Global Equity Growth Fund | Q4 2025

20 January 2026

Global markets rose by 3.3% in the final quarter of the year. This was despite the longest US government shutdown in history and a softer US job market. The slowing labour market prompted the Federal Reserve to prioritise employment over inflation, cutting interest rates a further 25bps in December. From a sectorial perspective, the Healthcare sector was the strongest relative performing sector in the quarter and the Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors were the underperformers. Geographically South Korea continued to strongly outperform regionally, while China was a relative underperformer over the period. The Ashburton Global Equity Growth Fund (I Class USD) was down 0.4%. 

For the Fund, one of the strongest performers was AMD following strong third-quarter earnings and announcing a major partnership with OpenAI. Samsung also performed well, benefiting from a tight semi-conductor memory chip market as data centre capacity expands due to artificial intelligence investments. The semi-conductor memory market is expected to remain tight well into 2026. Another stand out performer in the quarter was Expedia, which reported better than expected earnings driven by Asia-Pacific and Europe, alongside higher prices and bookings.

The largest detractors during the quarter were Elf Beauty, SEA Limited and Axon. Elf Beauty disappointed the market after management guided sales growth below expectations. Elf continues to see strong double-digit growth in US consumption, while international performance has been weaker due to promotional activity in the UK and the lapping of Elf’s largest international launch in Germany last year. SEA Limited underperformed on lower-than-expected earnings, largely due to a higher tax rate which was mitigated by Shopee’s strong gross merchandise value performance of 28% growth. Finally, Axon Enterprise fell sharply post announcing third quarter earnings which were well below consensus. The miss was largely driven by increasing costs from labour and investments, revenue was slightly ahead of expectations.

The Fund initiated a position in Uber during the quarter. A pullback in the share price of the stock created an attractive entry point for this global leading provider of mobility and delivery services. Uber has successfully evolved from a capital-intensive disruptor to a profitable, cash generative platform, delivering highly attractive returns. Uber’s scale provides a substantial competitive advantage making it difficult for competitors to gain momentum. In addition, we believe Uber will play a critical role as a key platform for future mobility in the autonomous vehicle rollout.

Over the period the Fund fully exited its position in LVMH. We believe that a fair portion of LVMH’s strong sales growth seen in the post COVID period was driven by aspirational consumers with excess savings. That customer segment is likely to be less supportive going forward, and as such, LVMH’s growth expectations have dropped below the levels suitable for the strategy.

Looking ahead to 2026 we remain cautiously optimistic. The year began with an escalation in geopolitical tensions between the US and Venezuela, which the market has largely shrugged off year-to-date. In the US we believe the macro outlook remains favourable with further rate cuts expected this year alongside fiscal stimulus from the One Big Beautiful Bill. We also expect structural growth drivers such as electrification and AI to remain intact.

Disclaimer:

Waystone Management Company (Lux) S.A. is regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) (ref A00000395 & S00000734), Waystone Management Company (Lux) S.A. is a company located in Luxembourg, L-1273 Luxembourg at 19, Rue de Bitbourg. This document is Issued by Ashburton Fund Managers (Pty) Limited (The Investment Manager) (Reg number 2002/013187/07), which has its registered office at 3 Merchant Place, 1 Fredman Drive, Sandton, 2196, South Africa and is an authorised financial services provider (FSP number 40169), registered with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). The funds are authorised in Luxembourg and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

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