Technology and pharmaceuticals in the fund Raiffeisen-MegaTrends-ESG-AKtien
The performance of the fund, as well as the major global and US equity indices, has been strongly driven by the major technology stocks in the last two years (the media coined the term "glorious seven" in this context, with Apple, Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla). The fund Raiffeisen-MegaTrends-ESG-Aktien was invested in a large proportion of these strongly rising equities, such as Alphabet, Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft. However, pharmaceutical companies such as Novo Nordisk (now the company with the highest market capitalisation in Europe) and Eli Lilly are also among the big winners in the fund.
Corporate profits drive equity prices
In general, company-related issues and the overall very good earnings performance of companies have been relatively strong drivers of the performance of individual equities in recent quarters. Economic factors such as inflation, interest rates and the economy have taken a back seat. The environment remains quite difficult for many companies in the renewable energy such as sector wind power, solarand hydrogen. The fund is currently only invested to a very limited extent in this sector.
More than 50% of the fund Raiffeisen-MegaTrend-ESG-Aktien is currently invested in US companies. In light of this, as well as the generally significant importance of the USA for the global economy and financial markets, monetary and fiscal policy in the USA not only influences the US economy but also significantly affects the performance of the fund. Regardless of the change in power at the White House and any measures taken by Donald Trump, the robust US economy and strong innovative capacity continue to fundamentally support the US stock market.
USA: continued growth?
Most analysts currently expect solid earnings growth for US companies in 2025, despite all the uncertainties surrounding Trump. Interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve have been priced out to some extent but are nevertheless also a supportive factor for the stock market. There are some indications that small and medium-sized equities could catch up with the major stock market heavyweights.
The same applies to European equities, which are currently trading at a higher valuation discount to US equities than ever before. They could possibly even outperform the major US equities in 2025. After a long phase of weak growth or recession, even a slight economic upturn could have a positive impact on corporate profits and equity prices.
In addition to the information technology sector, the fund management currently sees the pharmaceutical sector, which has been less in investors' favour in the past two years, as promising. However, according to analyst estimates, it is set to be the sector with the strongest growth in corporate profits in the US in 2025. Of course, this is subject to the proviso that Donald Trump's measures in areas such as trade policy, taxes and healthcare could have a significant impact on the equity markets both in the US and worldwide. In general, however, his policies are most likely to be in favour of the equity markets, at least in the USA.
Investing in megatrends
With the fund
One strategy of the fund concept – the broad diversification across megatrends and sub-trends – is particularly advantageous: by focussing on three major
Megatrends defy economic cycles
Megatrends such as artificial intelligence or demographic change make it very clear that many topics within the megatrends are relatively unaffected by economic cycles. Of course, this does not mean that they are completely immune to economic fluctuations or general capital market trends. However, the resulting price fluctuations are usually of a temporary nature and cannot permanently halt or delay the fundamental developments in the megatrends.
The fund Raiffeisen-MegaTrends-ESG-AKtien performed very favourably in 2024 and should continue to benefit from the long-term growth opportunities offered by megatrends. Of course, there is no guarantee of this, and investors should always be aware that there is a risk of fluctuations and even losses in value with equity fund investments.
The largest positions in the fund currently include companies such as Nvidia, Alphabet, Novo Nordisk, Booking Holdings, Amazon, Apple, Motorola Solutions, Prysmian, and Meta Platforms.
Impact measurement
With the fund
Impact assessment: The impact is calculated annually by Raiffeisen KAG.* The data shown relates to the companies in the Raiffeisen-MegaTrends-ESG-Aktien compared with the whole market.
*Source: Raiffeisen KAG, own calculation, as of 28 June 2024.
In order to calculate the effect of sustainable equity investments in the fund, we used the sustainability ratios of the companies found in their sustainability reporting. CO2 emissions are generally denoted in tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), work accidents in lost-time-
injury-rate, waste in tons and water consumption in m3. The key ratios for the individual companies were multiplied by their weight in the fund or in the overall market, and the results of each key ratio were compared. Currently, we do not calculate such ratios for the bond segment of the funds, as we think that the "sustainable footprint" is attributable to the company owners, i.e. shareholders, not to the creditors, i.e. bond holders.
>> Brief portrait of Raiffeisen-MegaTrends-ESG-Aktien
Fund manager Günther Schmitt gives an overview of the fund, the companies it invests in and who might be interested in the fund in the video.
The fund Raiffeisen-MegaTrends-ESG-Aktien exhibits elevated volatility, meaning that unit prices can move significantly higher or lower in short periods of time, and it is not possible to rule out loss of capital.