Sustainable European Smaller Companies Fund I-Acc-Euro 31 August 2021
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MPR.en.xx.20210831.LU1075904802.pdf For Investment Professionals Only FIDELITY FUNDS MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REVIEW SUSTAINABLE EUROPEAN SMALLER COMPANIES FUND I-ACC-EURO 31 AUGUST 2021 Portfolio manager: Jim Maun, Joseph Edwards Performance over month in EUR (%) Performance for 12 month periods in EUR (%) Fund 2.9 Market index 3.5 MSCI Europe Small Cap Index (Net) Market index is for comparative purposes only. Source of fund performance is Fidelity. Basis: nav-nav with income reinvested, in EUR, net of fees. Other share classes may be available. Please refer to the prospectus for more details. Fund Index Market Environment European smaller companies along with the broader European equity markets continued to rise in August, driven by strong quarterly earnings and optimism over an economic recovery, supported by high rates of vaccination. At the annual Jackson Hole Symposium, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank is in no rush to tighten its monetary policy. However, gains were capped as data showed that inflation surged to a 10-year high in August, and that further rises were likely, challenging the European Central Bank's (ECB) benign view on price growth. Consumer prices saw an increase of 3% this month (2.2% in July), well above the ECB’s target of 2%, fuelled by rising costs of energy, food and industrial goods. However, the ECB argues that the majority of the inflation increase can be attributed to supply chain constraints and should ease by early next year. There were increased uncertainties surrounding the ECB’s next steps regarding the future of its asset purchase programme, as differences over when to relax stimulus measures grew within the governing council. In a month of strong gains, all sectors posted positive returns, with technology, financials and energy leading the way. Conversely, materials and consumer staples lagged the market. Fund Performance The fund returned 2.9% (I-ACC-EUR share class, net of fees), while the index returned 3.5%. Both negative security selection and unfavourable positioning in consumer discretionary detracted the most from returns. Shares in Autoliv underperformed in a rising market. In July, the company had downgraded full year 2021 forecasts for sales and operating margin, due to supply chain constraints amid the ongoing chip shortage. Not holding Meggitt proved unfavourable, as shares rallied sharply following a U.S. bidding battle for the UK aerospace engineer. The holding in Balfour Beatty fell after reporting weaker numbers for the first half with an underlying miss driven by issues in London private residential construction. Some of these losses were offset by the strong performance of support services, that benefited from end of contract gains and from exiting the gas and water sector. In financials, the position in German online broker Flatex detracted from returns. The group’s share price fell following weaker preliminary results for the first half. Second quarter trading activity (customers adds of 140k) fell significantly versus first quarter (customers add of 360k). Conversely, holdings such as ASR Nederland and JTC offset more than offset losses from Flatex. ASR Nederland reported strong results over the first six months of 2021. While operating profit for the non-life segment increased due to lower claims in disability, the life segment was supported by a higher investment margin. Shares in JTC continued to rally after issuing a positive trading update in July. Elsewhere, gains were driven by positive security selection in the real estate, communication services, and technology sectors. The position in real estate developer CTP benefited from a strong set of results for the first half year post IPO. CTP registered a quarter-on-quarter increase of 4% in annualised rental income, while total leasing activity increased by 30% (from the first half of 2020). Meanwhile, shares in Trustpilot continued to perform well after issuing a positive trading update for the first half of 2021, driven by improved bookings and annual recurring revenues as the business continued to benefit from a post- pandemic re-acceleration. Within technology, shares in Aixtron rose after registering a decline in short interest over the month. Fund Positioning The managers are focused on identifying quality companies with under-appreciated growth characteristics in all phases of the market cycle, returns above the market average, but with better balance sheets, and sensible valuation metrics. This is coupled with ESG analysis at stock and sector levels to select companies that have best practices, sustainable development, high ESG scores and low controversy risks. In terms of sector positioning, the