Bestinvest says
This fund was previously managed by Tim McCarron who left after a period of poor performance. Sam Morse, his replacement, is another product of Fidelity's research team and has a long history with the group, although his track record in European equities is limited. The open-ended Fidelity European fund is similar to the London-listed closed-ended Fidelity European Values IT (LSE:FEV) run by the same manager.
This fund’s process is focused on investing primarily in companies exhibiting dividends and consistent dividend growth, as the fund manager believes that this represents a steady structural growth. The portfolio will have a minimum of 95% invested in Continental European securities with the additional 5% invested in companies that have a reasonable degree of exposure to Europe. The investment universe is narrowed by in-house research analysts who are grouped into industry teams. Their responsibility is to identify companies that demonstrate the following key criteria: positive fundamentals, ability to generate cash, strong balance sheet and an attractive valuation multiple. The fund manager then applies a “three good reasons to buy” method looking to identify two fundamental reasons and one valuation argument. The chosen investments will then be incrementally built up into the portfolio and constantly reviewed.