A handful of European equity funds have delivered double-digit returns (in US dollar terms) last year compared with a meagre 2.4% return from the broader market.
European equities lagged other major asset classes in 2024. The MSCI Europe index returned 2.4% in 2024, well below the 8% return from both the TSE TOPIX and the MSCI Emerging Markets index. The S&P 500 index was up 25%.
Stronger economic conditions in the US and a divergence in monetary policy between the Federal Reserve and the ECB weighed heavily on the Euro region last year.
This was made worse for US-dollar denominated investors in European equities who would’ve endured a roughly 7% decline in the Euro.
But a recent 5% rally in the span of just one month has seen European equities ahead of other major equity market asset classes so far in 2025.
Fund selectors looking to diversify away from US markets for a potential rally in European equities may want to look at the best performers from 2024 for a continuation in performance.
Below are five of 2024’s best performing European equity strategies available for distribution in Hong Kong or Singapore, according to data compiled from FE fundinfo.
The funds under consideration excluded currency hedged strategies and the performance is measured in US dollars.
iShares Edge MSCI Europe Momentum Factor UCITS ETF
The BlackRock iShares Edge MSCI Europe Momentum Factor UCITS ETF was the best performer in 2024, up 12.9% for the year in US dollar terms.
This exchange-traded-fund invests in roughly 120 European stocks screened for momentum, or those which have been experiencing an upward price trend.
Some of these winners include Seimens Energy, Spotify and UCB SA, which were up 326%, 140% and 140% respectively for the year.
Wellington Strategic European Equity
The Wellington Strategic European Equity fund delivered a 10.4% return in US dollar terms in 2024.
This fund takes a high-conviction, low-turnover, benchmark-agnostic approach to investing in Europe, and takes positions across the market capitalisation spectrum.
Managed by Dirk Enderlein, the fund has an overweight to industrials and consumer staples, and an underweight to health care and information technology.
JPM Europe Equity Plus
The JPM Europe Equity Plus strategy delivered a 10.2% gain in 2024 in US dollar terms, well ahead of the benchmark and its peers.
The strategy is managed by JP Morgan Asset Management’s Michael Barakos, Nicholas Horne and Ben Stapley.
It has large overweight positions in insurance, banks and telecommunication services.
Brandes European Value
The Brandes European Value strategy was another fund up double digits last year, returning 10% in US dollar terms.
This actively managed strategy takes a value investing approach to European equities, using bottom-up analysis to find stocks trading below estimates of intrinsic value.
The fund is managed by Luiz Sauerbronn, Amelia Morris, Shingo Omura, Jeffrey Germain and Brent Woods. It is overweight consumer staples and communication services, and underweight industrials and materials.
MS INVF Europe Opportunity
The Morgan Stanley Europe Opportunity fund was up 9% in US dollar terms last year.
This strategy is managed by Kristian Heugh and Anil Agarwal. They look for undervalued, high quality businesses.
It has a large overweight to consumer discretionary and communication services, and is underweight industrials and financials.
