charges and risks. It 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. The decision to invest in a fund should take into account all the characteristics and objectives of the fund (inclusive of sustainability features) as described in the prospectus. Further information can be found here: https://www.liontrust.eu/sfdr. 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. This information and analysis 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, no representation or warranty is given, whether express or implied, by Liontrust as to its accuracy or completeness, including for external sources (which may have been used) which have not been verified.

Fund literature
GF European Strategic Equity Fund
View latest fund update
Application and transfer forms Liontrust Global Funds plc Application Form