Kraft Strategisk returned 3.05% in April and is down -2.69% so far this year.

In April, Kraft Strategisk A rose by 3.05 percent. However, the fund is down 2.69 percent so far this year, weighed down by a significant strengthening of the Norwegian krone against the US dollar and euro.

The month was characterized by a de-escalation of the conflict between the US and Iran, where hopes of possible peaceful solutions affected the markets in a positive direction.

The equity portfolio performed very strongly, but currency developments dampened returns measured in Norwegian kroner. At the regional level, Asian equities and emerging markets rose the most, followed by the US. Europe lagged somewhat behind in the strong upturn.

There were also major differences in developments at sector level. Technology clearly stood out in a positive direction, while energy and health were the only sectors to fall.

The fixed income portfolio also made an underlying positive contribution to returns measured in local currency. As a benchmark, the broad index S&P Global Developed Aggregate Ex-Coll Bond Index rose by 1.3 percent, despite 10-year US interest rates moving from 4.31 to 4.38 percent.

Geopolitical unrest has dominated the news for a long time now, and market participants seem not to attach too much importance to the fact that inflation expectations have risen significantly over the past few months. The results season for the companies’ first quarter is well underway and can be summarized as better than expected so far. As a result, future earnings expectations have also risen further, proving that the earnings trend for the companies we invest in is still very positive. Given that the conflict in the Middle East will eventually be resolved, we believe that there is reason to remain cautiously optimistic going forward!

Sincerely

Stein Frode Aaseng