Tapahtumarikas vuosi!
When we look back on the past year, we can say that it was a predominantly positive one in terms of performance on the stock market and of Fondita’s funds. It was the second year to be heavily influenced by the progress of COVID-19, but despite this, there was optimism and 2021 was a strong year on the stock markets, with many leading indices setting new records. Increasingly comprehensive vaccination coverage was set against new and more infectious virus variants where, although the spread of infection increased towards the end of the year, the number of cases requiring hospitalisation is showing a downward trend. This leads to hope that the pandemic will eventually subside.
As a whole, Fondita’s funds showed strong returns over the past year, with a number of our funds being at the very top of their respective comparison groups. Fondita European Micro Cap was the strongest performer, rising by 44.4% over the year, placing it at the very top of European small cap funds.
Fondita’s newest fund, Fondita Healthcare, continued to perform strongly. During the year, the fund was awarded 5 stars by Morningstar on its third anniversary in June. Its strong performance continued during the autumn and ended the year strongly with a total increase of 29.8%. It was also one of the most popular funds in our portfolio, with the second highest net inflows during the year.
In autumn 2021, Fondita made a valuable addition to the management team when Janna Haahtela joined as portfolio manager. Janna brings with her a wealth of experience in equities and particularly good insight into ESG investment that fits well with Fondita’s philosophy. Janna will particularly strengthen the management of Fondita Healthcare, Fondita Sustainable Europe and Fondita European Micro Cap.
In recent years, we have greatly focused on our work on sustainability, which we believe is increasingly important for successful long-term management. During 2021, we moved up another gear and developed our reporting and analytical work, among other things. At the end of 2021, we joined the international Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, with the aim of making Fondita’s funds carbon neutral by 2050. In 2022, we will set interim emissions reduction targets for 2030 in order to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions for all investment assets by 2050. We are also committed to reporting annually on progress towards this target as part of our PRI reporting and to reporting on progress in our annual Responsible Investment Report with the aim of increasing both our credibility and transparency.
”At Fondita, we feel it is important to be able to give something back to the society that has created a good environment for entrepreneurs like us.”
We have become signatories of the UN Global Compact Corporate Responsibility Initiative. The principles of the Global Compact are based on and are consistent with the following global principles: the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the UN Convention against Corruption. Companies signing up to the Global Compact commit to embrace, uphold and implement these core values on human rights, labour principles, the environment and anti-corruption within their sphere of influence. Companies and organisations that are signatories of the initiative comply with international commitments regarding working conditions, human rights, the environment and the prevention of corruption in all countries, regardless of the country in which they operate.
At Fondita, we feel it is important to be able to give something back to the society that has created a good environment for entrepreneurs like us. During the year, we launched a partnership with Gubbe, a new type of non-medical service for the elderly. The service helps to keep the elderly active, assisting with everyday tasks while increasing peace of mind for the whole family. In addition, it creates meaningful employment for young people.
We are looking forward to a new year and are eager to continue delivering added value for our new and existing clients. Fondita’s funds are available to more and more investors on more and more trading platforms and markets. During the year, we will continue to focus on communication and accessibility. We will be launching our new websites this spring, with a focus on providing more comprehensive and in-depth information about our funds and how we work.
Fondita