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<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n General Market Review<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Global markets continued to recover in May and experienced less volatility than in the previous month. Since no negative news about tariffs emerged, sentiment was further supported. At the end of the month a ruling by the US Court of International Trade invalidated the so-called \u201cLiberation Day\u201d tariffs. The panel ruled that the constitution gave the congress \u2013 not the president \u2013 the power to levy taxes and tariffs, and that the president exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That said, risk assets appeared to be neglecting the risk of a US recession in the short term, with momentum instead being driven by positive political developments. This might reverse at some point in time and markets then could shift their attention back from economic policy to risks to the growth outlook. The S&P500 ended the month up by +6.3%.<\/p>\n Central banks kept their cautious approach. The Federal Reserve held its policy rate unchanged at 4.25% (lower bound) to 4.5% (upper bound) and emphasized a patient approach to monetary policy amid ongoing uncertainties stemming from President Trump\u2019s trade tariffs. The Beige Book should offer insights into firms passing tariff-related costs to consumers. Market participants have\u00a0 priced in two rate cuts (50 Bp) this year, starting in September.<\/p>\n In the US, the labour market was weaker as non-farm payrolls increased only by +171k in April from +228k in March. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2% in April. In the Eurozone, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.2% as well.<\/p>\n In the US, consumer price inflation for the month of April was below consensus and lower than in the prior month. Headline inflation has only increased by +2.3% (y-o-y) whereas core inflation (excluding energy and food) came in at +2.8% (y-o-y).<\/p>\n In the Eurozone, consumer price inflation figures for the month of April came in unchanged versus the prior month. Headline inflation has increased by +2.2% whereas core-inflation was higher and increased by +2.7% respectively.<\/p>\n US 10-year treasury yields increased by 24 Bp from 4.16% to 4.4%. On the other hand, German 10-year bund yields have increased only by +5 Bp from 2.45% to 2.5%.<\/p>\n The MSCI World Index increased by +5.9% (USD den.) and the MSCI Europe Index increased by +4.7% (EUR den.).<\/p>\n Energy and Transportation<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Oil prices slumped in the beginning of the month over renewed concerns of a global supply glut following a decision by the Opec+ consortium to announce a second consecutive monthly output increase. The price of Brent fell below $ 60 per barrel and WTI (West Texas Intermediate), the US benchmark fell near $ 56 per barrel. The Opec+ consortium, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, has agreed to increase supply by +411k barrels a day in June. In this environment US oil companies are cutting spending and idling drilling rigs, as tariffs increase production costs and falling crude prices are putting profitability margins under pressure. With that a decade long shale boom may be ending. US oil output is now expected to fall by -1.1 % in the next year, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights as on average shale producers need an oil price of $ 65 per barrel to break-even. According to Baker Hughes the US onshore oil rig count was at 548 at month end. This is a 5% year on-year decline. Oil prices were able to recover gradually towards the end of the month as there were signs of easing tensions between the US and China. With that the price of Brent oil closed the month at $ 63.9 per barrel and thereby nearly unchanged. In this environment the Stoxx 600 Oil and Gas Index i(Euro denom.) increased by +6.7%. In a risk-on-environment, the S&P Global Clean Energy Transition Index was up by +7.8% in the month and thereby up by +11.5% YTD. All transportation segments were in positive territory. The DJ Transportation Average Index (USD) increased by +8.0%, the Russell 2000 Marine Transportation Segment (USD) gained by +5,6%. The US Global Jets Index (USD) was up by +14,5%. Lower jet-fuel prices could boost airline margins and provide flexibility to reduce fares, helping fill airlines and supporting profit in 2025.\u00a0 Jet fuel prices are significantly lower than they were at the start of 2025 and have been at approximately\u00a0 $ 2\u00a0 gallon since April. Within the shipping sector all sub-segments were up as a 90-day tariff truce between China and the US was able to improve the market sentiment. In particular, the container liner segment had the strongest gains as the SCFI (Shanghai Containerized Freight Index) gained by a staggering +54% in the month. Front loading activities ahead of the truce deadline between the US And China have pushed up container freight rates.\u00a0 On the other hand, the crude tanker stocks had another strong month despite falling freight rates as increased OPEC oil production in the months to come is expected to give the crude tanker segment a tail-wind. Both VLCC and Suezmax spot rates have decreased to $ 35k\/day at month end.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Fund Performance<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n The fund performance of both the USD share class and\u00a0 the EUR share classes were positive at the end of the month. After a sharp decline of the exploration and production as well as the oil services segment during the first four months of the year, the fund was able to benefit from a strong recovery in these segments during the month of May. The long book in the oil and gas sector was able to contribute +1.5% whereas oil and energy services segment was able to contribute +1.2%. On the other hand, short positions within the oil and gas sector had a negative contribution of -0.6%.\u00a0 The strongest performer in the energy services segment was Technip Energies NV with a month-to-date performance of +13.7% as Technip was able to report 19% year-on-year growth in EBITDA for Q1. Given the recovery of the renewable energy segment the fund\u2019s long position in SMA Solar Technology was able to contribute +0.25%. Within transportation the airline segment has recovered strongly. The fund\u2019s long positions in easyJet and Ryanair had an overall positive contribution of +1.0%. easyJet reported their quarterly earnings on the 22nd of May. During the call, the airline forecasted a strong summer, with travellers brushing off economic fears to book holidays. easyJet has sold 80% of its seat in the current quarter and already 42% for the following three months and thereby ahead of last year\u2019s bookings. easyJet is expected to report record annual profits during this year. During the month also Ryanair has reaffirmed the robust demand outlook for the European budget airline sector. Within the shipping equity segment the long book\u00a0 had a positive contribution of +2.0% whereas the short book was negative at -0.1% respectively. Long positions in the crude\/product, dry-bulk and offshore supply segments contributed +0.9%, +0,4% and +0,7% respectively. Short positions in the container segment have contributed -0.1%. On the other hand, short positions in the freight services segment as well as other transportation sectors has contributed a negative -0.3% and -2.9% respectively. Overall hedging positions via short index futures had a negative effect of -0.3%.<\/p>\n