First, we select the top trending category from more than 200 categories listed on MutualFunds.com based on the percentage increase in monthly viewership. From the top trending category, we select the top three funds with the highest one-year trailing total returns. To ensure the quality and staying power of funds, we only look at those mutual funds with a minimum of $250 million in assets and a track record of at least three years. We also remove those mutual funds that are closed to new investors and are not available for investment outside registered accounts such as retirement or 529 accounts.
In this week’s edition, we analyze the top three Europe equity funds. These funds are region-specific to Europe and invest in common stocks from a range of market sectors and contain a mixture of market capitalizations. Typically, these types of funds invest at least 80% of their assets in European equities.
Our breakdown of each fund includes key aspects such as one-year performance, fund expenses, investment style, and management teams to give you an overview of how these funds hold up against their peers.
Be sure to check out the Europe Equity Funds page to find out more about the other funds in this category as well.
Trending Funds
1. Janus Henderson European Focus A Fund (HFEAX)
This week’s top mutual fund is Janus Henderson’s European Focus A Fund (HFEAX). It comes with an outstanding trailing one-year total return of 18.61%. However, it also comes with a relatively high gross expense ratio of 1.46% – the highest fee of the three funds listed.
The fund’s investment strategy is to allocate at least 80% of its assets in European equity securities or convertible securities. Stocks of any market capitalization may be considered with the fund holding both growth and value stocks in its portfolio. The fund is benchmarked to the MSCI Europe Index.
The fund’s portfolio is managed by Robert Schramm-Fuchs, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson who has been managing the fund since March 2019.
The top five equity holdings in the fund’s portfolio include Nestle SA (4.54%), UPM-Kymmene Oyj (3.83%), Roche Holding AG (3.63%), STMicroelectronics NV (3.55%) and Volvo AB (3.24%). The top five sector weights are listed as industrials (19.22%), materials (14.31%), financials (13.70%), health care (11.87%) and consumer staples (11.30%).
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Coming in at number two for our list this week is the European Fund (PRESX) through T. Rowe Price – a staple in the mutual fund industry. The fund has a trailing one-year total return of 5.26%. The expense ratio of 0.97% puts it on par with similar mutual fund types.
The investment strategy of the fund is to invest at least 80% of its assets in European common stocks without regard to market capitalization or a bias toward growth or value stocks. It emphasizes Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The fund uses the MSCI Europe Index as its benchmark portfolio.
The fund is co-managed by Dean Tenerelli, portfolio manager in the equity division at T. Rowe Price and Tobias Mueller.
The top five holdings in the fund’s portfolio are Nestle (4.56%), Roche Holding (3.65%), Novartis (3.14%), Air Liquide (3.05%) and Schneider Electric (2.88%). The portfolio’s top five sector weights are industrials and business services (21.36%), health care (16.05%), financials (12.66%), consumer discretionary (9.63%) and materials (9.56%).
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The final fund to be featured this week is offered through another well-known name in the mutual fund industry – Fidelity. The Europe Fund (FIEUX) comes with a trailing one-year total return of 4.62%. It has the lowest expense ratio out of all three funds listed at just 0.78%, giving investors the most return on their investment from a fee perspective.
As with the other funds on our list, the strategy of the fund is to invest at least 80% of its assets in European stocks and other investments that derive 50% or more of its earnings in Europe. The fund is benchmarked to the MSCI Europe Index.
Andrew A. Sergeant is listed as the fund’s primary portfolio manager and has been managing the fund since June 2018.
Top five holdings include SAP, Roche Holdings AG, Sanofi, Wolters Kluwer and Siemens. Sector weights in the portfolio are currently listed as health care (17.28%), financials (15.27%), consumer staples (13.26%), consumer discretionary (12.41%) and industrials (11.78%).
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The Bottom Line
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Note: Data as of July 16, 2020