Effective date: 31/08/2026The MSCI World Index rose 1.6% in euro terms in August despite concerns about the trend in long-term interest rates and the deadlock in negotiations between Iran and the United States. Oil prices remained volatile throughout the month, with Brent crude closing at $89 per barrel.
The U.S. 10-year yield closed at 4.74%, its highest level in three years, driven by high energy prices fueling inflation fears, remarks by the Federal Reserve Chair expressing a desire to control inflation, and strong demand for debt linked to AI investments at the expense of U.S. Treasury debt.
In this context, the sectors that outperformed were materials (+9.5%, with gold up 9.7% and silver up 15.6%), energy (+3.3%), healthcare (+3%), and technology (+5%)—driven by strong earnings and improved performance in the software sector (+13%).
Consumer sectors underperformed, whether in the case of non-cyclical consumer goods (-1.8%) or cyclical consumer goods (-0.6%), amid an unfavorable environment of rising interest rates and energy prices.
In this context, the fund declined by 2.5% in euros (Class A, net of fees) compared with the MSCI World Index, which rose by 1.6%.
The marked weakness in the consumer sectors—where the fund is overweight—and the outperformance of the underweight sectors in the fund—technology and healthcare—weighed significantly on the fund’s performance.
Within the consumer sector, the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East, rising interest rates, and a more cautious outlook for the rest of the year (following the World Cup and the stimulus from the “Big Beautiful Bill”) weighed on the performance of all consumer growth segments.
As a result, cruise lines (Viking and Royal Caribbean) fell by nearly 15%. The sports brands segment, facing a still highly promotional environment in the lifestyle segment, was very heavily penalized such as the U.S. retailer Dicks Sporting Goods (-37%) with continued negative sales at Foot Locker, acquired in the fall of 2025 (exposed to Nike).
In retail, the brand-name discounter Burlington (-28%), which is more exposed to mid-range consumers, anticipates stagnant same-store sales.
In the luxury sector, the lack of a recovery in China continues to weigh on the sector’s performance, which is down 4% for the month.
Portfolio Moves
We have reduced our exposure to France due to its negative perception of due to its negative perception in light of the upcoming election debates, as well as to cyclical consumer goods, particularly in the sports brands segment.
Outlook
Following very strong results in the United States in the second quarter (+34.6%), driven by technology (+53%), the market environment is showing signs of nervousness due to the prolonged conflict in Iran, concerns about fiscal spending, and rising long-term interest rates.
The upward momentum of Artificial Intelligence is less clear, with strong demand but questions about the circularity of funding, and a U.S. political context where the granting of permits for the construction of new data centres is facing public backlash.
Within our thematic focus, sentiment has become very negative across all segments, even as spending remains robust in premium consumer goods and experiences/travel—segments we continue to favour while diversifying the portfolio into the financial sector with exposure to consumer credit.