... Its long-term strategy focuses on achieving capital growth by investing directly in securities of European companies, with efforts made to concentrate on niche or small firms that could otherwise be ignored by investors.
Nick Williams, investment manager with the Baring Europe Select Trust, noted that the weak outlook for growth means working with these companies that appear somewhat under the radar is an especially remunerative policy.
"French payment services provider Ingenico is a case in point and the company continues to register strong results owing to its exposure to the growing trend for mobile commerce solutions," he explained.
Furthermore, Mr Williams stressed that the tendency among many investors to focus on central economies such as France and Germany can lead to them missing viable opportunities in the peripheries, which have traditionally been treated as higher-risk regions.
The performance of Spanish healthcare firm Grifols and Italian bank Banca Generali suggest "that it is possible for individual companies in the periphery to shine and prosper if they offer competitive products", added the investment manager.
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