Robeco Healthy Living F EUR

David Kägi is Portfolio Manager of the Robeco Healthy Living strategy and member of the Thematic Investing team. Before joining Robeco in 2019, he worked as a Buy-Side analyst covering the global healthcare sector for Bank J. Safra Sarasin in Zurich, first for Private Banking, then for Asset Management. There, he also managed the Demography Health basket certificate for Bank J. Safra Sarasin. After some years in biomedical research following his PhD, he started his career in the financial industry in 1999 as a Healthcare Analyst at the investment company BT&T, followed by a position as an Investment Analyst for private biotechnology companies with Schweizerhall Management AG in Zurich. David holds a Master in Biochemistry and a PhD in T-cell Immunology both from the ETH Zurich. Alyssa Cornuz is Co-Portfolio Manager of the Robeco Healthy Living strategy and member of the Thematic Investing team. She is also the Deputy Portfolio Manager for the Fashion Engagement Fund and covers sportswear, off-price and cosmetics, amongst other, for the strategy. She joined in 2021 from Credit Suisse, where she was a Fund Selection Analyst covering ESG and impact funds. Until the end of 2019, she worked as a Fundamental Equity Analyst at Nordea for their Global Climate and Environment Fund. She started her career in 2016 at UBS in the Portfolio Advisory and European Equity team. Alyssa holds a Master of Science in Finance from HEC Lausanne and is a CFA® Charterholder.

The fund is established in Luxembourg and is subject to the Luxembourg tax laws and regulations. The fund is not liable to pay any corporation, income, dividend or capital gains tax in Luxembourg. The fund is subject to an annual subscription tax ('tax d'abonnement') in Luxembourg, which amounts to 0.05% of the net asset value of the fund. This tax is included in the net asset value of the fund. The fund can in principle use the Luxembourg treaty network to partially recover any withholding tax on its income.

The fiscal consequences of investing in this fund depend on the investor's personal situation. For private investors in the Netherlands real interest and dividend income or capital gains received on their investments are not relevant for tax purposes. Each year investors pay income tax on the value of their net assets as at 1 January if and inasmuch as such net assets exceed the investor’s tax-free allowance. Any amount invested in the fund forms part of the investor's net assets. Private investors who are resident outside the Netherlands will not be taxed in the Netherlands on their investments in the fund. However, such investors may be taxed in their country of residence on any income from an investment in this fund based on the applicable national fiscal laws. Other fiscal rules apply to legal entities or professional investors. We advise investors to consult their financial or tax adviser about the tax consequences of an investment in this fund in their specific circumstances before deciding to invest in the fund.

The fund’s sustainable investment objective is to promote good health and well-being and contributing to an efficient healthcare system. Healthy living and sustainability considerations are incorporated in the investment process by the means of a target universe definition, exclusions, ESG integration, and voting. The fund only invests in companies that have a significant thematic fit as per Robeco's thematic universe methodology. Through screening on both Robeco's internally developed SDG Framework and Robeco’s exclusion policy, the fund does not invest in issuers that have a negative impact on the SDGs, are in breach of international norms or where products have been deemed controversial. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up fundamental investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. In addition, where a stock issuer is flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to exclusion. Lastly, the fund makes use of shareholder rights and applies proxy voting in accordance with Robeco's proxy voting policy.For more information please visit the sustainability-related disclosures.The index used for all sustainability visuals is based on MSCI World Index TRN.

Markets continued their recovery throughout May, driven by the performance of technology stocks. Behind information technology, the consumer discretionary sector outperformed the broad global markets, while materials, and consumer staples underperformed. Healthcare was the only sector performing negatively, substantially lagging the other sectors. In early April, the US imposed extraordinary high tariffs on most of its trading partner countries. Since then, the high tariffs have been temporarily reduced and a federal court ruling may upend most of the US president's tariffs plans. This mostly supported the bounce backs of stock prices in May. However, looking forward to the second half of the year, the erratic and inconsistent announcements from US government representatives have created uncertainty related to tariff levels, timing and countries involved in new tariffs, as well as the potential reaction of US consumers.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -0.47%. In May, the Healthy Living Fund underperformed versus the broad global benchmark. Healthy Lifestyles and Therapeutics generated positive performance, while Healthy Nutrition and Healthcare Efficiency ended the quarter in negative territory. On an individual stock level, the biggest positive contribution in the quarter came from Grifols, which produces blood plasma products. Grifols again reported solid quarterly results, with operational profit and cash flow improving substantially. Increasingly, investors are regaining conviction that the recovery story, which was disrupted by a short seller report, remains on track. The largest negative contribution came from the managed care company UnitedHealth. UnitedHealth suspended its guidance due to higher medical costs in its Medicare Advantage insurance business and because these unfavorable trends were spreading to other types of benefits offerings in an unanticipated way. At the same time, CEO Andrew Witty stepped down, being replaced immediately by Stephen J. Hemsley, who served as the company's CEO from 2006 to 2017.

The risks to economic growth have increased due to inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical tensions and the economic imbalances in China. In addition, the tariff announcements by the new US president have created almost unprecedented uncertainty in the business environment, which may reduce corporate investments and consumer confidence going forward. It will therefore be even more important to focus on solid business fundamentals, pricing power and quality. We remain constructive on the mid to long-term potential of the equity markets and are making use of current market conditions to further solidify our positions in companies that have very strong long-term business prospects. The pandemic has accelerated changes necessary to build more robust and sustainable economies. It has also made individuals more inclined to adopt a healthier lifestyle. The Healthy Living portfolio of sustainable companies is well positioned to benefit from these changes in the longer run.