JPMorgan European Growth & Income plc (JEGI) has been well positioned as investor enthusiasm for European equities returns
Despite the volatility and uncertainty of US tariffs unleashed earlier in the year, European equities are outperforming most developed markets in 2025 after years of lagging performance. Benefiting from that tailwind, JEGI is also beating its benchmark,.
What’s driving the change in investor sentiment and JEGI’s outperformance?
European spending could boost growth
The macro backdrop is changing, particularly with regards to European spending that could boost growth. Investors are literally buying into the German defence spending story, which has potential to increase the GDP of Europe as a whole. Europe, in particular Germany, has less debt relative to GDP than the US, gives credibility to the spending plans.
Similarly, while government investment in the US—a key driver of its economic growth—outpaced Europe’s government investment in the past decade, that trend is reversing. At the same time, the European consumer remains healthy and consumer confidence has improved over the course of the year as inflation fades.
European companies stand to benefit from this improving backdrop and valuations are beginning to reflect the potential for earnings growth. The European equity market is now trading around its long-term average price-to-earnings ratio and continued earnings growth could drive stocks higher. However, relative to the US, European equities are still trading at a wider discount than the long-term average, which suggests the gap could narrow if European companies continue to deliver strong results.
Banks, building materials and off-benchmark stocks
A diverse set of stocks drove JEGI’s strong performance over the past 12 months through 30 September 2025.
European banks, which in recent years were among the least loved sectors in the market and traded at depressed valuations, have now delivered a fifth consecutive year of outperformance. After strengthening their balance sheets many banks got approval to resume of buybacks and dividends, relative to their new levels of profitability, and the sector also benefited from higher interest rates. Italy’s Unicredit *was the top contributor to JEGI’s performance over the past year, benefiting from growth in fee income, operational efficiency and disciplined cost management.
Heidelberg Materials*, a German cement maker, was also a key contributor to the portfolio’s returns. In addition to its potential to participate in Germany’s increased infrastructure and defence spending, the company also gained market share as some smaller competitors exited the market due to increasing costs around accounting for carbon.
JEGI’s ability to invest in smaller companies, some of which are not in the benchmark, also helped drive the portfolio’s performance. Spie*, a mid-cap French company that provides technical engineering services, is one of these holdings. Over 80% of the company’s business is relates to the energy transition and smart cities and it just installed first industrial scale carbon capture system for cement company. Spie* is growing organically and is able to command a premium for its services on complex projects in a fragmented industry.
Notably, JEGI outperformed its benchmark over the past year even without owning German defence company Rheinmetall* whose shares soared during the period. The company’s valuation increased quickly and the shares now trades at a substantial premium. The portfolio managers will continue to monitor growth potential and valuation of the company.
Positioning for future growth
The JEGI portfolio managers are always looking to keep the fresh ideas in the portfolio and trim or exit positions that look less attractive going forward. Over the past year JEGI sold out of its positions in LEG* immobilien, a German real estate company, given the sensitivity to interest rates rising bond yields, and German apparel manufacturer Adidas, due to concerns about the impact of tariffs on the company’s Asian supply chain, a lack of clear growth drivers and a more competitive US market.
The portfolio managers made some changes in the health care sector to diversify some of the pharmaceuticals exposure. JEGI added a position in Lonza*, a Swiss company that partners with pharmaceutical companies to help test and manufacture drugs and therapies. The company operates in a highly regulated but fragmented market and can benefit from the trend of pharmaceutical outsourcing with advanced manufacturing expertise and a strong management team that is targeting double-digit returns on invested capital.
Danone*, the French food company is another new position. The company has demonstrated a remarkable turnaround after a year of declining volumes and is shifting into healthier, science-backed foods, such as high-protein yogurt and bio yogurt. Danone’s* strong financial position enables it to invest in growth.
Through bottom-up stock selection that focuses on quality, value and earnings momentum, the JEGI portfolio managers have created a well-diversified portfolio that has outperformed in both growth and value markets, while also paying a 4% annual dividend.
* The portfolio is actively managed. Holdings, sector weights, allocations and leverage, as applicable, are subject to change at the discretion of the investment manager without notice.
