Standard Life European Private Equity Trust

Countercyclical opportunity in prospect

7 November 2016

Standard Life European Private Equity Trust (SEP) aims to achieve capital growth through investing in a focused portfolio of European (including UK) private equity funds that also give some underlying US exposure. SEP’s NAV total return has outperformed the LPX Europe index, representing a European private equity (PE) peer group, and the FTSE All-Share index over one, three, five and 10 years, with recent returns enhanced by sterling weakness following the UK’s vote to leave the EU. The manager sees anticipated slower UK economic growth as an opportunity for private equity fund managers to generate higher returns, and believes SEP is well positioned to provide investors with access to the countercyclical strategy of actively investing during a recessionary period and exiting as economies recover. MORE »