As another quarter swings by, A&F Investments has stirred up some interesting new topics. To get a better view of the third quarter we can take a look at how some indexes have performed around the world and how certain exchange rates have developed. The S&P 500 has made a return of 3.62%, the AEX index has risen by 5.40% and the Eurostoxx 50 has increased by 2.95%. And if we look at the EUR/USD exchange rate we can see that it has grown with 3.45% the last quarter and a 12.95% growth from year-to-date! When looking at the returns of A&F Investments, we can conclude that although we have made a positive return, we have been affected by a somewhat larger cash position this quarter. On the long-term we have also been affected by the poor performance of the USD for our investments in the United States.
Nonetheless, we can always learn from this and we certainly have! This last quarter, A&F Investments took a more conservative approach towards the market. We bought stocks of a company that specializes in making additives (glue) for almost everything, which at the same time, also offers a great variety of consumer products. We also wanted to add a company to our portfolio that had strong financials and that could also withstand market shocks, Henkel AG proved to be the favorite. Furthermore, we have also profited from buying more stocks of SIF Holding. These shares have tanked due to an overreaction on the market. The overreaction was gradually corrected over a couple of weeks, and we can easily see some great results from our decision to buy more stocks. Not only have we invested conservatively, we have also focused on sustainable growth of companies. For instance, E-commerce, which has been taking over the world of retail markets over the last couple of years. When analyzing this market, we spotted a great opportunity to buy some shares of Mastercard; a payment processing company that also offers financial services. Besides buying some stocks, we have also closed some positions with great profits.
A&F Investments has got two new partners as of the third quarter. We are proud to announce that we will be working with Accuracy and First Dutch. Furthermore, we are also proud that we have extended our partnerships with IBS Capital Allies and Rembrandt Fusies & Overnames. We look forward to a great year working with our partners! We are also looking forward to a great start of the fourth quarter with some new members joining us. By updating our strategy, we aim to focus on new and sustainable growth of our portfolio.
