{"id":35768,"date":"2025-10-16T09:46:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T07:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/?p=35768"},"modified":"2025-10-29T11:56:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T10:56:24","slug":"print-extract-interview-marie-caroline-benoiston-dgc-franck-muller-luxury-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/print-extract-interview-marie-caroline-benoiston-dgc-franck-muller-luxury-fund\/","title":{"rendered":"PRINT EXTRACT – INTERVIEW – Marie-Caroline Benoiston (DGC – Franck Muller Luxury Fund)"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR’S NOTE: <\/i><\/b>This article was first published in Issue No. 12 \u2013 Fall 2025 of Luxus Magazine.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Franck Muller Luxury Fund is an international equity investment fund focused on the luxury sector. The management team combines in-depth expertise in portfolio management with a detailed knowledge of the luxury sector. At NS Partners, Marie-Caroline Benoiston oversees portfolio allocation and supervises the full integration of ESG criteria into the investment process. At Genthod Global Advisory, Raffi Balyozyan draws on his experience in fundamental analysis to identify the most promising stocks in the luxury sector. Interview.<\/p>\n

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LUXUS MAGAZINE: Franck Muller Luxury Fund is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. How do you explain its longevity?<\/h4>\n

Marie-Caroline Benoiston & Raffi Balyozyan<\/span>: First and foremost, it can be explained by a unique partnership between two Geneva-based companies with complementary expertise: Franck Muller, a vertically integrated luxury player, and NS Partners, a renowned asset manager. Our fund stands out from its peers thanks to its unique investment strategy based on convictions (our own definition, strict management, and vision). It is managed with rigor and a long-term perspective. On the one hand, our proximity to the luxury sector allows us to anticipate changes in sentiment and trends and adapt the portfolio accordingly. Over time, we have focused on e-commerce, generational expectations (Millennials, Gen Z), experience, wellness, second-hand goods, quiet luxury, increased consumption in emerging countries, and more. On the other hand, our proximity to the financial market allows us to react to economic cycles (increasing the defensive portion of the portfolio) and sector changes.<\/p>\n

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LUXUS MAGAZINE: Last year, quiet luxury showed tremendous resilience, which is still evident today with the undeniable success of Herm\u00e8s and Brunello Cucinelli. What convinced your luxury fund to invest in this latest gem at such an early stage?<\/h4>\n

Marie-Caroline Benoiston & Raffi Balyozyan<\/span>: In a context of growing social inequality, some wealthy consumers are now opting for discretion for security reasons. Quiet luxury, based on quality, rarity, and sobriety, is replacing overly ostentatious displays of wealth. Omnipresent logos and ostentatious displays are perceived as arrogant, and discretion is becoming an additional sign of rapidly growing wealth. Brands have understood this, and certain models have become iconic and no longer need logos. This subtlety allows consumers to assert themselves within a knowledgeable circle, while remaining discreet in the eyes of the general public. We were convinced by this qualitative analysis of trends and observation of societal changes. We select companies based on their history, valuation, and expected growth, among other factors. Finally, through our management, we constantly seek diversification. Initiating a position in Brunello Cucinelli was an obvious choice within the Soft Luxury sub-sector.<\/p>\n

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LUXUS MAGAZINE: In 10 years, what major changes have you seen in luxury investing? How is the transition from owning objects to experiences reflected in the financial world?<\/h4>\n

Marie-Caroline Benoiston & Raffi Balyozyan<\/span>: In recent years, the French luxury giants KHOL (Kering, Herm\u00e8s, L’Or\u00e9al, LVMH) have accounted for up to 40% of the CAC 40, compared with only around 12% ten years ago. There has also been a high level of merger and acquisition activity, with companies taking advantage of their pricing power in recent years. We are also seeing a shift from luxury products to luxury services (hotels, spas, cruises), but also, in fashion, from the dress code of elegance to comfort and well-being in \u201cyour sneakers,\u201d both within luxury brands (Balenciaga) and sports brands (On, Salomon) for both outerwear and sports\/yoga (Lululemon). We are also witnessing a generational shift that is bringing new expectations. Another phenomenon observed in beauty products is the rise of those based on science, focused on skin and hair care to enhance image and appearance. Finally, geographically speaking, the center of gravity for luxury goods has shifted eastward from Europe to Asia, with an increase in the number of points of sale on the latter continent.<\/p>\n

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LUXUS MAGAZINE: Franck Muller Luxury Fund has made investments that go far beyond luxury, particularly with the Jungfraubahn (Swiss mountain railway). Were you ahead of the curve in identifying the slow travel phenomenon? How do you select your assets? How important are ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria to you?<\/h4>\n

Marie-Caroline Benoiston & Raffi Balyozyan<\/span>: For us, the Jungfraubahn is luxury. We look for gems and seek to invest beyond absolute luxury. The assets cannot be relocated. It is a very good investment, the fundamentals are attractive, and the stock is fully in line with the experiential trend. We were the first to consider slow travel as a force in the luxury experience. We have a conviction-based management approach based on quantitative and qualitative analysis. We combine top-down and bottom-up analysis. We pay close attention to changes in the luxury premium. We monitor it in order to increase our exposure when it is historically low and take profits when it rises. We pay close attention to ESG (social responsibility, editor’s note), which has been integrated into our investment process since 2021. Our fund is SFDR Article 8, promoting both environmental and social criteria.<\/p>\n

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LUXUS MAGAZINE: What advice would you give to people looking to invest in luxury goods? Is now still a good time to buy shares, given the slowdown in the luxury sector?<\/h4>\n

Marie-Caroline Benoiston & Raffi Balyozyan<\/span>: The valuation of the luxury sector is now close to its lowest levels in 15 years. Luxury should be a long-term investment. It is necessary to rebalance during corrections and not hesitate to take profits during good periods. Not only are we seeing strong growth in the number of millionaires and billionaires, but also the rise of ambitious middle classes in emerging countries. In India, where the population with an annual income of more than $10,000 is expected to grow by 15% per year between now and 2030, according to UBS.<\/p>\n

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Read also > COLUMN \u2013 From citizens to sovereign individuals: how French millionaires are redrawing the map<\/a><\/p>\n

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Featured photo: DGC – Franck Muller Luxury Fund<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was first published in Issue No. 12 \u2013 Fall 2025 of Luxus Magazine.   Franck Muller Luxury Fund is an international equity investment fund focused on the luxury sector. The management team combines in-depth expertise in portfolio management with a detailed knowledge of the luxury sector. At NS Partners, Marie-Caroline Benoiston oversees portfolio allocation and supervises the full integration of ESG criteria into the investment process. At Genthod Global Advisory, Raffi Balyozyan draws on his experience in fundamental analysis to identify the most promising stocks in the luxury sector. Interview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":35773,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"%%post_title%% %%sep%% %%sitetitle%%","_seopress_titles_desc":"To mark the 10th anniversary of the DGC Franck Muller Luxury Fund, an investment fund specializing in luxury goods, we interviewed its manager, Marie-Caroline Benoiston.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-en","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}