Artemis SmartGARP Global Smaller Companies Fund
Q4 2025 update
Source for all information: Artemis as at 31 December 2025, unless otherwise stated.
CAPITAL AT RISK. All financial investments involve taking risk and the value of your investment may go down as well as up. This means your investment is not guaranteed and you may not get back as much as you put in. Any income from the investment is also likely to vary and cannot be guaranteed.
This is a marketing communication. Before making any final investment decisions, and to understand the investment risks involved, refer to the fund prospectus (or in the case of investment trusts, Investor Disclosure Document and Articles of Association), available in English, and KIID/KID, available in English and in your local language depending on local country registration, available in the literature library.
Fund objective
The fund’s objective is to grow capital over a five-year period.
Summary
The fund’s name was changed to Artemis SmartGARP Global Smaller Companies from Artemis Global Select on 6 October 20251. Its strategy shifted to focus on small caps2 and it adopted the MSCI AC World Small Cap index as its benchmark3.
The fund is now managed by Artemis’ SmartGARP investment team, using our SmartGARP tool to identify companies growing faster than the broader stockmarket but with cheaper share prices.
Performance
The Artemis SmartGARP Global Smaller Companies Fund has outperformed since changing its investment strategy to focus on small caps. It returned 5.2% between 10 October and 31 December 2025, compared with 3.1% for the MSCI AC World Small Cap index NR GBP4. The strategy’s performance figures are calculated from 10 October 2025 because that is when the fund fully transitioned to a portfolio of smaller companies.
Annual returns for the past five years are shown below.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artemis Global Select I Acc GBP* | 9.0% | 10.1% | 8.1% | -10.8% | 18.9% |
| MSCI AC World NR GBP5 | 13.9% | 19.6% | 15.3% | -8.1% | 19.6% |
| IA Global average | 10.3% | 12.7% | 12.5% | -11.1% | 18.2% |
Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Source: Lipper Limited to 31 December 2025 for class I Acc GBP. 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. Classes may have charges or a hedging approach different from those in the IA sector benchmark.
*The fund’s name was changed to Artemis SmartGARP Global Smaller Companies from Artemis Global Select on 6 October 2025
Contributors
The following shares performed well during the fourth quarter of 2025:
- Macy’s: The US retailer said the decision to upgrade its department stores has paid off6.
- Ero Copper: We believe the copper and gold miner’s shares are good value considering its recent growth.
- Boliden: The Swedish zinc and copper miner upgraded profit expectations7.
- Tianshan Aluminium: The Chinese aluminium producer is committed to sharing its profits with shareholders by paying dividends8.
- NGK Industries: In its most recent results, the Japanese maker of diesel particulate filters (exhaust system devices) beat expectations9.
Detractors
CF Industries and HF Sinclair have not performed well during the past couple of months.
CF Industries produces ammonia, which beyond being used in fertilisers, is being seen as a source for clean energy, given its hydrogen content. It produced a mixed set of results10 for the third quarter of 2025, which weighed on the share price.
HF Sinclair suffered due to lower gasoline prices, but the US refiner’s management team expects demand11 to offset this weakness.
Positioning
In terms of sectors, we have a preference for natural resources, oil & gas and insurance, and underweights (meaning we own less than our benchmark) in technology, healthcare and industrials (goods used to produce other goods or services). At a regional level, we are underweight North America and overweight emerging markets (in particular China and Brazil), Europe and Japan.
Outlook
We can point to several factors that we expect to help smaller companies in 2026. Inflation appears to be under control and central banks in several countries are cutting interest rates12. Governments around the world are attempting to stimulate their domestic economies, which should be a tailwind for smaller companies because their customers tend to be local. The share prices of smaller companies are cheaper now than in the past, relative to larger companies13, so we think this could be a good time to take a fresh look at their prospects.
Notes and references
1 For more information about the recent changes to this fund, please see: https://www.artemisfunds.com/en-gb/individual/about/news/16095/Artemis_announces_plans_to_offer_global_smallcap_strategy/
2 Market capitalisation (sometimes referred to as 'market cap') is the total value of a company, calculated by multiplying the number of shares in issue by the current price of the shares. Companies are often referred to as being 'mega-cap', 'large-cap', 'mid-cap', 'small-cap' and even ‘micro-cap’, reflecting their relative total value. Small-cap can still mean companies with values in the hundreds of millions or even low billions. Different markets attach different values when seeking to define the differences between these categorisations.
3 The MSCI AC World Small Cap NR GBP (net returns, in sterling) is a widely-used indicator of the performance of global smaller companies stockmarkets, in which the fund invests. It acts as a ‘comparator benchmark’ against which the fund’s performance can be compared. Management of the fund is not restricted by this benchmark.
4 Source: Lipper Limited/Artemis, 10 October 2025 to 31 December 2025 for class I accumulation GBP. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
5 The MSCI AC World (also known as the MSCI All Country World index) is a widely-used indicator of the performance of global stockmarkets. It was used as a ‘comparator benchmark’ against which the Artemis Global Select Fund’s performance could be compared – before the fund changed its investment strategy, benchmark and name in October 2025.
6 https://finance-commerce.com/2025/09/macys-2025-outlook-same-store-sales-growth/
8A dividend is the amount, usually expressed on a per-share basis, that a company pays to its shareholders (or that a fund pays to its investors) from after-tax earnings.
9 https://www.ngk-insulators.com/en/ir/news/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2025/12/01/20251031_presen_en.pdf
10 https://www.cfindustries.com/newsroom/2025/q3-earnings
12 https://www.ft.com/content/088d3368-bb8b-4ff3-9df7-a7680d4d81b2
13 Source: Bloomberg as at 31 July 2025
Risks specific to Artemis SmartGARP Global Smaller Companies Fund
- Market volatility risk The value of the fund and any income from it can fall or rise because of movements in stockmarkets, currencies and interest rates, each of which can move irrationally and be affected unpredictably by diverse factors, including political and economic events.
- Currency risk The fund’s assets may be priced in currencies other than the fund base currency. Changes in currency exchange rates can therefore affect the fund's value.
- Charges from capital risk Where charges are taken wholly or partly out of a fund's capital, distributable income may be increased at the expense of capital, which may constrain or erode capital growth.
- Emerging markets risk Compared to more established economies, investments in emerging markets may be subject to greater volatility due to differences in generally accepted accounting principles, less governed standards or from economic or political instability. Under certain market conditions assets may be difficult to sell.
- Smaller companies risk Investing in small companies can involve more risk than investing in larger, more established companies. Shares in smaller companies may not be as easy to sell, which can cause difficulty in valuing those shares.
Important information
The intention of Artemis’ ‘investment insights’ articles is to present objective news, information, data and guidance on finance topics drawn from a diverse collection of sources. Content is not intended to provide tax, legal, insurance or investment advice and should not be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security or investment by Artemis or any third-party. Potential investors should consider the need for independent financial advice. Any research or analysis has been procured by Artemis for its own use and may be acted on in that connection. The contents of articles are based on sources of information believed to be reliable; however, save to the extent required by applicable law or regulations, no guarantee, warranty or representation is given as to its accuracy or completeness. Any forward-looking statements are based on Artemis’ current opinions, expectations and projections. Articles are provided to you only incidentally, and any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. The source for all data is Artemis, unless stated otherwise. The value of an investment, and any income from it, can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency fluctuations and you may not get back the amount originally invested.
