Robeco Smart Materials F EUR

Pieter Busscher is Portfolio Manager of the Robeco Smart Materials and Robeco Smart Mobility strategies and member of the Thematic Investing team. He started at Robeco in 2007 as a Deputy Portfolio Manager for the Sustainable Water strategy. Pieter became the Portfolio Manager for Smart Materials in 2009; for Smart Mobility he had been Deputy Portfolio for since strategy launch in 2018 and took over the portfolio management responsibilities in 2021. He began his career at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Zurich in 2006. He graduated from the International Business at RSM Erasmus University (Bachelor), the Banking and Finance at the University of St. Gallen (Master) and is a CFA® charterholder. Mutlu Gundogan is Co-Portfolio manager of the Robeco Smart Materials strategy and member of the Thematic Investing team. Prior to joining in 2021, he worked at ABN AMRO – ODDO BHF as a sell-side equity analyst, covering the European Chemicals sector. Before that, he worked as a sell-side analyst at ABN AMRO and Royal Bank of Scotland covering the Materials, Industrials, and Health Care sectors. He started his career in 2003 at Kempen & Co., where he covered the Industrials, Consumer Staples, and Health Care sectors. Mutlu holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. 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's sustainable investment objective is to help mitigate the resource scarcity challenge within industries while supporting economic growth. Resource scarcity and sustainability considerations are incorporated in the investment process by the means of a target universe definition, exclusions, ESG integration, a carbon footprint target and voting. The fund only invests in companies that have a significant thematic fit as per Robeco's thematic universe methodology. Through screening on both Robeco's internally developed SDG Framework and Robeco’s exclusion policy, the fund does not invest in issuers that have a negative impact on the SDGs, are in breach of international norms or where products have been deemed controversial. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up fundamental investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. The fund's weighted carbon footprint will be equal to or better than that of its Climate Transition Benchmark. 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 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 World Index TRN.

In August, the Smart Manufacturing cluster declined slightly while Advanced Equipment saw gains, thanks to strong results from Onto. Industry 4.0 Software weakened, due to ARM Holdings, but was buoyed slightly by better earnings from Autodesk. Industrial Automation was weak, with Cognex, Yaskawa Electric and Inovance all down. The Advanced Materials cluster was down for the month. Building Efficiency gave up some previous performance gains, as TopBuild and Owens Corning were down. Resource Recovery saw slight improvements, led by ARE Holdings. Specialty Chemicals declined on news from Avantium and Syensqo. Energy Storage saw a modest increase due to a rebound in LG Chem and Samsung SDI. Transition Metals weakened slightly, with declines in Arcadium and Albemarle.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -2.73%. Advanced Equipment was the only subcluster in positive territory. Onto, a prominent supplier of semiconductor inspection equipment, recovered from the recent weakness following the announcement of better than expected Q2 results. The company raised its outlook for 2024 and announced significant orders for 2025. In August, the Advanced Materials cluster experienced a downturn. The Building Efficiency subcluster was the weakest performer, primarily due to TopBuild, a US insulation installation company. The company cited project delays for lower-than-expected 2024Q2 results and full-year guidance. Owens Corning, a US building materials company, also saw a decline. In contrast, the Energy Storage subcluster saw a modest increase, largely driven by improved sentiment toward South Korean battery producers LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI, as expectations grew that the slowdown in electric vehicle demand might be nearing an end.

Strong secular growth themes related to decreased emissions (net zero targets) and more efficient materials and production techniques (e.g. smart manufacturing) are impacting their respective sectors. More specifically, efficient building materials, 3D software, the Internet of Things and robotics companies are presenting attractive investment opportunities. In the Recycling and Circular Systems investment cluster, which focuses on reusing, recycling and repurposing plastics, attractive opportunities are leading to more circular business models.