Alma Advent Global Convertible Fund

Market Review and Outlook

Global equity markets had another strong month. In the U.S., pressure on the technology sector mounted this month, fueled by rigorous scrutiny of artificial intelligence (AI) related capital expenditures and fears that emerging tools could cannibalize traditional software businesses. These headwinds converged with broader macroeconomic uncertainty, as investors grappled with sticky inflation, shifting Federal Reserve expectations, unpredictable trade-policy and geopolitical instability. Amid this environment, equity market participation continued to broaden as cyclical and defensive sectors gained momentum on the back of strong earnings and promising growth prospects. This rotation helped cushion the broader market’s decline while supporting gains in small and mid-cap stocks, contributing to a more balanced and resilient market leadership profile. Overseas, European markets outperformed their U.S. counterparts during the month, supported by robust corporate earnings in financial and cyclical sectors, encouraging macroeconomic data, and continued market broadening beyond technology. Emerging market equities rose during the month, driven by strong performance among AI hardware companies, an improving earnings growth outlook, and attractive valuations that supported increased investor inflows. Japanese equities performed well driven by pro-growth policy expectations following the election, strong earnings, continued AI-related technology strength and improving economic data. Global bond markets also increased.

Fund

In February, the fund outperformed the index return. The fund outperformed on a relative basis in all regions except the Americas where our holdings lagged the index. On a sector basis, relative performance was mixed. Industrials and Technology were the best performing. In Technology, the fund continued to benefit from companies related to the infrastructure build for AI applications, particularly electronics, power and data center construction providers. Consumer Discretionary and Financials were modest detractors. A pullback in Chinese online-commerce issuers led to the Consumer Discretionary performance in the month due to regulatory scrutiny of food delivery platforms and concerns over AI investment hurting near-term margins.

There was $24 billion of global convertible issuance in February and $39.3 billion of issuance year-to-date. Although typically a seasonally slow period for convertible bond issuance, robust growth in the AI sector, strong refinancing needs and supportive market conditions have sustained the momentum carried over from 2025’s record-breaking year.

During the month, we participated in several new issuances across various sectors, most significantly in Materials and Technology, particularly in Asia. The fund exited certain positions where appreciation potential was more limited, concentrated in Technology, and in particular software, in favor of new issues in the sector.