Artemis Global Income Fund
Q4 2025 update

Fund objective

The fund’s objective is to grow both income and capital over a five-year period. 

Overview

Most stock markets performed well in 2025¹, with the MSCI AC World index clocking up a 13.9%² gain in sterling terms. One of the most striking features of 2025 was how well non-US stockmarkets performed³.  

We have been talking of ‘regime change’ in the global economy for a number of years and we felt this theme played out forcefully in 2025. Donald Trump’s clear messaging around NATO countries taking more responsibility for their own defence and security resulted in a raft of governmental pledges to increase defence spending⁴.  

Meanwhile, the health of government balance sheets continued to deteriorate last year: the US national debt has reached $38.6tn⁵, while Germany committed to a colossal programme of spending on infrastructure and the military⁶. Concerns over government debt manifested in the best year of returns for precious metals since the late 1970s, with gold and silver prices rising by 65% and 144%, respectively, versus the dollar⁷. 

Performance 

The fund’s strong run of outperformance persisted into the fourth quarter, with a 6.6% return – well ahead of its first benchmark, the MSCI AC World index⁸ (3.4%), and second benchmark, the IA Global Equity Income sector (3.9%)⁹. This brings returns for 2025 up to 45.2%¹⁰. 

 Discrete calendar year performance

Past performance is not a guide to the future.  

Source: Lipper Limited, class I accumulation units, to 31 December 2025. All figures show total returns with dividends and/or income reinvested, net of all charges. Performance does not take account of any costs incurred when investors buy or sell the fund. Returns may vary as a result of currency fluctuations if the investor's currency is different to that of the class. This class may have charges or a hedging approach different from those in the IA sector benchmark. 

Positives  

The strongest relative contributors to returns in the fourth quarter were Samsung Electronics, General Motors and Siemens Energy. 

Samsung is benefiting from a strong cycle in memory chips, as a surge in demand due to artificial intelligence (AI) meets a shortage of supply¹¹. This has resulted in pricing power and healthy free cashflow¹² (FCF) generation. Given Samsung’s policy of returning 50% of FCF to shareholders¹³, we expect this to result in higher cash returns.  

Our investment case for General Motors (GM) is based on our forecast for strong economic growth, lower interest rates and its valuation, which we perceive as very cheap. We also see GM as a relative winner from US tariffs (a tax on imports). In addition, GM has bought back¹⁴ a considerable amount of its own shares¹⁵. 

For Siemens Energy, the insatiable energy needs of AI have driven strong order growth in its gas turbines division¹⁶.  

In terms of the best performing sector for the fund, banks stood out in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, with European institutions making the largest contribution¹⁷. 

Negatives  

The biggest detractor in Q4 was the defence sector, which sold off as details emerged of renewed diplomatic efforts to negotiate peace in Ukraine¹⁸. We have taken profits from Rheinmetall and Hanwha Aerospace. 

Defence stocks have made strong contributions to the fund’s relative returns for the 2025 calendar year, as have banks and gold miners¹⁹.  

Activity 

We continued to add to Asia, which including Japan now accounts for more than a third of our portfolio²⁰. This is our highest allocation to the continent since inception. We have found plenty of companies there that are growing their profits and dividends²¹ and offer good value.  

Elsewhere, we have been adding to US regional banks, which in our view offer more reasonable valuations than larger peers and should benefit from interest rate cuts in the US and corporate takeovers. For example, Fifth Third’s $11bn acquisition of our former holding Comerica was approved by shareholders²² and we took profits thereafter. 

We believe our portfolio remains genuinely global, with exposure to more than 10 currencies and 20 countries²³. This is worth emphasising, given a stockmarket that remains heavily skewed to the US and the dollar²⁴. 

Outlook  

We think there are arguments to be both optimistic and pessimistic on global stockmarkets in the short-term. Nonetheless, we are confident in our longer term outlook. In our view, three decades of greater global integration since the fall of the Berlin Wall have given way to a new era of self-sufficiency, from which we believe our portfolio is positioned to benefit.

With all of this in mind, we can continue to take comfort in a portfolio that is cheaper than the index with twice the dividend yield²⁵. With such pronounced ongoing shifts in the global economy and investment markets, we believe the case for a fund like ours is as strong as ever.