Keep in mind that our commentary on the fund, as well as its past performance, is not a guarantee of what will happen in the future. It is also not financial advice – you should consider talking to a professional adviser if you're not sure whether an investment is right for you.
These investments are designed for long-term investors. As with all investments, your capital is at risk – investments can go down as well as up, currency fluctuations can affect returns, and you may not get back the full amount you invest.
How does the fund work?
The Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund aims to generate positive impact and competitive financial returns from a concentrated portfolio of large, listed companies pioneering the transition to a sustainable society. We select companies for their contribution to our sustainable transition themes. In an integrated financial and sustainability analysis we identify the impact of material environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues on a company's ability to create value.
Fourth quarter market overview
The fourth quarter of 2025 was characterised by significant shifts in investor returns – stronger performance from the information technology sector and weaker performance in defensive sectors such as healthcare. Much of this was due to persistent uncertainty about the broader economic outlook.
Early in the quarter, equity markets benefited from the strong momentum in the information technology sector, fuelled by the ongoing AI boom. Defensive sectors such as healthcare and utilities, which tend to be less sensitive to economic cycles, outperformed, while more unpredictable areas like raw materials and real estate lagged behind.
In November, market sentiment was influenced by uncertainty surrounding a potential US interest rate cut and debates over AI company valuations. This prompted investment out of technology and growth stocks into more resilient defensive sectors, resulting in modest negative returns for equities. December saw the US Federal Reserve implement a widely anticipated quarter-point rate cut, citing a cooling labour market and persistent inflation above 2%. While caution towards AI leaders persisted, these stocks ultimately rebounded and contributed to global equity markets ending the year near record highs.
Performance update
The Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund returned 2.94% in the fourth quarter. Despite the challenges in the quarter, the fund achieved a balanced outcome by leveraging its strengths in AI-related holdings and in healthcare.
The fund’s underperformance against its benchmark for the full year can largely be attributed to its limited exposure to US large-cap stocks, as well as weak results in defensive sectors such as health care and utilities which both have significant weights in the portfolio.
Investments which contributed to performance
Vestas: Delivered strong quarterly results, reporting a 7.8% earnings before interest and taxes margin, and announcing a share buyback representing approximately 4% of its market capitalisation. These positive developments supported the stock’s performance during the period.
Advanced Drainage: Outperformed after exceeding expectations on sales, margins, and earnings for the quarter. Despite lower demand challenges, the company continued to perform well and raised its full year guidance, further boosting investor confidence.
Akamai Technologies: Shares rose following positive third-quarter results, with revenues up 5% and margins above expectations.
Investments which detracted from performance
Nvidia: AI-related stocks came under pressure, with concerns about the return on invested capital for AI projects, the financing of these investments, and elevated valuations leading to investor caution. Additional worries emerged around potential competition from Google, which could impact Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPU) market share.
Palo Alto Networks: Despite robust quarterly results with 29% sales growth, shares lagged due to investor concerns about integration risks following the announcement of a $3.4 billion acquisition, in addition to a major acquisition earlier in the year.
RELX: The stock continued to derate amid renewed concerns over generative AI’s impact on intelligence business models and potential cuts to US federal scientific research funding. While these factors weighed on performance, we remain confident in RELX’s competitive advantage, supported by proprietary datasets well-suited for leveraging AI tools.
Return
As of 31/12/2025
1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y avg | 5Y avg | All avg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund KR-cap | -0.21% | 2.94% | 6.41% | 6.41% | 9.03% | 4.36% | 8.49% |
Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund KR-dis | -0.23% | 2.93% | 6.40% | 6.40% | 9.03% | 4.36% | 8.50% |
Benchmark | -0.93% | 3.02% | 12.57% | 12.57% | 16.91% | 12.45% | 12.35% |
Calendar year return
2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund KR-cap | 6.41% | 8.00% | 12.78% | -10.69% | 6.95% | 12.41% |
Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund KR-dis | 6.40% | 7.99% | 12.80% | -10.71% | 6.95% | 12.51% |
Benchmark | 12.57% | 20.98% | 17.34% | -8.41% | 22.86% | 12.61% |
Benchmark: Bloomberg Developed Markets Index in EUR converted to GBP. Returns are shown as percentages and calculated on the basis that any income has been reinvested. Returns incorporate the ongoing charges, but do not take into account the impact of the annual service charge on the performance of your investment.
The above averages or annualised returns take into account the effect of cumulative losses or gains on the performance of an investment. As such these averages are likely to differ from any calculation using the calendar year returns divided by the number of years.
Investing glossary of terms
Asset | Anything of value owned by an investor or company. |
Benchmark | A reference point against which the performance of an investment or fund can be compared. |
Bond | A bond is a fixed-income investment where money is lent to companies or governments for a set period of time, in return for regular interest payments. The Triodos Sterling Bond Impact Fund invests in a portfolio of bonds including corporate bonds, green and social bonds, and UK government bonds (gilts), with a focus on higher-impact issuers. |
Dividends | Payments made by a company to its shareholders or a fund to its investors, as a distribution of profits. |
ESG investing | Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing looks at how companies manage sustainability-related risks and opportunities. Triodos Impact Funds go beyond avoiding harm – instead actively choosing to do good. Read more about the difference between ESG and Impact Investing in our article. |
Exposure | The amount invested in a particular asset, sector, or market. |
Federal reserve | The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States of America. It conducts monetary policy, regulates and supervises banks, provides financial services for banks and the federal government, and maintains financial stability. |
Free cash flow | The cash a company generates after accounting for outgoing cash flows to support operations and maintain assets. |
Fund | A fund is a pool of money collected from multiple investors to be invested in a variety of assets. At Triodos, our Impact Funds are managed by Triodos Investment Management who make decisions on behalf of investors. |
Holdings | The individual securities or assets owned within a portfolio or fund. |
Interest rate | The percentage charged or paid for the use of money over a certain period of time. A country's ‘base rate’ is determined by its central bank, this can affect investment returns positively or negatively. |
Small, mid and large cap | This refers to a company’s “market capitalisation” which is a company’s value based on the total price of its outstanding shares. |
Portfolio | The collection of investments held by a fund. |
Valuation | The process of determining the current worth of an asset or company. |
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