The Cliens Micro Cap A fund fell 3.2% in October, outperforming its benchmark index which fell 3.8%. Since the beginning of the year, the fund has returned 12.1 percent, outperforming the index, which has increased 10.6 percent. This is stated in a monthly report from the fund's managers Carl Sundblad and Max Frydén.

Initially, the managers note that the main economic indicators showed mixed development during the month, with the purchasing managers' index in Sweden for the manufacturing industry recovering after a slump in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the US ISM index fell from 47.2 to 46.5, indicating that activity in the US manufacturing sector is contracting.

Furthermore, the managers highlight that the ECB decided to cut the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%, which was in line with expectations. Bond yields generally rose during the month, with the Swedish ten-year government bond rising by 16 basis points to 2.11%.

The main positive contributors to the Fund's return came from Medcap, OEM International and Idun Industrier. On the negative side were Sdiptech, Exsitec and VBG Group.

During the month, the managers made a number of adjustments to the portfolio. Concentric, which had been part of the portfolio for a long time, left the portfolio after the company was acquired by AP Möller.

The managers also chose to invest in three new holdings, Swedish Logistic Property, Plejd and Dynavox.

"Swedish Logistic Property (SLP) is a real estate company focusing on warehousing and logistics along the E4 and E20 highways in southern Sweden. The properties have low book values, low rents and low vacancy, and the company manages to grow profits by more than 10 percent per year," the managers write.

The fund's largest holdings at the end of the month were Medcap, OEM International and Nederman, with portfolio weights of 7.6, 7.4 and 6.8 percent respectively.

The fund had the largest exposure to industrial goods, followed by information technology and real estate.
Cliens Micro Cap A, %October, 2024
Fund MM, % change-3,2
Index MM, % change-3,8
Fund this year, percentage change 12,1
Index this year, percentage change 10,6