Finserve

November was a strong month for the fund, delivering a return of 4.92%, lifting the total return for the year to over 34%. This positive development was driven by several factors, including continued strong demand for European defense, impressive reports from U.S. cybersecurity companies, and general market optimism following Donald Trump’s re-election as President of the United States. 

Top and Bottom Performers of the Month: 

Top Performers		Bottom Performers
Rheinmetall	31,59 %	Booz Allen Hamilton	-18,43 %
Fortinet	20,84 %	CACI International	-16,77 %
Hensoldt	17,80 %	SAIC	-13,89 %
Crowdstrike	16,54 %	Leidos	-9,70 %
Leonardo	15,93 %	AeroVironment	-9,52 %

On the global stage, geopolitical tensions remain high. In Europe, two serious incidents were reported in November involving damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. A telecommunications cable between Finland and Germany and an internet cable between Lithuania and Sweden’s Gotland were damaged, raising suspicions of sabotage. These events were described by Germany’s Defense Minister as potential hybrid attacks, and both Sweden and Lithuania expressed concern and demanded action. These incidents highlight the increasing importance of cybersecurity and hybrid defense in today’s security landscape.

In the Middle East, a significant ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was reached on November 27. Following this, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized that the country’s focus is now shifting to the threat from Iran, which could have far-reaching security implications for the region.
In the U.S., Donald Trump introduced a new advisory commission, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The purpose of DOGE is to streamline the U.S. government by reducing inefficiencies, eliminating unnecessary agencies, and simplifying regulations. In the short term, this led to stock price declines for some of the companies in our portfolio, including Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, and CACI, as the market reacted to uncertainty surrounding upcoming budget changes. However, we remain optimistic about their long-term potential. DOGE’s focus on technology-driven solutions, such as AI and cybersecurity, creates new opportunities for these companies to contribute to a more efficient government. Therefore, our exposure to these stocks remained unchanged.
We also remain positive on U.S. cybersecurity companies going forward. In addition to the above-mentioned factors, several of our holdings delivered strong Q3 reports.

Palo Alto Networks exceeded expectations with a 14% revenue increase to USD 2.1 billion and forecasts annual growth of 31–32% for 2025. Fortinet reported a 13% revenue increase to USD 1.508 billion, with their gross margin reaching a record high of 83.2%. Fortinet’s leadership in the cybersecurity market was reinforced by its recognition this year in multiple Gartner Magic Quadrants, including SD-WAN and network firewalls. CrowdStrike, which also delivered strong results, reported a 29% revenue increase to over USD 1 billion, driven by the success of its Falcon Flex model, which has attracted more customers to their platform.