OP-Europe Small Cap

Europe has thousands of small listed companies, among which are numerous future market leaders and major corporations. SMEs have higher growth potential than large ones, and academic studies have found them often to produce higher equity returns. People pay less attention to small listed companies than large ones, so professional investors miss many rising starts until they have grown large. At that point, they may already have spent their best return potential.

The fund provides an opportunity to become involved in the development of SMEs in the whole of Europe. The high long-term return potential in this corporate segment provides long-horizon investors with an interesting enhancement to their investment portfolio. For example, technological leadership, innovativeness or fast growth of the industry provides an opportunity for a considerable value appreciation even within a short period of time. High return potential also involves higher price volatility. The price performance of the equities of SMEs may differ significantly from the general equity market price performance.

Read the portfolio manager's review on the fund's Finnish pages.

OP-Europe Small Cap  (Fund) is an equity Fund which invests its assets mainly in the equities of small and mid-cap companies in the European equity market. The equity-linked instruments’ share of the Fund’s value may vary between 75% and 105%. The Fund basically has 100‒150 equities but the number may vary depending on the market situation and the view of portfolio managers.

The Fund mainly invests directly in equities.

The Fund may invest in standardised and non-standardised derivative contracts in order to hedge against the risk of adverse market movements, to replace direct investments and to otherwise promote effective portfolio management. The Fund's
portfolio management makes investment decisions on the basis of the prevailing market view at the time. The Fund’s investment decisions specifically highlight the portfolio manager’s view of individual companies.

The Fund's benchmark index is MSCI Europe SMID Cap. With active investing, the Fund seeks to outperform its benchmark index in the long term. The Fund mainly takes notable active risk and it may differ significantly from the composition, weights and risk level of the benchmark index.

The Fund promotes environmental and social characteristics and, to ensure it, uses environmental, social and governance (ESG) analysis and excludes certain investments. 

Exclusion: The Fund excludes from its active direct investments controversial weapon manufacturers, mining companies producing thermal coal, power companies using thermal coal, tobacco companies, and companies that have breached international standards and where engagement has been unsuccessful.  The list of exclusions is public. In addition to general exclusion rules, the Fund does not invest in companies whose principal business is in unconventional oil and gas extraction.

Use of ESG data in the investment analysis: ESG factors are considered in the investment process with the help of data by an external ESG service provider and the ESG tool developed internally by OP Asset Management. Considering ESG factors in the investment process means, for example, that the risks and opportunities related to the environment, society and governance are made transparent using selected indicators from each area.  

Violations of international standards: The Fund is screened regularly for non-compliances with international standards. In the event that a non-compliance is detected, an influencing process is begun with the company in question. The aim is to make non-compliant companies change their practices and begin to comply with international standards in their operations. If influencing proves fruitless, the company may be removed from the Fund portfolio and placed on the exclusion list.

Minimum share of sustainable investments: In accordance with the minimum amount stated below, the Fund allocates investments into companies whose business promotes one or more UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) without harming other sustainability factors or objectives. Sustainable investments are determined using OP Asset Management’s analysis model which is based on an external service provider’s SDG and sustainability data. 

Shareholders’ meetings: The Fund votes in shareholders’ meetings through a service provider in line with OP Fund Management Company Ltd’s shareholder engagement principles that take responsibility aspects into account.

Assessing good governance practices: Analysing the target company’s governance is an important part of the investment process. To us, good governance is a key foundation for any company’s financial success, regardless of sector. When assessing governance, some of the areas considered include the appropriateness of the target company’s administrative organisation, the target company’s actions in relation to its personnel, and the target company’s rewarding and taxation practices. In assessing good governance, we use an external service provider’s analysis and our own qualitative analysis if no external data is available. We screen the funds regularly to check them against the criteria of good governance. Minimum limits apply for these criteria.

• Sustainability-related disclosures >

As our owner-customer, saving and investing is especially worthwhile thanks to the excellent benefits you receive.

Your benefits when investing in funds or through insurance:

• Buy and sell almost all OP mutual funds with no fees.*
• You earn 0.35% OP bonuses from mutual fund and insurance assets.** 
• Begin saving through insurance free of charge. 
• Switch between investments, invest additional funds and change your payment and investment plan for OP Unit-linked Insurance and OP Capital Redemption Contract free of charge in our digital services.  

Your benefits in equity and ETF investing:

• Open an equity savings account or book-entry account free of charge.
• You get a discount on equity trading and a 1% fee ceiling when trading in Finnish listed companies through a book-entry account The discounts apply in digital services.
• Get access to free stock picks and analysis.
• Get a discount on the service packages for savers and investors:
  Equity savings account: 
  Saver: €0/month (normally €2.99/month)
  Investor: €9.99/month (normally €14.99/month)
  Book-entry account: 
  Saver: €0/month (normally €2.99/month)
  Investor: €0/month (normally €5.39/month)

Other benefits:

• Only owner-customers can invest in Profit Shares.

Remember to make use of all benefits:

Income unit generating annual cash flow, suitable for foundations

The fund’s unit class III A with a minimum subscription of 1 000,000 euros