Systematic Equities Monthly Comments - March 2026

RAM Emerging Markets Equities

The RAM (Lux) Systematic Funds - Emerging Markets fund (hereinafter ‘the Fund’) (Class-IP USD net of fee*) declined 10.11% in March, outperforming the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which fell 13.06%. Surging oil prices, driven by the conflict in the Middle East and severe disruptions to Gulf energy flows, reignited inflation fears and triggered a broad, correlated selloff across risk assets. The defensive and value/convergence strategies were the strongest contributors, as the market environment rewarded quality and defensive positioning. The GARP Momentum strategy lagged but is still the best contributor YTD.

At the sector level, IT was the main positive contributor, driven by both strong selection and an underweight to AI hardware mega caps — notably Samsung and SK Hynix — which underperformed sharply during the month.

Underweights in South Korea and India contributed positively, while strong stock selection in Taiwan, Greece, and Indonesia added further value. Selection was modestly negative in China and Brazil.

Across market cap segments, the fund delivered strong stock selection throughout. In its latest rebalancing, the strategy reduced exposure to Industrials and Utilities, while increasing allocations to Consumer Discretionary and Energy.

Geographically, India, Thailand, and Taiwan were increased, while Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil were trimmed. 

*Note: IP USD share class currently registered in LU, AT, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, UK, IT, NL, NO, SE, SG (foreign restricted recognised scheme). Please click on the above link to access the fund factsheet and obtain a global overview of performance since inception. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

**The portfolio is actively managed with reference to a benchmark. While the product compares its performance against the Index, it does not try to replicate this benchmark and freely selects the securities that it invests in. The deviation with this benchmark can be significant.

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RAM European Market Neutral Equity

The RAM (Lux) Systematic Funds – European Market Neutral Equity fund (Class-I EUR net of fee*) returned -0.42% net in March, while European markets were down almost 8%, bringing year-to-date performance to +1.45%.

The escalation of the Middle East conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a sharp repricing across risk assets. Brent oil surged over 60% in March alone, the largest monthly move in four decades, reigniting inflation concerns and pushing the ECB toward a hawkish pivot.

Energy is now up over 40% year-to-date, making it the best-performing sector in Europe, while Consumer Discretionary is down 16%. As in 2022, cross-sector dispersion has increased significantly, which we expect to be a favourable backdrop for stock selection strategies.

Small caps have lagged in the correction, while low-risk, high-dividend large caps have benefitted the most from the flight to safety.

The short book performed approximately in line with the market. The EU statistical arbitrage strategy was slightly down.

The long book behaved well, with alpha generation more than compensating for small-cap underperformance, mainly thanks to selection effects within Industrials (e.g. renewable energy), and allocation effects, in particular an overweight in energy.

*Note: I EUR share class currently registered in LU, AT, CH, DE, ES, FR, UK, IT, NL, SE, SG (foreign restricted recognised scheme). Please click on the above link to access the fund factsheet and obtain a global overview of performance since inception. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

**The portfolio is actively managed with reference to a benchmark. While the product compares its performance against the Index, it does not try to replicate this benchmark and freely selects the securities that it invests in. The deviation with this benchmark can be significant.

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RAM European Equities

European Equities declined in March, in line with Global Equities following the war in Iran. In this context, our RAM (Lux) Systematic Funds – European Equities fund (Class I EUR net of fee*) held well in relative terms, ending the month down 6.04%, against 7.68% for its benchmark, the MSCI Europe Index. All the books ended March at least in line with the benchmark, our defensive book performing the best.

The fund's selection in Germany, France and the Netherlands strongly overperformed, while the selection in the UK and Norway lagged. However, our strong overweight in the latter offset the negative selection contribution, yielding a positive total relative contribution for the country.

The selection in Industrials, Financials and Consumer Discretionary positively contributed, while the selection in Energy and Materials lagged. The fund's overweight in Energy stocks only partially offset the relative impact of the selection.

In terms of market cap segments, our selection overperformed in all of them, especially in the mid-cap. segment. However, our strong overweight in the small and mid-cap segments partially offset their respective positive relative impact over the month.

*Note: IP EUR share class currently registered in LU, AT, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, IT, NL, UK, NO, SE, SG (foreign restricted recognised scheme). Please click on the above link to access the fund factsheet and obtain a global overview of performance since inception. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

**The portfolio is actively managed using a benchmark. Although the product compares its performance against the Index, it does not seek to replicate this benchmark and is free to choose the securities in which it invests. The difference with this benchmark may be significant.

