View the latest insights from the Global Equities team.
View NowPast performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. Reference to specific securities is not intended as a recommendation to purchase or sell any investment.
Key highlights
- Global equities started 2026 on a firm footing as leadership broadened beyond US mega caps. International and emerging markets outperformed, helped by a weaker dollar, while value and cyclicals gained traction.
- Materials saw unusually elevated volatility in January, driven largely by sharp movements in precious metals. Gold and silver rallied strongly early in the month, extending their powerful 2025 performance as investors sought hedges against geopolitical risks and currency volatility.
Performance
The Liontrust GF Global Alpha Long Short Fund returned 1.1% in US dollar terms in January, compared with the 0.3% return of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate reference benchmark and the 2.3% return of the HFRX Equity Hedge (USD) Index, also a reference benchmark.
| 1m | 3m | 6m | YTD | 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | Since inception | |
| Liontrust GF Global Alpha Long Short B8 Acc USD | 1.1% | -0.0% | 2.4% | 1.1% | 13.0% | 41.1% | 30.2% | 145.8% |
| FRB of New York Secured Overnight Financial Rate | 0.3% | 0.9% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 4.2% | 15.0% | 17.4% | - |
| HFRX Equity Hedge | 2.3% | 3.3% | 7.0% | 2.3% | 10.2% | 27.7% | 42.3% | 59.6% |
Source: FE Analytics, as at 31.01.26, total return, net of fees and income reinvested.
Commentary
Market backdrop
Global equities started 2026 on a firm footing as leadership broadened beyond US mega‑caps. International and emerging markets outperformed, helped by a weaker dollar, while value and cyclicals gained traction. The MSCI World advanced, with MSCI World ex‑US and EM stronger still.
In the US, the S&P 500 briefly topped 7,000 intramonth and finished January modestly higher. Breadth improved: small caps and value outperformed large‑cap growth, and energy led global sectors as WTI crude snapped a five‑month losing streak with a 13–14% rebound.
Central banks stayed data‑dependent. The Federal Reserve held rates at 3.50–3.75% in late January, while late‑month policy headlines (Fed leadership nomination) and geopolitics introduced short‑term volatility; nonetheless, the weaker dollar underpinned non‑US returns.
Materials saw unusually elevated volatility in January, driven largely by sharp movements in precious metals. Gold and silver rallied strongly early in the month, extending their powerful 2025 performance as investors sought hedges against geopolitical risks and currency volatility. However, in the final days of January, the precious‑metals complex experienced a severe sell‑off, with gold falling ~4% and silver dropping ~10% in a single session as traders locked in gains following record levels achieved earlier that week. This reversal coincided with a rebound in the US dollar – after touching a four‑year low earlier in the month – and shifting interest‑rate expectations.
Portfolio review
Our Storage and Memory theme was the largest contributor in the month. Long positions in Seagate (+48% in US dollar terms), Micron (+21%) and SK Hynix (+40% performed exceptionally well as the market sharply repriced the scale and persistence of the supply–demand imbalance in HBM, DDR5 and storage. It became increasingly clear that the ongoing AI‑server build‑out is creating a multi‑year shortage, supporting sustainably strong pricing into 2027 and reinforcing our conviction in memory‑driven AI infrastructure.
The Precious Metals / Risk‑Diversifiers theme also contributed meaningfully. January saw a sharp rally in gold and silver, and mining equities responded in kind. Despite this move, a significant disconnect remains between forward metals prices and consensus forward earnings for miners, strengthening our view that the sector remains undervalued and continues to provide effective diversification within the portfolio.
Our Electrification theme added further upside, with Siemens Energy (+22%) and RWE (+16%) posting strong gains. Both names benefited from continued momentum in European grid investment, renewable integration, and improving visibility across conventional and transmission businesses.
In contrast, the AI Infrastructure basket detracted in aggregate. Strong long contributions from ASML (+34%) and our short in Oracle were outweighed by sharp rallies in CoreWeave and Ultra Clean Holdings, both of which experienced short‑squeeze dynamics as AI‑adjacent enthusiasm broadened through the month. Importantly, ASML’s results – highlighting forward orders running at nearly twice market expectations – strengthened our conviction that global AI‑infrastructure spend is accelerating.
The Crypto theme also detracted, as Bitcoin fell below $80k, reversing all gains since the U.S. election in November 2024. This weighed on related equity exposures.
