BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust - Consistency in philosophy and approach

BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust (BRGE) has a long-term record of outperformance versus its peers and the broad European market. It has two co-managers: Stefan Gries, since June 2017, covering developed European markets (c 90% of the fund); and Sam Vecht, since the trust’s launch in September 2004, covering emerging European markets (c 10% of the fund). While all the trust’s positions are selected following thorough fundamental analysis rather than taking a view on the macro environment, Gries is optimistic about the prospects for an upcoming economic recovery in Europe. So far, its vaccine program has lagged the pace of other regions such as the US and the UK, so there is potential to catch up, and there is a coordinated €750bn EU Recovery Fund in place to be spent on green initiatives, which has not yet been employed.