Wassenaar – 12 October 2018 – The Juno Selection Fund ended the third quarter of 2018 with a return of + 1.5%. In total, the fund’s net asset value increased by +17.1% during the first nine months of 2018. This left similar indices once again behind: the EMIX Smaller European Companies Index (net) fell by -0.5% during the third quarter. This index has returned +0.6% after three quarters. The Dutch AEX index (dividends reinvested) increased by +0.3% over the quarter and stands at +3.5% for the year.
 

After its initial close to new participants on 1 June 2017, the Juno Selection Fund was also closed to existing participants on 1 October 2018. Frans Jurgens, portfolio manager and co-founder of Juno: “In months leading to the fund’s final close, a large part of Juno’s participants have seized the opportunity to increase their investment. The trust in Juno that this reflects is something that makes us very grateful and proud. “
 
Juno expects continued volatility for the remainder of the year. Nevertheless, Lennart Smits, portfolio manager and co-founder of Juno, remains confident in the underlying profit growth of Juno’s portfolio companies: “In 2018 the portfolio grew with a fairly large number of new companies. Together with the already existing positions, we believe that the portfolio will once again generate an underlying earnings growth of 10-15% this year. Also for the coming years, such earnings growth seems a viable goal for us “.

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.