Finally, Shopify (-18%), Microsoft (-11%) and Atlassian (-27%) were notable laggards leading to the AI software theme dragging as premium‑multiple software broadly underperformed in a softer trading environment and ongoing rotation toward cyclicals and value.
Portfolio changes
Portfolio changes in January strengthened the Fund’s positioning in AI infrastructure, defence, and emerging markets while de‑risking premium software, unstable AI‑adjacent names, and weaker consumer businesses, and expanding metals/mining as portfolio diversifiers.
Specifically in AI infrastructure we increased exposure to true AI bottlenecks such as memory, storage, and semi cap enablers – BE Semi, NetApp and Infineon - whilst reducing exposure to high beta AI proxies by exiting Marvell, Amphenol, Broadcom and Roku.
In the AI software theme we selectively de-risked as we continue to reduce valuation sensitive software names following the renewed factor rotation away from premium growth. Snowflake and Akamai longs were reduced while high conviction shorts were increased.
And our emerging markets exposure was increased mainly through additions to China through Tencent and Auto1.
Outlook
We entered 2026 with a constructive but balanced view. The global equity market backdrop improved further in January, reinforcing several themes that emerged into year‑end. Market leadership broadened meaningfully, with international and emerging markets outperforming US equities as the dollar weakened and cyclical sectors gained momentum. At the same time, the S&P 500 held near record levels, briefly surpassing the 7,000 mark before finishing the month modestly higher. These dynamics strengthen our conviction that 2026 will be characterised by a wider opportunity set beyond the US mega‑cap complex that dominated the prior two years.
January’s data remained broadly consistent with a soft‑landing scenario, with inflation continuing to moderate and labour conditions cooling gradually. The Federal Reserve held rates at 3.50-3.75%, signalling a pause after 2025’s cuts. Late‑month volatility – sparked by the nomination of a new Fed Chair – did little to derail underlying fundamental resilience.
Macro conditions continue to point toward a soft landing, with inflation easing and labour markets gradually cooling. The Fed held rates steady at 3.50-3.75%, and although the late‑month Fed Chair nomination added volatility, fundamentals remained intact.
Our highest‑conviction themes remain unchanged:
- AI infrastructure investment is accelerating, not slowing—supported by persistent memory tightness and ASML’s order book running well ahead of expectations.
- European cyclicals continue to benefit from improving visibility and supportive policy environments.
- Emerging markets remain well‑positioned, aided by USD weakness and resilient local demand.
- Commodities, especially precious metals, may see volatility but remain structurally supported by geopolitical risk.
Risks persist—policy divergence, geopolitics, and valuation sensitivity within premium software—but the combination of broader equity leadership, firming global growth, and accelerating AI‑capex continues to create a favourable environment for active, globally diversified stock selection.
Discrete years' performance (%* to previous quarter-end:
| Dec-25 | Dec-24 | Dec-23 | Dec-22 | Dec-21 |
Liontrust GF Global Alpha Long Short B8 Acc USD | 14.8% | 7.0% | 11.6% | -18.7% | 11.3% |
FRB of New York Secured Overnight Financial Rate | 4.2% | 5.2% | 5.0% | 1.6% | 0.0% |
HFRX Equity Hedge | 10.1% | 7.8% | 6.9% | -3.2% | 12.1% |
Source: FE Analytics, as at 31.12.25, total return, net of fees and income reinvested. *The Fund was launched on 24 January 2025 to receive the assets of GAM Star Alpha Technology, which was a sub-fund of GAM Star plc (“the merging fund”), which was very similar to the Fund. Because of the similarities between the merging fund and the Fund, the past performance of GAM Star Alpha Technology C Acc - EUR share class has been used for periods prior to the Fund’s launch date.
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Key Risks
Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. We recommend this fund is held long term (minimum period of 5 years). We recommend that you hold this fund as part of a diversified portfolio of investments
The issue of units/shares in Liontrust Funds may be subject to an initial charge, which will have an impact on the realisable value of the investment, particularly in the short term. Investments should always be considered as long term.
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It should not be construed as advice for investment in any product or security mentioned, an offer to buy or sell units/shares of Funds mentioned, or a solicitation to purchase securities in any company or investment product. Examples of stocks are provided for general information only to demonstrate our investment philosophy. The investment being promoted is for units in a fund, not directly in the underlying assets.
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