Robeco QI Global Multi-Factor High Yield IH EUR

Patrick Houweling is Co-Head of Quant Fixed Income and Lead Portfolio Manager of Robeco’s quantitative credit strategies. Patrick has published seminal articles on Duration Times Spread, factor investing in credit markets, corporate bond liquidity and credit default swaps in various academic journals, including the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Empirical Finance and the Financial Analysts Journal. The article 'Factor Investing in the Corporate Bond Market' he co-authored received a Graham and Dodd Scroll Award of Excellence for 2017. Patrick is a guest lecturer at several universities. Prior to joining Robeco in 2003, he was Researcher in the Risk Management department at Rabobank International where he started his career in 1998. He holds a PhD in Finance and a Master's (cum laude) in Financial Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Mark Whirdy is Portfolio Manager Quant Fixed Income. His areas of expertise include portfolio optimization, credit markets, credit derivatives modelling and quant investment process development. Prior to joining Robeco, Mark was Portfolio Manager in the Quant Credit team at Pioneer Investments and Analyst in the Quantitative Equities team at that firm. He is a graduate from University College Dublin, and holds a Master’s in Business from University of Ulster. Johan Duyvesteyn is Portfolio Manager Quant Fixed Income. His areas of expertise include government bond market timing, credit beta market timing, country sustainability and emerging-market debt. He has published in the Financial Analysts Journal, the Journal of Empirical Finance, the Journal of Banking and Finance, and the Journal of Fixed Income. Johan started his career in the industry in 1999 at Robeco. He holds a PhD in Finance, a Master's in Financial Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and he 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 via exclusions, ESG integration, ESG and environmental footprint targets, and engagement. 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. Via portfolio construction rules the fund targets a better ESG score and lower carbon, water and waste footprints than that of the reference index. This ensures that credit issuers with better ESG scores or lower environmental footprints are more likely to be included in the portfolio, and vice versa. In addition, our credit analysts check buy candidates and portfolio holdings for ESG risks that may have material impact for bond holders. Lastly, where corporate issuers are flagged for breaching international standards in our ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement.The following sections display the ESG-metrics that are relevant 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 [Index name].

The Bloomberg Global High Yield Corporates ex-Financials Index posted a positive credit return of 0.11%, even though credit spreads widened from 387 to 394 bps. The euro-hedged total return was 0.15%, as underlying government bond yields decreased slightly. Credit spreads reversed the tightening of June and July, and began widening out in August, with the exception of US high yield, which remained flat over the month. Stagflation fears were kept alive due to uncertainty over the inflation outlook, with inflation in services sectors remaining stubbornly high, notwithstanding falls in core CPI, coupled with negative PMIs and other economic data. The number of corporates on rating watch negative has exceeded the number on rating watch positive. S&P 500 sold off before rallying into month-end, with VIX moving in sympathy. Sovereign yield curves remained inverted and steepened slightly, notwithstanding the compressed bond market volatility expectations as indicated by the MOVE Index. In China, Country Garden Holdings narrowly avoided a default, which coupled with struggling exports, falling prices, and rising unemployment undermined global market sentiment further.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 0.36%. Based on closing prices, the fund posted a relative return of +0.31% versus the benchmark. Issue(r) selection made a strong positive contribution. The value factor made a positive contribution. The largest detractor was the low-risk/quality factor; the momentum factor also detracted slightly. The size factor contributed neutrally. Sector allocation contributed slightly positively, mainly due to the underweights in the basic industry and utility other sectors. Currency allocation contributed slightly positively, due to the underweight in EUR bonds; the overweight in CAD bonds slightly detracted. Country allocation delivered a small positive contribution due to the underweight in the United Kingdom; the underweight in Luxembourg detracted. The allocation to subordination groups detracted somewhat, due to the overweight in corporate hybrids. Rating allocation detracted due to the underweight in CAAs and the overweight in BAs. Beta allocation slightly detracted: the underweight beta position of the bond portfolio contributed slightly positively, while the CDS index beta hedge detracted somewhat.

Robeco QI Global Multi-Factor High Yield invests systematically in high yield corporate bonds. It offers balanced exposure to a number of quantitative factors. In the long term, we expect the fund to outperform the market by systematically harvesting factor premiums with a risk profile that is similar to the reference index.