Robeco High Yield Bonds DH CHF

Sander Bus is CIO and Portfolio Manager High Yield Bonds in the Credit team. He has been dedicated to High Yield at Robeco since 1998. Previously, Sander worked for two years as a Fixed Income Analyst at Rabobank where he started his career in the industry in 1996. He holds a Master's in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and he is a CFA® charterholder. Roeland Moraal is Portfolio Manager High Yield in the Credit team. Before assuming this role, he was Portfolio Manager in the Robeco Duration team and worked as an Analyst with the Institute for Research and Investment Services. Roeland started his career in the industry in 1997. He holds a Master's in Applied Mathematics from the University of Twente and a Master’s in Law from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Christiaan Lever is Portfolio Manager High Yield and Emerging Credits in the Credit team. Before assuming this role in 2016, he was Financial Risk Manager at Robeco, focusing on market risk, counterparty risk and liquidity risk within fixed Income markets. Christiaan has been active in the industry since 2010. He holds a Master's in Quantitative Finance and in Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and he is a CFA® Charterholder. Daniel de Koning is Portfolio Manager High Yield in the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2020, he was Portfolio Manager High Yield at NN Investment Partners. Daniel started his career in 2011 at APG Asset Management, where he held roles of Credit Analyst and Portfolio Manager High Yield. He holds a Master’s in Business Economics from the University of Amsterdam and he is a CFA® and CAIA® charterholder. The Robeco High Yield 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 0.05% 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 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 2% 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.For more information please visit the sustainability-related disclosures.The index used for all sustainability visuals is based on Bloomberg US Corporate High Yield + Pan Euro HY ex Financials 2.5% Issuer Cap.

In the month of May, spreads in the US high yield market contracted by 65 bps, down to 326 bps. Yields also came down by 45 bps, reaching 7.09%. Global markets rallied in May as President Trump eased parts of his 'Liberation Day' tariff plan, sparking the strongest US equity rally since late 2023. A court ruling against the tariffs briefly added uncertainty, though it was quickly paused on appeal. Fiscal concerns returned after Moody's downgraded the US credit rating, citing deficit risks from the administration's new tax plan. The dollar fell in response. April imports dropped nearly 20% as firms front-loaded shipments in March, distorting Q1 GDP, which came in at -0.2%. The IMF cut its full-year US growth forecast to 1.8%. US inflation eased to 2.3% and rates were left unchanged. Eurozone inflation rose slightly to 2.2%. US high yield new issuance in the month of May totaled USD 32 bln. Over the period, 7 payment defaults occurred, involving a total of USD 4.5 bln of bonds.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 1.39%. In May, the high yield bond index posted a total return of 1.50%. Spreads tightened over the period, generating strong excess credit returns. US 10-year yield spiked before settling at 4.4%, 20 bps higher for the month. The portfolio outperformed by 20 bps this month. Beta positioning detracted 8 bps from performance, while issuer selection contributed 28 bps. All rating buckets performed strongly over the month, particularly the BB segment, where we allocate most of our risk. The euro market, where the portfolio is tilted to, lagged the USD in terms of performance. Underweights in the energy and communication sectors contributed 13 bps and 11 bps, respectively, to performance. However, our allocation to the banking sector gave back part of the previous outperformance, detracting 3 bps. An underweight position in New Fortress added 7 bps, as the company's weak quarterly results raised concerns about its credit metrics and liquidity constraints. EchoStar, a wireless and TV operator in which we also hold an underweight, skipped an interest payment due to an ongoing Federal Communications Commission investigation, adding 5 bps to performance.

At the beginning of the year, the consensus was that Trump would use tariffs merely as a bargaining tool to secure better outcomes for the US, ultimately acting rationally in the interest of American businesses and his own voters. This supported the thesis of US exceptionalism. By now, we know better. The American government has alienated even its closest allies, and the trade war risks are spiraling out of control. The enormous tariff uncertainty, along with the resulting economic instability, is a key driver of stagflation fears and the potential end of US exceptionalism. Several US growth indicators are clearly pointing to a slowdown, while inflation expectations remain elevated – an unfavorable backdrop for risky assets. The technical backdrop that had supported credit markets so strongly over the past two years has reversed sharply. With total returns turning negative, outflows may follow, creating a self-reinforcing spiral. Typically, such dislocations create opportunities to increase beta exposure at attractive entry levels. We would not be surprised to see these opportunities soon. The fund's conservative issuer selection should help it weather this storm and outperform.