CT European Select: February 2026 fund update

• Fred Jeanmaire has taken over as the fund’s lead manager, supported by new co-manager Paul Doyle and existing deputy manager Charlotte Burrows

• The managers continue to focus on high-quality companies they believe offer sustainable returns and strong growth potential over the long run

• Jeanmaire has made a few changes to the fund since taking over, which we believe are consistent with the team’s process

• The fund features on the Wealth Shortlist of funds chosen by our analysts for their long-term performance potential

How it fits in a portfolio

The CT European Select fund aims to grow your investment over the long term by investing in high-quality European companies. The managers mainly invest in larger, more-established European businesses.

We think it could be a good choice for exposure to Europe within a global investment portfolio or to sit alongside other European funds using different investment styles, such as value or income investing, within a broader portfolio.

Manager

Fred Jeanmaire took over as the fund’s lead manager from Ben Moore in January 2026. Moore is expected to leave Colombia Threadneedle (CT) to join BlackRock’s European equities team in March 2026. You can find out more about the changes and our decision to keep the fund on the Wealth Shortlist here.

Jeanmaire joined CT’s European equities team in 2011 and previously worked at Bank of America Securities as an equity research analyst. He also currently manages the CT Pan European Focus fund and is co-manager of the CT European fund.

Paul Doyle joined the team in 1995 and has been lead manager of CT European since 2014. He’s previously been involved in the management of the European Select and European Smaller Companies funds. Charlotte Burrows joined the European team as an equity analyst in September 2023. She joined CT in 2019, initially as an analyst in the global equities team where she developed a good working relationship with the managers of the Europe Select fund before joining the European team.

Dave Dudding is no longer a deputy manager on this fund, though his role and involvement remain similar. He currently manages a global fund, which also invests in Europe and uses a similar investment process. Dudding continues to regularly attend the European team’s meetings and remains influential within the team.

The team remain supported by the broader European equities team at CT. This group of analysts act as an important source of ideas for the managers and provide challenge and debate when it comes to investment decisions.

Process

The managers look for high-quality companies they believe offer sustainable returns and strong growth potential over the long run. They prefer companies that are in industries with relatively few competitors and boast strong pricing power - the ability to pass on rising costs to consumers without denting demand too much. A competitive advantage that others struggle to replicate is another trait the managers like.

We expect all fund managers to have some difference in views, even when they use the same overriding process. For example, Jeanmaire is open to investing in some companies that don’t quite meet his quality threshold but have a clear path to getting there. If this transformation is successful it could lead to a rising share price. He’ll also invest in slightly fewer companies than when the fund was managed by Moore. We’re comfortable this isn’t a significant deviation from the existing process.

So far, Jeanmaire has only made a few changes to the fund, which we feel demonstrates consistency in investment philosophy and process, while ensuring it aligns with his conviction. He’ll continue to invest in a relatively concentrated number of companies, meaning each investment could have a big impact on performance, which increases risk.

The manager sold an investment in music streaming company Spotify following a disappointing period of performance, and another in Intesa Sanpaolo due to greater conviction elsewhere in the banking sector. He’s also reduced the amount invested in higher-risk small and medium-sized companies as he feels his expertise lies in larger businesses.

On the other hand, an investment in Siemens Energy, a German manufacturer of gas turbines used for power generation, was added. Jeanmaire views it as a beneficiary of the increased power demand stemming from data centres and AI. The company also has an order backlog, as its product is required for Europe to modernise its power grid.

Culture

The range of European funds is an important one for CT. A number of good-quality managers have come through the ranks within the European equities team and broadly speaking their funds have performed well over the years.

There have been several changes within the team in recent years though, which is something we're mindful of. Overall, we’re pleased to see that the relationship between existing team members appears strong and collaborative, but team changes are something we’ll continue to monitor.

ESG Integration

CT believes well-managed companies that look to the future are better positioned to navigate the risks and challenges inherent in business. In recent years the firm’s developed several ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) tools and our meetings with CT fund managers suggest these are relatively well-used, and managers are generally aligned with the view that an understanding of ESG factors is essential if you want to get a full view of a company’s risk/reward profile.

Engagement with companies generally focuses on the current and emerging ESG issues that the team thinks will have the greatest impact on long-term investment returns. The team also undertakes event-driven engagement in response to unscheduled or controversial events. All engagement is tracked in a company-wide database and accessible to all research analysts and portfolio managers.

ESG issues form a part of this fund team’s research, and they engage with companies on multiple factors. They believe this is especially important when assessing the sustainability of a company’s competitive advantage and the scope to produce long-term returns. Culture and governance analysis has played an ever more important role in their process. They believe these factors can have a significant impact on the long-term sustainability of a business, and governance should be at a high standard for a company to make it into the fund.

Cost

This fund is available at an annual ongoing fund charge of 0.64%, after a 0.15% discount available through the HL platform. The charge before the discount is 0.79%. This makes it one of the lowest-cost actively managed funds in the European sector available through HL.

The fund discount is achieved through a loyalty bonus, which could be subject to tax if held outside of an ISA or SIPP. The HL platform fee currently of up to 0.45% per year also applies, apart from in the Junior ISA where there is no platform fee. From March 2026, the amount clients pay to invest with us will change. Find out more about these changes.

Performance

In recent years, quality growth investing has lagged value investing, and this trend intensified in 2025. More cyclical, or economically sensitive, sectors like banks and aerospace & defence, have been among the standout performers. While sectors with more ‘defensive’ characteristics have lagged. You can read more on this phenomenon in our recent article.

This has impacted all funds using a quality growth approach, including CT European Select. Over the past year, the fund’s grown 4.31% compared with 15.87% for the average fund in the IA Europe ex UK sector, as funds with a value-focused approach took the lead. As always, past performance isn’t a guide to future returns.

The fund had some individual stock selection issues too. Some of the weakest performers were chemicals distributor IMCD, software company SAP and advertising company Publicis. On the other hand, engineering company Sandvik and semiconductor business ASML performed well.

It’s important to note that this performance isn’t fully attributable to Jeanmaire as he took over the fund in January 2026. But he does manage funds using a similar investment approach that have performed in a similar way.

In terms of his own longer-term track record, Jeanmaire is an experienced investor in his own right and has managed funds that invest in European companies since 2014. During his time managing CT Pan European Focus, it’s grown 246.64%* compared with 150.42% for the MSCI Europe Index and 156.38% for the average fund in the IA Europe including UK sector. It’s a strong track record and performance has been supported by good stock selection (the ability to invest in companies that go on to perform well rather than taking a view on individual sectors or countries) over the long term, which we view positively.

Jeanmaire and the team continue to focus on the fund’s long-standing investment philosophy and process, which is something we like to see. They’ll continue to focus on high-quality companies which offer sustainable returns and strong growth potential over the long run. This has the potential to help the fund hold up better than some peers during difficult markets.