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RAM Global Equity Low Carbon

The RAM (Lux) Systematic Funds – Global Equity Low Carbon Fund (hereinafter the ‘Fund’) (Class-PI USD net of fee*) declined 5.55% in March. By contrast, global equity markets, as measured by the MSCI World Index, fell 6.37%. Surging oil prices, driven by the conflict in the Middle East and severe disruptions to Gulf energy flows, reignited inflation fears and triggered a broad, correlated selloff across risk assets.

Dividend Yield, Value, and Low Volatility factors outperformed, while Momentum, Revisions, and Growth lagged. The fund's results were weighed down by Consumer Staples — particularly household products — and to a lesser extent Healthcare. On the positive side, Utilities finished the month higher, supported by the fund's EU Taxonomy-aligned exposure, while the Materials allocation outperformed the broader market.

Geographically, the Asian book was the primary detractor, followed by Europe, notably Germany and Switzerland. The North American book held up better on a relative basis.

The fund's mid-cap allocation was a notable highlight, ending the month flat in absolute terms — a strong outperformance in the context of a deeply negative market — while small caps underperformed. In its latest rebalancing, the strategy reduced exposure to Financials and Communication Services, reallocating toward Industrials and Healthcare.

*Note: PI USD share class currently registered in LU, AT, BE, FI, UK, NO, SE, SG (foreign restricted recognised scheme). Please click on the above link to access the fund factsheet and obtain a global overview of performance since inception. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

**The portfolio is actively managed using a benchmark. Although the product compares its against the Index, it does not seek to replicate this benchmark and is free to choose the securities in which it invests. The difference with this benchmark may be significant.

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RAM Global Equity Income

The RAM (Lux) Systematic Funds - Global Equity Income Fund (hereinafter the ‘Fund’) (Class-IP USD net of fee*) declined 5.10% in March, outperforming both its benchmark, the MSCI World High Dividend Yield Index, which fell 5.98%, and the broader MSCI World Index, which declined 6.37%. Surging oil prices, driven by the conflict in the Middle East and severe disruptions to Gulf energy flows, reignited inflation fears and triggered a broad, correlated selloff across risk assets.

Dividend Yield, Value, and Low Volatility factors outperformed, while Momentum, Revisions, and Growth lagged. Share Buyback also performed relatively well, albeit to a lesser extent than Dividend Yield. Fund's underweight in Energy, which benefitted from surging oil prices, represented the main drag on relative performance. The strategy delivered strong stock selection in Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, and Utilities.

Europe was the primary driver of outperformance, with good selection in the UK and Spain, while underweights in Switzerland and Germany also proved beneficial. Strong stock selection in the US further supported relative returns.

At the market cap level, solid selection in mid and small caps compensated for the relative underperformance of those segments. In its latest rebalancing, the strategy increased exposure to Financials, Consumer Staples, and Energy, while reducing allocations to Communication Services and IT. 

*Note: IP USD share class currently registered in LU, AT, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, IT, NL, NO, SE, SG (foreign restricted recognised scheme). Please click on the above link to access the fund factsheet and obtain a global overview of performance since inception. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

**The portfolio is actively managed using a benchmark. Although the product compares its against the Index, it does not seek to replicate this benchmark and is free to choose the securities in which it invests. The difference with this benchmark may be significant.

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RAM Global Market Neutral Equity

The RAM (Lux) Systematic Funds - Global Market Neutral Equity Fund (Class-PI USD net of fee*) was down -1.99% in March, while the MSCI World fell 6.32%.

The escalation of the Middle East conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove a broad risk-off move, with oil surging over 60%. Value stocks outperformed growth stocks by a wide margin in Q1 (+1.3% vs. -8.4%), as investors rotated away from mega-cap tech names amid scrutiny over AI-related capex returns.

In that environment, defensive, income and value inputs contributed positively, while momentum and growth inputs detracted.

The long side of the book was the main performance detractor, as the Fund is net long IT, and Korean technology companies corrected sharply.

That was partially offset by the net short in industrials, where selection effects were also strong, as equipment rental services and selected capital goods companies corrected sharply in March.

The statistical arbitrage strategy contributed positively thanks to the resilience of its long financial picks.

The Fund remains long IT and Healthcare and is now also long Communication Services and Financials. It is short Industrials and Materials.

*Note: PI USD share class currently registered in LU, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, UK, IT, NO, SE, SG (foreign restricted recognised scheme). Please click on the above link to access the fund factsheet and obtain a global overview of performance since inception. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.