Sauren Ruhestandsfonds

Investment rationale

The fund is a discretionary multi-asset fund-of-funds with a moderate return/risk profile and is positioned for investors shortly before retirement or already in retirement. It aims to generate an appropriate return in euro while preserving invested capital as far as possible, but without any capital guarantee. It has a risk indicator of 2 out of 7 and a recommended holding period of at least five years. Given its broad allocation across bond funds, equity funds, event driven, convertible arbitrage, global macro and absolute-return strategies, it can serve as a diversified core portfolio building block for medium- to long-term investors who can bear losses up to the amount invested.

2026-06-30

How the strategy works

Sauren Ruhestandsfonds is an actively managed, benchmark-independent fund-of-funds that invests predominantly in other funds, including absolute-return funds, bond funds, equity funds and multi-strategy funds. Its objective is to achieve an appropriate value development in the share-class currency while preserving capital as far as possible; under the tax-related investment restrictions, at least 25% of net assets are continuously invested in equity participations. The underlying funds focus mainly on equities, mixed equity-and-bond strategies, bonds, convertible bonds and capital-preservation-oriented approaches such as absolute return, while direct investments outside target funds are permitted only to a subordinate extent. As of 31 July 2026, the portfolio included flexible bond funds, corporate bond funds, Europe, US, Japan and emerging-market equity funds, gold mining/resource equities, event driven, equity long/short, equity absolute return, bond absolute return, convertible arbitrage, global macro, a gold certificate and cash. The A share class is accumulating, the fund may use derivatives indirectly through target funds and at fund level, and the recommended investment horizon is at least five years.

2026-06-30

Investment philosophy

• The fund invests mainly through target funds and follows Sauren’s person-based investment philosophy, focusing on the capabilities of individual fund managers rather than investing directly in themes or markets.

• Target fund selection gives particular weight to a detailed assessment of each manager, on the view that the manager has decisive influence on a target fund’s performance; Sauren also considers fund size so that the manager can implement the investment philosophy without negative impact from excessive assets.

• The investment universe includes target funds focused on equities, mixed funds, bonds, convertible bonds and capital-preservation or absolute-return approaches, with the fund actively managed and not run against an index reference.

• Current positioning at 31 July 2026 was diversified across event driven funds, equity absolute-return funds, flexible and corporate bond funds, Europe and US equities, convertible arbitrage, global macro, Japan and emerging markets, with cash and a gold certificate also present; the largest exposures were Event Driven Funds, Flossbach von Storch - Bond High Conviction, Man Global Credit Value, Helium Invest and FS Colibri Event Driven Bond.

• Portfolio construction is subject to limits including a continuous minimum of 25% of net assets in equity participations for tax purposes, while the indicative net equity exposure stood at 29.1% as of 30 June 2026, including indirect equity exposure via derivatives and underlying funds.

2026-06-30

Management team

The fund manager is Eckhard Sauren.

2026-06-30

Distinctive features

A distinguishing feature is its explicit focus on selecting fund managers rather than allocating directly to securities, with Sauren’s process centred on qualitative manager analysis and fund-capacity considerations. The portfolio combines traditional asset classes with alternative strategies such as event driven, convertible arbitrage, global macro, equity long/short and absolute-return funds, which is unusual for a retirement-oriented multi-asset offering. The fund is benchmark-independent and built as a diversified umbrella of specialist underlying managers across regions including Europe, the US, Japan and emerging markets. The A share class has no performance fee. At 31 July 2026, the portfolio also held cash and a gold certificate alongside the underlying funds.

2026-06-30

Risks

The fund has an SRI risk class of 2 on a 1 to 7 scale, offers no protection against future market developments and investors could lose part or all of their capital. Risks include general market risks such as price, currency and liquidity risks, plus risks arising from the selected underlying funds and their exposure to equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives. The fund may experience elevated share-price fluctuations because of its composition and possible use of derivatives, and it is also exposed to risks from absolute-return strategies. Additional risks include tax risk and operational risks; structurally, the fund’s diversified but multi-layered exposure through underlying funds, indirect derivatives exposure and allocations to alternatives such as long/short, global macro, convertible arbitrage and event driven strategies are explicit sources of these risks.

2026-06-30

Asset manager

The management company is IPConcept (Luxemburg) S.A. Sauren Finanzdienstleistungen GmbH & Co. KG manages the fund, with Eckhard Sauren named as fund manager. The investment process focuses on selecting fund managers through qualitative assessment and considers whether each underlying fund’s size allows its manager to implement the strategy effectively.

2026-06-30

Performance commentary

In July 2026, the manager highlighted renewed Iran conflict concerns, a sharp rise in oil as a crisis indicator, and a pronounced rotation in equity markets that reversed some previously strong themes and stocks, while bond markets declined across all major segments. The manager attributed fund performance to weakness in several bond holdings, sharp declines in US small-cap and US-focused equity holdings such as Heptagon Driehaus US Micro Cap Equity Fund and VT De Lisle America Fund, offset in part by gains from selected European equity managers, the Japan fund, and moderate positive contributions from bond absolute return, most convertible arbitrage, event driven and global macro holdings.

2026-06-30