Artemis US Select Fund
Q4 2025 update

Fund objective  

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

Market review

During the fourth quarter, the US stockmarket continued to be shaped by political developments: fears of escalating tariffs (a tax on imports) directed at China proved short-lived, however, and there was a partial rollback of levies applied to synthetic opioid fentanyl¹. 

Meanwhile, US unemployment rose to a four-year high by November, reinforcing expectations that interest rates would be cut again². And they were – the Federal Reserve delivered its third consecutive reduction in December, equal to a decline of 75bps since September, which boosted shares late in the quarter³ (lower interest rates are positive for riskier assets such as shares as they make ‘safer’ assets such as cash and government bonds less appealing by comparison). 

Performance

Artemis US Select made 7.0% over the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with 2.7% from its first benchmark, the S&P 500 index⁴, and 2.4% from its second benchmark, the IA North America sector average⁵. The fund made 10.0% over the course of 2025, compared with 9.6% from the S&P 500 and 7.0% from its IA North America sector average.

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.

*As at 31 Oct 24 the benchmark changed to S&P 500 GBP NTR (WHT [withholding tax] 15%). Returns up to 31 Oct 24 reflect those of the S&P 500 TR

Contributors

AMD: Shares in the chipmaker rallied through October after it announced a series of significant AI-related partnerships⁶.

Cardinal: There was an excellent set of results from the healthcare provider over the quarter, as it beat profit expectations and raised forecasts for 2026⁷. 

Micron: The company has completely sold out of one of its memory chips⁸ and forecast higher profit margins for the 2026 financial year⁹. 

Parker Hannifin: The provider of monitors and sensors highlighted an increase in orders across its business, supported by stronger aerospace and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) demand¹⁰.  

Eli Lilly: Expectations for the pharmaceutical’s obesity and diabetes franchise continued to rise, particularly for its drug Mounjaro where sales were ahead of estimates¹¹. 

Detractors

Axon: The maker of Taser reported lower profit margins¹², but we remain confident in the long-term trajectory of the business.

Royal Caribbean: The cruise operator was a detractor during the quarter despite delivering strong results when it reported earnings¹³. Increased market concerns of competitive capacity weighed on the shares but we maintain a positive view on the company.

Live Nation: The ticketing operator delivered a mixed but broadly encouraging update, although some divisions saw a slowdown in profit growth¹⁴. 

Corteva: A decision to separate Corteva’s seed and crop protection businesses into two listed entities worked against the agricultural company¹⁵. The separation may create long-term value, but we sold out of the position on what we felt was a more uncertain outlook.

Activity

In terms of adjustments over the quarter, we sold out of Coca-Cola, power management company Eaton and disk-drive manufacturer Western Digital. We recycled this capital into a diverse group of names, opening positions in IQVIA (healthcare) and Applied Materials (semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment) and adding to Eli Lilly and nVent Electric (electrical infrastructure) among others.  

The largest change at a sector level involved increasing our exposure to pharmaceuticals and, to a lesser extent, semiconductors. We made reductions in media & entertainment (Meta) and industrials (goods used to produce other goods and services).

Outlook

We are excited about a number of themes as we move through 2026. To begin with, we feel we have displayed the ability to analyse and identify the winners and losers of the AI trade over the past three years, which we think will play into our hands if, as we expect, there is greater dispersion between these groups. 

Beyond AI, we expect more sectors to contribute a greater proportion of the stockmarket’s returns in future. Healthcare is a sector we are optimistic about and one we have been building exposure to following an extended period of underperformance. Meanwhile, we expect falling interest rates alongside deregulation to boost certain financial companies and other sectors where M&A (merger and acquisition) activity has stalled.