Artemis SmartGARP European Equity Fund
Q1 2026 update
Source for all information: Artemis as at 30 March 2026, 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.
Review of the quarter
Our SmartGARP (Smart Growth at a Reasonable Price) process aims to buy companies that are growing, trade on low valuations, are upgrading profit forecasts and benefit from good momentum in their share prices. It tends to struggle when dominant themes change and when stockmarket performance is driven by a small number of companies. In March, the stockmarket changed direction and became (understandably) focused on one thing (the oil price), so we struggled to make much progress.
Performance
The fund was down 0.3% during the first quarter, versus losses of 2.0% from its first benchmark, the FTSE World Europe ex UK index1, and 3.6% from its second benchmark, the IA Europe excluding UK sector2. It made a strong start to the year, but has given back some of its gains since the Iran conflict began.
Discrete calendar-year performance
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| Artemis SmartGARP European Equity I Acc GBP | 55.9% | 16.4% | 15.1% | 2.0% | 19.5% |
| FTSE World Europe ex UK TR GBP | 27.9% | 3.0% | 15.7% | -7.0% | 17.4% |
| IA Europe Excluding UK average4 | 22.2% | 1.5% | 13.5% | -9.2% | 15.7% |
Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Source: Lipper Limited/Artemis to 31 December 2025 for class I distribution units, 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. This class may have charges or a hedging approach different from those in the IA sector benchmark.
Activity
Over the past quarter, we moved further underweight (a lower-than-average position compared with the stockmarket) in industrials (companies involved in the creation of products that create other goods) and nudged up our exposure to oil. By country, we reduced our exposure to Greece and added to France.
In terms of companies, we reduced our positions in Prosus (e-commerce), Mapfre (insurance), Novartis (healthcare) and Italgas (energy). We recycled the proceeds into companies such as BNP Paribas (banking), Ipsen and Sanofi (both biopharmaceuticals), Nordex (wind turbines) and Yara (fertiliser). In general, the logic was to ensure the fund owns attractively valued companies whose profit forecasts are being upgraded by analysts.
By way of example, we bought Yara because it was cheap and growing3. Yara makes fertiliser from Norwegian-sourced energy. The crisis in the Middle East transformed investor sentiment so the share price rose relative to profits4. Maybe we got lucky – but maybe the risks were skewed in our favour.
We initiated a position in Capgemini, which offers consulting, digital transformation and technology services. Until quite recently, it looked significantly more expensive than the market average5, but worries about the threat AI poses to its business model mean it is now unloved by investors6.
Outlook
We believe that investing in unloved companies where news is good tends to skew the odds of success in our favour. Indeed, over the past 25 years, we have made about 15% of our outperformance from getting sectors right, but 85% from getting shares right7. Our inclination is to keep an eye on broad sector themes, but to focus most of our attention on looking for mispriced shares.
Events in the Middle East and their impact on energy prices and the global economy are hard to predict. If oil prices remain high, then a recession could ensue, but if oil starts flowing again, the risks of recession will be lower. At the moment, however, nobody knows what will happen. Investors are (understandably) reluctant to pay heed to news flow from individual companies when the war in Iran is dominating attention. Amid this uncertainty, our simple goal is to keep doing what we have been doing for a quarter of a century: focusing on shares with good financial characteristics. We believe this discipline is what has driven the fund's outperformance over the years.
Notes and references
1 The FTSE World Europe ex UK index is a widely-used indicator of the performance of European 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.
2 The IA Europe Excluding UK sector is a group of other asset managers’ funds that invest in similar asset types as this fund, collated by the Investment Association. 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.
3, 4 & 5 Bloomberg
6 https://diginomica.com/capgeminis-ai-strategy-wins-over-investors-despite-13-profit-drop
7 Lipper Limited/Artemis
Risks specific to Artemis SmartGARP European Equity 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.
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.
