Robeco New World Financials I EUR

As global equities climb higher, financials continue to outperform the broader index as investors reposition their portfolios. Year-to-date, the total return of the benchmark amounts to over 22%, as financial equities are propelled by earnings and have enjoyed a re-rating from – arguably – very depressed levels. Although this trade started in earnest in late October 2020, positioning is continuing to shift. However, with clear earnings and price momentum tail winds, the prospects for the financial sector remain attractive. Although we may be past the point of 'a rising tide lifting all boats'. The IPO pipeline looks robust, while last years' SPAC boom implies there is a lot of capital looking for deals. We, however, think that large US financials have disproportionately benefited from a technical phenomenon, which may have pushed these stocks beyond short-term fundamental fair value, and prefer selective European banks where the 21Q1 results season showed strong results. In insurance, we prefer life insurance companies.

The fund can engage in currency hedging transactions.

The fund does not distribute dividend. Any income earned is retained, and so the fund's entire performance is reflected in its share price.

Robeco New World Financials integrates ESG factors into its investment process by analyzing the impact of financially material ESG factors to a company’s competitive position and value drivers. We believe that this enhances our ability to understand existing and potential (long-term) risks and opportunities of a company. The impact of material ESG factors can be positive or negative, reflecting risks or opportunities, that ensue from a company’s ESG analysis. If ESG risks and opportunities are significant, the ESG analysis could impact a stock’s fair value and the portfolio allocation decision. In addition to ESG integration, Robeco also has an exclusion policy and conducts proxy voting and engagement activities focused on specific themes, such as climate change, aiming to improve a company’s sustainability profile.

Robeco New World Financials is an actively managed fund that invests in equities from developed and emerging countries all over the world. The selection of these stocks is based on a fundamental analysis. The fund's objective is to achieve a better return than the index. The fund promotes ESG (i.e. Environmental, Social and corporate Governance) characteristics within the meaning of Article 8 of the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and integrates ESG and sustainability risks in the investment process. In addition, the fund applies an exclusion list on the basis of controversial behavior, products (including controversial weapons, tobacco, palm oil and fossil fuel) and countries, while avoiding investment in thermal coal, weapons, military contracting and companies that severely violate labor conditions, next to proxy voting and engagement. The fund invests in companies in the financial sector and can partly invest in the financial sector-oriented companies outside the formal MSCI Financials. It focuses on attractive long-term trends, such as 'digitization of financial services', 'finance and aging' and 'financial services in emerging markets'. Proprietary valuation models are used to select stocks with good earnings prospects and a reasonable valuation. The fund is not constrained by a benchmark but the fund may use a benchmark for comparison purposes. The majority of stocks selected will be components of the Benchmark, but stocks outside the Benchmark may be selected too. The fund can deviate substantially from the weightings of the Benchmark. The fund can deviate substantially from the issuer, country and sector weightings of the Benchmark. There are no restrictions on the deviation from the Benchmark. The Benchmark is a broad market weighted index that is not consistent with the ESG characteristics promoted by the fund.

Risk management is fully integrated into the investment process to ensure that positions always meet predefined guidelines.