Robeco Life Cycle Fund 2025 F EUR

Ernesto Sanichar is Portfolio Manager and member of the Sustainable Multi Asset team. He responsible for the Robeco Multi Asset funds, Robeco ONE and Defined contribution funds. His asset specialties are fixed income and FX. He has been part of Robeco's Investment Solutions department since 2005. Previously, he was Treasury Manager for four years. Prior to joining Robeco in 2001, Ernesto worked at ING Barings as a Product controller at the cash equities and derivatives desk for three years. Ernesto started his career in the investment industry in 1998. He holds a Master's in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

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 invests a minimum of 80% in other Robeco managed or externally managed funds which are classified under Article 8 or 9 of SFDR and either promote environmental or social characteristics or have sustainable investment as their objective. Sustainability is thus one of the considerations in the fund selection.

There were few places to hide for investors, as both equity and fixed income sold off sharply. The negative impact was somewhat softened for euro investors by the strong appreciation in the US dollar over the month. Market sentiment was dragged lower by a weakening outlook for China, a downgrade of the US government's credit rating by Fitch and growing acceptance that central banks will likely maintain restrictive policies beyond 2023. Chinese data deteriorated markedly over the month. Inflation turned negative, retail sales came in well below expectations, business confidence dropped, and there were further bankruptcy filings by the country's largest property developers. China has responded with some quite muted stimulus policies, but this has not yet been enough to breathe new fire into the belly of the ‘Chinese Golden Dragon’. At a broader level, investors are starting to pull back from the Goldilocks type scenario predicted for the monetary policy tightening cycle. Inflation remains stickier than expected and we are starting to see early signs that the job market in the US is starting to cool down.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 0.05%. With the exception of the 2025 fund, all funds delivered a negative return in August. The performance of the funds varied between 0.07% and -1.29%. Equities were the main detractor this month. Within equities, emerging market equities had a particularly challenging month. The funds with a shorter duration performed better, as they allocate less to equities and more to fixed income.

The equity exposure of the Life Cycle Funds was slightly lower during the month, and this added marginally to performance.