Wim-Hein Pals, head of Emerging Markets Equities

"The combination of investing and managing a group of top portfolio managers makes my job so attractive"

Why did you choose to join Robeco?

 During my Economics and Business Administration studies in the late eighties, I developed a passion for investing in stocks. I had set up an investment study club together with friends and learned much from this. Already at that time, for me as a budding investment enthusiast, Robeco was the employer of choice. The billions that Robeco has been managing for decades also appealed to me.

What is it like, working at Robeco?

Robeco enabled me to become a professional in the field of investing in general and of investing in emerging markets in particular. The on-the-job training that was offered to me as a junior portfolio manager is in my opinion the best way to learn how to manage the billions of euros entrusted to us by clients in a sound and reliable manner. Currently, I head a team of portfolio managers ranking among the best in the world in the field of emerging markets. We get quite a kick out of working with billions in cash flow from all over the world.

What are your plans for the future?

In the coming years, I want to expand our 'Emerging Markets shop’ into a global leader in all respects: primarily, in terms of performance for our existing clients, but also in terms of helping to acquire new clients around the world.

What makes your job attractive?

 The combination of investing and managing a group of top portfolio managers makes my job so attractive. Moreover, the high returns that can be realized in the dynamic field of emerging-markets investing make it extra interesting. Emerging markets have a higher risk than the Benelux, for instance, but this makes them much more interesting for fund managers who are always looking for extra returns for their clients.