Robeco New World Financials I USD

Patrick Lemmens is Lead Portfolio Manager within the Trends Equities team. He has a focus on financials/fintech. Prior to joining Robeco in 2008, he managed the ABN AMRO Financials fund from October 2003 to December 2007. Previously, he held the position of Analyst of Global Financials at ABN AMRO and was Global Sector Coordinator of the Financial Institutions Equities Group at ABN AMRO. Patrick Lemmens started his career in the investment industry in 1993. He holds a Master's in Business Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and is a Certified European Financial Analyst. Michiel van Voorst is Co-Portfolio Manager within the Trends Equities team. He has a focus on financials/fintech/next digital billion. In 2019, Michiel rejoined Robeco from Union Bancaire Privée in Hong Kong where he was CIO Asian Equities. Prior to that, Michiel spent 12 years at Robeco in several senior positions including senior portfolio manager Rolinco Global Growth fund and Robeco Asian Stars. Prior to joining Robeco in 2005, Michiel was Portfolio Manager US Equity at PGGM and Economist with Rabobank Netherlands. Michiel started his career in the investment industry in 1996. Michiel van Voorst holds a Master’s in Economics from University of Utrecht and is a CFA® charterholder. Koos Burema is Co-Portfolio Manager within the Trends Equities team. He has a focus on financials/fintech. Koos was an Analyst with the Emerging Markets team covering Korea and technology in Taiwan and Mainland China. Besides this, he was responsible for the integration of ESG in the investment process. Before joining the team in January 2010, he worked as a Portfolio Manager for different sector teams within Robeco. He started his career in the industry in 2007. Koos holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Groningen 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 0.01% 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 through exclusions, ESG integration, engagement and voting. The fund does not invest in 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 investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. In the stock selection the fund limits exposure to elevated sustainability risks. The fund targets at least 20% lower carbon footprint compared to the reference index. In addition, where a stock issuer is flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement. Lastly, the fund makes use of shareholder rights and applies proxy voting in accordance with Robeco's proxy voting policy.The following sections display the ESG-metrics for this fund along with short descriptions. For more information please visit the sustainability-related disclosures.The index used for all sustainability visuals is based on MSCI All Country World Financials Index (Net Return, USD).

In August, the MSCI AC World gained 2.5% and the MSCI ACWI Financials Index went up 3.4% in USD. Important events included a 12% drop in Japan's TOPIX and a spike in the VIX due to the BoJ's rate hike and global market adjustments. Despite initial losses, markets recovered by month's end. The Digital Finance trend performed well, as evidenced by Adyen's 26% revenue growth and PayPal's 10% rise in share price. MercadoLibre also excelled with a 42% revenue increase. In contrast, Aging Finance struggled, with Carlyle, Aegon, and China-exposed insurers like AIA facing challenges. The fund's position in Digital Finance, including MercadoLibre and Nu Holdings, performed strongly, while Aging Finance, impacted by Chinese market conditions, lagged.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 2.99%. In August, Robeco New World Financials returned slightly less than its benchmark. The fund's top performers included Nu Holdings, Adyen, MercadoLibre, and PayPal, while Carlyle Group and Coinbase were major detractors. Digital Finance positively contributed, whereas Ageing Finance negatively impacted performance. The industry groups Banks, Broadline Retail and Professional Services had the best positive contribution to performance while Insurance, Capital Markets and Software detracted the most. Morningstar reaffirmed the fund's bronze rating in February 2024.

Equities in general, and financials equities in particular continue to be highly correlated with global liquidity indicators. The course of action in (real) interest rates, credit spreads and global central bank policies will continue to set the tone in our markets. Central banks in developed markets seem confident inflation is being tamed and are looking to ease policy. Even though interest rates have peaked, we think that the era of the 'Zero Interest Rates Policy' (ZIRP) is over, and this implies that many financials' business models are fundamentally much better placed to generate solid returns over the cost of capital and create Economic Value Add which can be returned to investors through dividends and buybacks. We believe an active investment strategy focusing on the best-managed banks and insurers will be the way to take advantage of this opportunity. For Digital Finance, underlying trend growth has remained robust which gives us confidence that as time passes, investors will continue to reappreciate these structural growth beneficiaries. For many emerging markets (EM) digital native companies, the pandemic impact has even been starker.