Positive return for Juno Continuation Fund after first five months

• Manager doubts strong economic recovery and continues to focus on predictable companies
• Benchmark index significantly outperformed
• Tumultuous first five months ended with positive performance of +0.6%

The Hague – July 2020 – The Juno Continuation Fund achieved a positive return of +14.6% in the second quarter. This brings the performance to +0.6% since the fund’s launch on February 1st. A remarkable result, as the main benchmark of the fund, the index of European medium-sized companies MSCI Europe Midcap Index (net), showed a negative return of -12.0% over the same period. The Netherlands AEX index, with dividends reinvested, decreased by -4.4% since February 1st.

With the Juno Continuation Fund, Juno Investment Partners continues the success of its first fund, the Juno Selection Fund. This proves that the strategy of strict selection of successful European (family-owned) companies with predictable earnings growth and high returns on capital is also bearing fruit in the segment of medium-sized European companies. While the Juno Selection Fund selects companies with a market capitalization of between € 250 million and € 4 billion, the new Juno Continuation Fund focuses on the segment just above: from € 4 billion to € 20 billion market value.

Rob Deneke, director and co-manager of the Juno Continuation Fund: “For the time being, we do not share the confidence for a rapid and broad-based economic recovery that is currently prevailing in the financial markets. Our preference remains for companies that do not depend on this recovery but that develop predictably and independently amidst the tumult. To that end, we also prefer companies with little or no debt. A crisis often also brings extra opportunities for the strongest players “.

During the past quarter, assets under management in the Juno Continuation Fund increased, thanks to both existing and new participants who joined. Frans Jurgens, director and co-founder of Juno Investment Partners: “We greatly appreciate the confidence that our clients appear to have in Juno’s strategy. They understand the added value of the stringent analysis preceding the inclusion in the Fund’s portfolio. Especially now, it is important to know the companies through and through and to have a reliable picture of where the company can be in five years’ time.”

The quarterly reports can be found here and the most recent fact sheet here.

About Juno Investment Partners

Juno Investment Partners was established in 2007 as a fully independent fund manager and has an AIFM license (as referred to in Section 2:65 of the Wft), issued by the Dutch regulator AFM. Juno specializes in the selection of exceptional listed (family owned) companies in Europe. Companies that are able to achieve predictable and stable earnings growth year after year are considered for investment. The selection process focuses on the return on invested capital, a low debt ratio and free cash flows of a highly predictable nature. The analysts/portfolio managers compile a highly concentrated portfolio of approximately fifteen companies that they identify, analyze and visit regularly. Selected companies remain in the portfolio for a longer time period (usually more than five years). All analysts/portfolio managers have themselves invested in the Juno funds.

Juno offers three products: The Juno Selection Fund, which focuses on the selection of smaller and medium-sized listed companies, the Juno Continuation Fund for medium-sized companies and individual asset management using the same investment style, for larger clients through managed segregated accounts.

– The Juno Selection Fund was launched in 2008. This mutual fund invests in distinctive European small and medium-sized companies with an initial market capitalization of €250 million to €4 billion. In recent years, this investment style has resulted in above average investment returns for participants in the Juno Selection Fund. This fund has been hard closed for further (follow on) subscriptions since 2018.

– The same investment strategy is applied in the Juno Continuation Fund, which was launched on February 1, 2020. This fund focuses on unique, medium-sized European companies with a market value between €4 billion and €20 billion at the time of initial purchase. As is the case with the Selection Fund, the Continuation Fund also has a strong preference for investments in businesses that are family owned, or companies in which a family or management itself is also a shareholder.