fund has large overweight positions in consumer discretionary, communication services and financials, whilst being underweight the industrials, real estate and health care sectors. Within consumer discretionary, D’ieteren, a holding company engaged in automobile distribution and vehicle glass repair and replacement businesses, is the top holding in the fund. The group’s key asset is its controlling stake in Belron which has both a broad geographic footprint and leadership positions in many of its markets. From a ESG perspective, D’ieteren is C rated by Fidelity. While reinvestment risks remain, the managers believe that historic governance issues are abating, and that the group should benefit from the twin transitions within the automotive industry towards Electric Vehicles and for the increasing penetration of driver assistance technology. The managers also like Coats Group, the global thread producer, which has continued to deliver consistent revenue growth. The company is A rated by Fidelity on ESG as it is well ahead of its competitors on sustainability parameters. Coats’ competitive advantage on ESG versus its peers is beginning to convert into contract wins with customers. Important Information Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The fund's returns can be affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The value of investments and any income from them may go down as well as up and an investor may not get back the amount invested. The use of financial derivative instruments may result in increased gains or losses within the fund. This fund invests more heavily than others in smaller companies, which can carry a higher risk because their share prices may be more volatile than those of larger companies. The fund promotes environmental and/or social characteristics. The Investment Manager’s focus on securities of issuers which maintain sustainable characteristics may affect the fund’s investment performance favourably or unfavourably in comparison to similar funds without such focus. The sustainable characteristics of securities may change over time. MPR.en.xx.20210831.LU1075904802.pdf For Investment Professionals Only FIDELITY FUNDS MONTHLY PERFORMANCE REVIEW SUSTAINABLE EUROPEAN SMALLER COMPANIES FUND I-ACC-EURO 31 AUGUST 2021 Attribution Performance attribution is produced in the currency shown below. For funds with multiple share classes, the attribution return reflects the aggregate performance across all the share classes. It may therefore deviate from the published return for a particular share class. When using the analysis for hedged share classes, please consider that the attribution is shown before the impact of hedging. The contributions shown in the tables are before the impact of charges. If charges are applied, their effect is captured in the “Other” category in the tables and will also be reflected in the fund return. All investments, including derivatives, linked to a particular issuing company have been combined to form a total percentage for each issuing company. The sector/industry and geographic contribution tables (where relevant) display a maximum of eleven individual entries. Where applicable, only top five and bottom five are listed, with the remaining contribution shown in the "Other Sectors" or “Others” category. Currency of attribution Euro (EUR) One month relative return (%) -0.55 Position Contribution (%) 1 month Average Relative Average Relative Relative Performance Relative Performance TOP CONTRIBUTORS Weight Contribution TOP DETRACTORS Weight Contribution JTC PLC 1.2 0.16 MEGGITT PLC -0.5 -0.20 TRUSTPILOT AS 0.9 0.14 FLATEX AG 0.9 -0.17 CTP BV 1.1 0.13 TEAM17 GROUP LTD 1.0 -0.14 ASR NEDERLAND NV 1.1 0.11 BALFOUR BEATTY PLC 1.3 -0.13 AIXTRON SE 0.8 0.10 AUTOLIV INC 0.9 -0.13 CLARKSON PLC 0.8 0.10 D'IETEREN GROUP 1.9 -0.10 SHURGARD 1.2 0.10 DESENIO HOLDING AB 0.5 -0.10 APTITUDE SOFTWARE GROUP PLC 0.7 0.08 DKSH HOLDING AG 0.8 -0.09 ULTIMOVACS ASA 0.4 0.08 TECHNOGYM SPA 0.8 -0.09 ACCESSO TECHNOLOGY GROUP PLC 0.4 0.08 RENALYTIX PLC 0.7 -0.09 Positions in other funds - including ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) - can appear in this table, but index derivatives form part of an "Index / Unclassified" category which will appear in the table(s) below when relevant. Sector/Industry Contribution (%) 1 month Geographic Contribution (%) 1 month CONTRIBUTIONS TO RELATIVE RETURN CONTRIBUTIONS TO RELATIVE RETURN Average Sector/ Total Average Total Relative Security Industry Relative Relative Security Geographic Relative GICS Sector Weight Selection Selection Contribution Weight Selection Selection Contribution Real Estate -4.6 0.20 0.01 0.21 Netherlands 1.4 0.13 0.04 0.17 Information Technology 1.1 0.15 0.04 0.19 Norway -1.7 0.15 0.03 0.17 Communication Services 5.5 0.18 -0.06 0.13 Bailiwick of Jersey 1.2 0.16 0.00 0.16 Financials