RobecoSAM Climate Global Credits IH GBP

Victor Verberk is CIO Fixed Income and Sustainability. Prior to joining Robeco in 2008, Victor was CIO at Holland Capital Management. Before that, he was Head of Fixed Income at MN Services and Portfolio Manager Credits at AXA Investment Managers. He has been active in the industry since 1997. Victor holds a Master’s in Business Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and he is a Certified European Financial Analyst. Reinout Schapers is Co-Head Portfolio Management Investment Grade in the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2011, Reinout worked at Aegon Asset Management where he was a Head of European High Yield. Before that, he worked at Rabo Securities as an M&A Associate and at Credit Suisse First Boston as an Analyst Corporate Finance. Reinout has been active in the industry since 2003. He holds a Master's in Architecture from the Delft University of Technology. 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 RobecoSAM Climate Global Credits is managed within Robeco’s credit team, which consists of nine portfolio managers and twenty-three credit analysts (of which four financials 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 dedicated quantitative researchers and 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’s sustainable investment objective is to contribute to keeping global temperature rise well-below 2°C by reducing the carbon footprint of the fund. Climate change and sustainability considerations are incorporated in the investment process via exclusions, ESG integration, a minimum allocation to ESG-labeled bonds and a carbon footprint target. The fund does not invest in companies that are in breach of international norms and applies the activity-based exclusions of Article 12 of the EU regulation on Climate Transition Benchmarks, EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks and sustainability-related disclosures for benchmarks as per Robeco’s exclusion policy. ESG factors, including climate change, are integrated in the bottom-up security analysis to assess the decarbonization potential and the impact of financially material ESG risks on the issuer's fundamental credit quality. Furthermore, the fund invests at least 5% in green, social, sustainable, and/or sustainability-linked bonds. In the portfolio construction the fund targets a carbon footprint at least equal to or better than the Solactive Paris Aligned Global Corporate Index. This is to ensure the fund is aligned with the desired decarbonization trajectory of an average 7% year on year.

In April, financial markets were relatively quiet and credit spreads traded in a narrow range, as measures of volatility like the VIX moved lower. The credit spread on the Solactive Paris Aligned Global Corporate Index tightened 4 basis points (bps) to 139 bps at the end of the month. Problems in the US regional banking sector continued to pop up. First Republic Bank was the latest victim. The bank faces similar issues as other regional banks, with large unrealized losses on "assets held to maturity". In March, a group of US banks provided USD 30 bln of uninsured deposits to shore up liquidity. The bank was ultimately acquired by JPMorgan in a transaction organized by the US government. Most company earnings exceeded expectations, as the latter had been guided down to relatively low levels. Inflation remains above target levels in both Europe and the US, while tighter bank lending standards led to questions about the number of rate hikes to come. Primary bond markets were relatively subdued due to the earnings season.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 0.53%. The monthly return of the Solactive Paris Aligned Global Corporate Index was positive. In the US, 5 and 10-year Treasury yields did not move much, while the average credit spread on the index tightened slightly. The fund's return was slightly below that of the index. Our top-down beta positioning made a positive contribution to the fund's performance. Credit markets slightly outperformed treasuries, while the fund's beta was above one. We continue to hold a long position in Euro swap spreads. The 5-year swap spread was unchanged at the end of the month. Issuer selection made a negative contribution overall. Several overweight positions in the financial sector contributed negatively. The fund does not have exposure to US regional banks. There were no holdings in Credit Suisse subordinated bonds.

Central banks have been experimenting with monetary policy for many years now. The economic system created debt in all corners of society. A fast and aggressive hiking cycle will reveal many problems, not just at Silicon Valley Bank. A recession could start somewhere toward the end of the year – and we believe central banks will cause one. Recent developments in the banking sector will lead to a further tightening of lending standards, which will put additional pressure on the economy. Our concern is with leveraged sectors that might be interest rate sensitive like real estate. We stick to our overweight beta position. Valuations had improved in March after the spread widening, especially in the financial sector. We are far enough into the business and rate cycle that when markets become too bearish, buying on the dip makes sense. This time, the sell-off in Bank Tier-1 CoCos and subordinated financials led to a buying opportunity in those segments. Valuations for non-financials are relatively less attractive and valuations for most cyclicals do not fully reflect recession risks at the moment.