Global equities

Robeco’s first global equity mutual fund (Robeco N.V.) was launched in 1933, just four years after the company was founded. Today, we manage global equity portfolios for a wide range of retail and institutional clients worldwide. Our product offering ranges from core and value global equity products to sustainable, thematic and high conviction strategies. In addition, we manage a number of global equity portfolios according to purely quant-driven strategies, including enhanced indexing and low-volatility strategies.

Global equities

Global Equities Core

The fund management team believes that the price of a stock is ultimately driven by the fundamentals of the company and the economic value that the company can create. Hence, bottom-up stock selection is at the core of the investment process. The quality, depth and focus of our analyst research are the key to accurately and consistently identifying the factors what will drive a company’s future valuation.

The fund management team screens the universe for the very best investment ideas through fundamental bottom-up analysis. Its focus lies on long-term value creation and the selection of companies with improving return on investment capital. A Value Dynamic Framework is used to assess a company’s ability to improve its economic value. ESG criteria are used as an additional lens to assess the risk/return profile of potential investment candidates.

While Robeco Global Equities Core strategy aims at a broadly diversified portfolio, Robeco Global Equity High Conviction capability is a free-style, concentrated product investing exclusively in the most attractive global stocks, irrespective of benchmark weights.

Highlights
  • Investment process fully based on bottom-up fundamental research
  • Long-term value creation by selecting companies with improving return on investment capital
  • Strict adherence to long-term investment horizon (3-5 years)
  • Better assessment of companies’ risk/return profile by integration of ESG factors
  • A large team of seasoned research analysts build around sector specializations, combined with a stable and experienced portfolio management team.


Global Equities Quant

Robeco’s Quantitative Global Equities strategy is designed to cater investors who seek stock market exposure in combination with flexibility in product offering regarding alpha and beta. The approach, which Robeco has used successfully since 1994, can enhance the performance of virtually any index. In addition the strategy is categorized by limited risk and full flexibility to client goals and objectives.

Robeco Global Equities Quant is managed on the basis of a purely bottom-up driven investment approach. It combines the outcome of our proprietary quantitative stock selection model with a disciplined portfolio construction algorithm and a unique set of risk controls.

Stock selection is the sole performance driver used, as determined by our stock selection model. This model is rooted in our strong belief in behavioral finance. It systematically identifies and exploits market inefficiencies, which arise as a result of predictable patterns in investor behavior.

Highlights
  • Robust stock selection model based on Robeco’s ample quantitative resources.
  • Vast experience in quantitative stock selection with first models developed in the early 1990’s.
  • Proprietary construction algorithm to maximizing exposure to alpha of stock selection model while limiting turnover.
  •  ‘Human overview’ included in quantitative and disciplined investment process.
  • Dedicated and experienced investment team.
  • Flexibility in product offering.

Conservative

Robeco's conservative equity strategies are designed to capture the equity premium with substantially lower downside risk. The strategy has an absolute risk/absolute return focus, aiming to maximize risk-adjusted returns.

Robeco conservative equity is managed on the basis of a purely bottom-up driven investment approach. It combines the outcome of our proprietary quantitative stock selection model for conservative equity with a disciplined portfolio construction algorithm and a unique set of risk controls.

Stock selection is the sole performance driver used, as determined by our quantitative stock selection model for conservative equity. This model is based on one of the oldest documented market anomalies: the low-risk anomaly. It was build, based on award-winning research by Robeco, on the notion that low-risk stocks realize superior long-term returns over higher-risk stocks.

Highlights
  • Innovator in low-risk investing since 2006 based on award winning research
  • Approach based on the low-risk anomaly
  • Systematic research driven investment approach
  • Long-term equity returns at distinctly lower downside risk than that of a reference index
  • Focus on equity capital preservation and risk-return profile
  • Unique in-house developed model and portfolio construction algorithm
  • Dedicated and experienced investment team.

Boston Partners

In August 1987, founding partners of Boston Partners Asset Management outlined their thoughts about investing. Now known within Robeco Boston Partners as “The Fundamental Truths,” the key principles that guide our investment approach were laid out as follows:

1. What works is what beats market averages over long time periods
2. Value works
3. Momentum works
4. Fundamental analysis must be grounded in value and momentum thinking
5. Quantitative methods should be the starting point of fundamental analysis

In 2007, Robeco Boston Partners formally “globalized” analyst research coverage of sectors and industries believing that the same time tested approach we use in the US would apply to a broad global universe of stocks.

The basis of this decision was our conviction that irrespective of where a company is headquartered, stock performance is driven by the same set of characteristics: attractive valuations, strong business fundamentals and a positive catalyst for change. The effort also included a complete assessment of international accounting and reporting standard to ensure that our quantitative systems show the same efficacy as they have in the US. This also involved immersing our fundamental analysts in the analysis on global securities and globalizing the sector coverage outside a purely US pool.

The output of that effort is the Robeco Boston Partners Global Premium Equities Portfolio. The objective of the fund is to find the best combination of value and business fundamentals while taking a flexible approach to capitalization parameters and geographical focus, without specific regard to industry sectors, currencies, geographic regions or countries.
Boston Partners Asset Management is a specialist boutique within Robeco Investment Management (RIM).


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