MAB Quarterly Review Q1 2026 - Adventurous - Flipbook - Page 6
Equities
Our Tactical Asset Allocation positioning in equities
was positive for the quarter. In particular, strong
performance of Japanese Equities relative to
Continental European equities over the period
was helpful.
Stock markets had a mixed quarter, with strong
gains early on followed by a broad decline in March.
Different types of companies behaved quite
differently. Shares in more “value” focused
companies, often those in sectors like banks, energy
and industrials, performed well. These businesses
tend to bene昀椀t when the economic outlook is table
and when their starting valuations are relatively low.
This was captured by managers in your Fund such as
the Neuberger Berman US Small Cap Intrinsic Value
Fund, the North of South Emerging Market All Cap
Fund and the Amova Japan Value Fund.
At the same time, some “growth” and “quality”
companies, particularly in areas like software, started
to struggle. These companies are often valued
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based on pro昀椀ts expected many years into the
future, and when interest rates are expected to stay
higher, those future pro昀椀ts become less valuable
today. There are also questions around whether
these companies will truly be as valuable in the
future given the competing capabilities of Arti昀椀cial
Intelligence. This led to underperformance in
strategies such as the Evenlode UK Select Fund and
the GSAM Japan Equity Partners Fund.
Overall, the quarter is a good reminder that different
parts of the market will perform differently at
different times. This is exactly why we invest across
a range of regions and styles. While not everything
will perform well at once, this approach helps to
smooth returns over time.
Property & Real Assets
While the Adventurous Fund is almost entirely
comprised of equities, it does hold a 1% allocation
to European Carbon Credits, which was volatile this
quarter. The Xtrackers Physical Carbon ETC, through
which we gain exposure to this asset class, returned
-16.9% for the quarter.
