March was a volatile and weak month for financial markets, with geopolitical developments taking center stage. This followed the strikes by Israel and the US against Iran in late February, which were subsequently followed by Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the managers, this rapidly drove up the prices of oil and natural gas, which rose by approximately 50 percent, while metal prices trended weaker and long-term interest rates rose significantly.
The improving economic outlook observed at the turn of the year weakened as consumption, investment, and risk appetite were dampened. This is said to have contributed to broad market declines. The Carnegie Small Cap Index fell 5.6 percent during the month, while the OMX index retreated 7.8 percent.
For the fund, returns were negatively impacted by holdings in the real estate company Atrium Ljungberg, which fell in line with the sector due to the rising interest rate environment. Alimak, which is exposed to construction-related activities, also performed poorly in the more cyclically sensitive environment.
At the same time, several larger companies to which the fund had no exposure rose, including EQT, Ericsson, and the banking sector, which contributed negatively to relative performance.
On the positive side was Dynavox, which continued to signal strong growth opportunities by reaching more users. The managers also noted that previous investments will weigh less on profitability going forward, creating the conditions for improved margins. Synsam also performed positively, which is attributed to the company's stable business model.
The three largest holdings in the fund's portfolio at the end of the month were Volvo, Astra Zeneca, and Atlas Copco, with portfolio weights of 7.4, 5.7, and 5.7 percent, respectively.
Regarding geographical distribution, the fund had its largest exposure to Sweden at 83.0 percent, followed by the United Kingdom and Switzerland at 5.7 and 5.4 percent, respectively.
| Carnegie All Cap A, % | March, 2026 |
| Fund MoM, percentage change | -8.30 |
| Fund YTD, percentage change | -4.05 |
