Don’t panic, stay invested and make defensive allocations: this is the message from Nicolas Chaput of ODDO BHF AM in these troubled times.
“The market is at a peak not seen since the Covid crisis,” explains Nicolas Chaput, Global CEO of ODDO BHF Asset Management. With geopolitical and economic upheavals, the new Trump administration and rising interest rates, the markets are searching for answers and displaying heightened volatility. There are hardly any places left to hide. Understanding this market in all its instability is becoming a headache, with current events that can turn everything upside down at any moment.
While private equity has been another factor in the stock market crisis, mainly in the United States because of its lack of liquidity, this asset class is holding its own in Europe. And Nicolas Chaput is reassuring. “Demand is still there because private equity remains a source of diversification. While most of our products have fixed maturities, some can be integrated into life insurance, which helps to alleviate the liquidity constraint, without eliminating it
Private Equity : The long-term horizon
In our Evergreen offering for the retail market, a specifically long-term product, demand remains solid. As a reminder, the originality of our approach is based in particular on investment in the secondary private equity market, throughout the world. This segment offers the potential to benefit from a discount on purchase, as well as greater visibility on invested portfolios that have been in existence for a few years, while benefiting from a reduced maturity.
The products that continue to be most popular with institutional clients are those with a fixed maturity, while family offices stand out with a hybrid approach between ‘traditional’ maturity funds and Evergreen products (detailed above). Private clients, for their part, prefer Evergreen funds, but with a long-term horizon, and with the understanding that there is no miracle or magic for an asset that carries a risk of capital loss: “you can’t create liquidity with illiquid assets” **.
Is the ecological transition back in the spotlight?
With the recent rise in oil prices, we noticed that stocks linked to the theme of ecological transition had attracted interest. Our ODDO BHF Green Planet thematic fund managed to recoup much of its outperformance since the start of the year in March, even though the markets were in turmoil. The portfolio is well diversified, with no stock exceeding a 4% weighting at the end of March and the top 10 stocks accounting for just under 30% of the portfolio*. Leading the way were stocks such as Schneider, Hitachi and Quanta Service**, also highlighting diversification, this time geographical. Note that this equity fund is exposed in particular to the risk of capital loss.
“The equity market is in deep trouble today. After peaking at +10% at the end of February since the start of the year, the indices quickly slipped into the red, marked by high volatility. The best way to defy and reduce this volatility is to include defensive, money-market or short-term bond funds in your portfolio.
“We have observed that private customers remain very attentive and even serene If it limits itself to a few sales, these are particularly targeted at risky products such as equities.
ETF picking: when ETFs reinforce active allocation
“At the moment there are not many places to hide, even if speculative high yield bonds continue to resist.
The recently launched ODDO BHF Global Navigator picking ETF allocation fund may be a response to these complex markets. The need for dynamic allocation can be met by investing in passive ETFs, which give the manager the flexibility to adapt quickly. This fund is exposed in particular to the risk of capital loss.
“Our message is not to panic, but to stay invested and make defensive asset allocations that allow us to navigate through these troubled times,” repeats Nicolas Chaput.
But for those looking to invest in equities on a long-term theme linked to the technological revolution, with a potential entry point since the peaks of late February, the ODDO BHF Artificial Intelligence fund remains an option. “With a long-term horizon,” he insists.
(*) Data at 30 March 2026
(**) This does not constitute an investment recommendation
