Robeco Sustainable Global Stars Equities DL USD

Michiel Plakman is Lead Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. He is also Co-Head of Robeco’s Global Equity team. He is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on SDG investing and on companies in the information technology, real estate & communication services sectors, as well as portfolio construction. He has been in this role since 2009. Previously, he was responsible for managing the Robeco IT Equities fund within the TMT team. Prior to joining Robeco in 1999, he worked as a Portfolio Manager Japanese Equities at Achmea Global Investors (PVF Pensioenen). From 1995 to 1996 he was Portfolio Manager European Equities at KPN Pension Fund. He holds a Master's in Econometrics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and he is a CFA® Charterholder. Chris Berkouwer is Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. He is also Deputy Lead Portfolio Manager. He is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on the low-carbon transition and on companies in the energy, materials and industrials sectors, as well as portfolio construction. He joined Robeco in 2010. Prior to that, he worked as an analyst for the The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. He conducted country, industry and company research for various equity teams prior to joining the Global Equity team. He a holds Master's in Business Administration and International Public Management from the Erasmus University Rotterdam and is a CFA® Charterholder. Oliver Attwater is Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. He is also Deputy Lead Portfolio Manager. He is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on companies in the information technology sector and portfolio construction. He joined Robeco in 2021. Previously, he was Head of US Equities at British Airways’ Pension fund based in London, U.K., where he had portfolio management and analyst responsibilities covering all sectors. He holds a Bachelor’s from University College London 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 0.05% 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, ESG and environmental footprint targets, 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 fundamental 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 also targets a better ESG score and at least 20% lower carbon, water and waste footprints 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 exclusion. 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 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].

A rapid shift from high-five mood to wall of worry and cautious comeback essentially sums up global equity markets in August, ending the month in slightly negative territory (-1% in EUR, -2% in USD). As higher US rates and a worsening data flow from both Europe and China challenged the prevailing Goldilocks scenario, defensive sectors and quality performed well. The crowded tech space, in particular, was hurt in the first half of the month as US real yields kept pushing higher. Erratic trading was exacerbated by thin summer liquidity, though markets calmed down at the end of the month as softer US data eased the rates market. Also, China stepping up its stimulus measures helped sentiment and the broader equity market managing losses, ultimately. Big picture, a key driver behind market strength thus far this year is that earnings have held up much better than expected. We are still cautious that this can be sustained, and we think that data signals around unemployment, inflation and PMIs, for example, are not supportive to stage a genuine broadening out of the market.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -1.75%. The portfolio had a flat absolute, but positive relative performance. After a strong start of the month, we were able to consolidate our excess performance relative to the benchmark. From a sector perspective, our defensive positioning in healthcare, financials and materials helped the most. Standouts in healthcare included pharma names Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, after very positive data readouts on obesity opened the door for significant growth potential. Both companies enjoy a superior position in this market to capitalize on, especially as it becomes more likely that payers are encouraged to reimburse obesity medications. Alphabet had a good month as well, as its counteroffensive to AI is taking shape with its Gemini language model and its new TPU chips for AI applications. Visa also contributed well during the month, providing an upbeat business update but also benefiting from intra-sector rotation out of balance sheet financials in favor of capital-light models such as the card networks. On the flip side, we saw some profit-taking in Sony Group, after an unexciting set of results, indicating a slowdown across most divisions and weakness in its image sensor business in particular.

August trading has been indicative for how the year has progressed so far: a search for new narratives to offset a looming recession. Initially, a China rebound was supposed to be the engine of hope, then Artificial Intelligence, followed by the ‘soft landing’ narrative. Interestingly, where hopes for the latter initially acted as a driver for higher returns, the flip side of it are revived fears that rates would have to go higher than the market actually hopes, stymieing further upside. In that scenario, expensive and long duration parts of the market will suffer, just like in 2022, and early August seemed to be a good reminder of that. A case in point was that NVIDIA was not able to fuel sentiment higher, despite another giant earnings beat. In fact, ironically, it was not until we saw some slightly softer data around US consumer sentiment and the labor market being seen as a relief to the market as it reinstated the ‘peak rate’ narrative. All in all, we can debate the macro backdrop extensively, in the end it is about stock picking, where we obviously feel most comfortable with our quality-focused portfolio to navigate different scenarios.