Report September 2026 - Columbus European Equities

Performance September 2026:

During the month of September, the Pareturn Columbus Class I2 fund fell 0.50%, significantly outperforming the Stoxx 600, which fell -2.4%. The fund is up 9.17% year-to-date. Over the past 12 months, the fund has posted a gain of 11.8%, and 52.9% over the past three years. Columbus ranks in the top quartile of its category over 3- and 5-year periods, according to Morningstar data. Since its launch in June 2008, the fund has posted a cumulative return of 245.7%, consistently outperforming the major European stock indices.

Market Environment:

September brought an end to five consecutive months of gains on European stock markets.

The main cause was the sharp rise in bond yields, driven by expectations of higher interest rates for a longer period. France was the weakest market, followed by Italy and Spain.

The three key factors of the month were:

-Energy and inflation: Brent crude rose 14% in September and is up 70% year-to-date. European TTF natural gas prices reached 82.6 euros/MWh, and European gas reserves stood at 71%, compared to the usual 86% for this time of year.

-Major European central banks tightened monetary policy in September. The market expects further rate hikes from both the ECB and the Fed. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note reached 5.30%, while the German 10-year bond yield reached 3.59%.

-Earnings per share forecasts, however, have continued to improve by 2% for 2026 and 2.5% for 2027 over the past three months, with a focus on AI, banking, and energy.

Fixed income is beginning to offer a more competitive alternative to equities. Europe still has slightly more valuation headroom; the Stoxx 600 is trading at about 15 times expected 2026 earnings, equivalent to a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.5—approximately 3 percentage points above the German bond yield.

Performance of key holdings:

In September, the Pareturn Columbus Class I fund fell by -0.50%, compared with a -2.4% decline in the Stoxx 600. The top performer of the month was Redcare Pharmacy NV (+17% for the month). The mail-order pharmaceutical company raised its revenue guidance for this year for the second time in the past six months. The increase was driven by the strength of its prescription business in the German market, which it now expects to grow by 45%–51% for the year. At the same time, the company reiterated its expectation of achieving an EBITDA margin of 5% by 2028.

Zegona, one of the portfolio’s top holdings, also had a strong month (+7.3%). The telecommunications company confirmed its capital return policy to shareholders. It will return 100% of its free cash flow—half as dividends and half through share buybacks—over the next 12 months. This amounts to 400 million euros, equivalent to 9% of the company’s market capitalization. We expect this percentage to increase in the coming years.

Download monthly factsheet [PDF]

Since May 2023, Spanish investors can access the Columbus strategy through the Spanish fund GVC Columbus European Equities FI. The Fund can be purchased through the AllFunds, Inversis and Fundsettle platforms. Columbus has a Master-Feeder structure. The Pareturn GVC Gaesco Columbus European Equity Fund in Luxembourg (master) and the GVC Columbus European Equities FI (feeder). The Luxembourg vehicle offers institutional and retail share classes denominated in euros and sterling.