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JPMorgan European Growth & Income PLC on Monday said the recent change to German fiscal policy was a sign that Europe may be starting to change direction, as its net asset value declined. The London-based investment fund said net asset value per share fell 0.8% to 118.1 pence as at March 31, from 119.0p a year prior. NAV total return was 3.5% in the financial year ended March 31, outperforming against its benchmark, which had a return of 2.5%. JPMorgan European said Milan-based bank UniCredit Spa ‘was once again a main outperformer’. The bank continued to deliver a sound financial performance across all lines of income statement, JPMorgan European said. Meanwhile, the main detracting sector was capital goods. The company lamented not owning stocks within the defence sector such as Dusseldorf, Germany-based Rheinmetall AG. JPMorgan European said defence stocks, despite their high initial valuations, ‘nonetheless rallied strongly on anticipation that European nations would need to increase their percentage of GDP spent on defence from 2% to 3%.’ JPMorgan European’s total dividend for financial 2025 was 4.80 pence per share, up 14% from 4.20p a year prior. ‘There are reasons to be optimistic about the outlook for European equities. The recent change to German fiscal policy is a sign that Europe may be starting to change direction. The scale of the potential spend on both defence and infrastructure is dramatic and if delivered will lift economic growth and create investment opportunities,’ said Portfolio Managers Alexander Fitzalan Howard, Zenah Shuhaiber and Tim Lewis. JPMorgan European shares were 0.8% higher at 120.50 pence each on Monday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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