Robeco Corporate Hybrid Bonds IH EUR

Peter Kwaak is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2005, he was Portfolio Manager Credits at Aegon Asset Management for three years and at NIB Capital for two years. Peter has been active in the industry since 1998. He holds a Master’s in Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and he is a CFA® charterholder. The Robeco Corporate Hybrid Bonds fund is managed within Robeco’s credit team, which consists of nine portfolio managers and twenty-three credit analysts. The portfolio managers are responsible for the construction and management of the credit portfolios, whereas the analysts cover the team’s fundamental research. Our analysts have long term experience in their respective sectors which they cover globally. Each analyst covers both investment grade and high yield, providing them an information advantage and benefiting from inefficiencies that traditionally exist between the two segmented markets. Furthermore, the credit team is supported by three dedicated quantitative researchers and four fixed income traders. On average, the members of the credit team have an experience in the asset management industry of seventeen years, of which eight years with Robeco.

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 0.01% 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.

Investors who are not subject to (exempt from) Dutch corporate-income tax (e.g. pension funds) are not taxed on the achieved result. Investors who are subject to Dutch corporate-income tax can be taxed for the result achieved on their investment in the fund. Dutch bodies that are subject to corporate-income tax are obligated to declare interest and dividend income, as well as capital gains in their tax return. Investors residing outside the Netherlands are subject to their respective national tax regime applying to foreign investment funds. We advise individual 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 incorporates sustainability in the investment process via exclusions, ESG integration, a minimum allocation to ESG-labeled bonds, and engagement. The fund does not invest in credit issuers that are in breach of international norms or where activities have been deemed detrimental to society following Robeco's exclusion policy. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up security analysis to assess the impact on the issuer's fundamental credit quality. In the credit selection the fund limits exposure to issuers with an elevated sustainability risk profile. Furthermore, the fund invests at least 5% in green, social, sustainable, and/or sustainability-linked bonds. Lastly, where issuers are flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement.

The global corporate hybrid index delivered a total return of -0.76% last month (EUR, hedged). The average credit spread on the global corporate hybrid index tightened 11 basis points (bps) to a level of 229 bps. In the euro hybrid market, spreads were unchanged in the end around 280 bps. At first, the strong momentum from January continued, but the market gave up these gains in the second half of February. Stronger-than-expected labor markets in the US, stubbornly high inflation numbers across the globe and hawkish central bank rhetoric were the main drivers. Treasury yields in Germany and the US moved up significantly during the month, driven by these macroeconomic developments. Expectations for future rate hikes went up, but the reaction in equity and credit markets was relatively calm. In the US, investment grade spreads widened a bit, while European credit still outperformed treasuries.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -1.22%. The total return of the fund was -1.16% (EUR, hedged) this month, underperforming the index. The portfolio beta was just below neutral, while hybrids outperformed treasuries. As a result, the beta position had a small negative effect on the fund's performance. Issuer selection made a negative contribution to the relative performance. The largest contributions came from the overweights in EDF, Southern Company and CAS Capital/HK Telecom.

We aim for a portfolio beta slightly above one in corporate hybrids, in line with our outlook for investment grade credit. Corporate hybrid spreads are above average, while yield levels above 6% look very attractive after the sell-off in bonds this year. Corporate hybrids offer a significant yield pickup and are issued by high-quality corporates. These investment grade issuers are well positioned to handle a potential slowdown in economic growth, given their size and diversification.