midcaps

The surge in global equities is primarily driven by large-cap stocks. Smaller companies have not fared as well, and this disparity has persisted since 2021, Morningstar Fund Radar’s analysis shows.

With so much media and public attention focussed on large-cap companies like any of the Magnificent Seven, it’s interesting to hear the case for investing in small and mid-cap companies. Those are market valuations, respectively, under 2 billion and between 2 and 10 billion US dollars. Henrik Blohm, who has run the BL American small & mid-caps fund since 2015, is a big proponent.

With investors’ appetite for risk diminishing, equity markets are having a tough time this year. Despite a war raging on Europe’s external borders, European shares are holding up relatively well. However, this mainly applies to so-called large-caps, because shares of smaller companies are deeper in the red.

Investors have become increasingly risk-averse this year and have sold off shares worldwide. Rising inflation, falling economic growth, the prospect of interest rate increases and geopolitical tensions do not bode well for risky investments.

The Echiquier Agenor SRI Mid Cap Europe fund managed to limit its losses year-to-date to only -0.47%, even as its net asset value had risen by 34% in 2019. The secret? A strong focus on ‘structural winners’ and strict valuation discipline, resulting in an exceptionally high cash position at the start of the coronavirus crisis.