Fidelity European (FEV)

Fidelity European Trust (FEV) is the largest European equity investment trust, with net assets of over £2bn. It has a long track record of outperformance, generating an NAV total return of 150% over the last ten years (to 22/10/2026), ahead of the benchmark’s 143%. More recently FEV’s quality growth style has faced headwinds, with markets favouring value over growth stocks, and the trust has underperformed. However, an active approach to managing the discount using share buybacks means that it has maintained its mid-single-digit Discount target during this period. FEV has also delivered annualised dividend growth of 8.8% over the last five financial years and at the half-year stage for the current year delivered a similar level of growth for the interim dividend.

In November 2026 Managers Sam Morse and Marcel Stötzel were joined by Alexander Laing as part of the team. Alexander is an experienced analyst and fund manager at Fidelity, and his appointment marks the beginning of a transition period ahead of Sam’s retirement in October 2027. There are no plans for any changes to the investment process or philosophy.

One of the distinctive features of the team’s approach is their focus on company dividends. FEV is not an equity income trust, and the team are not set any revenue goals, but they view a company’s ability to pay and grow a dividend as an important first step in their process. Typically, the portfolio yield is slightly lower than the market average, reflecting the team’s preference for growth businesses that command a premium rating. More recently though, with value outperforming, FEV’s portfolio yield is, unusually, at parity with the benchmark, which the team sees as a strong signal that the portfolio is undervalued.