RobecoSAM Smart Mobility Equities D EUR

Pieter Busscher is the Cluster Head of the Thematic Investing team covering Energy/Mobility/Materials. He is Portfolio Manager of the RobecoSAM Smart Materials Equities and RobecoSAM Smart Mobility Equities strategies. He focuses on sustainable growth opportunities in new materials, efficiency technologies, reuse of resources and new mobility solutions. He started at Robeco as a Deputy Portfolio Manager for the Sustainable Water strategy. Pieter became the Lead Portfolio Manager for Smart Materials in 2009 and Deputy Portfolio for Smart Mobility at launch in 2018. Prior to joining Robeco in 2007, he began his career at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Zurich. He studied International Business at RSM Erasmus University and Banking and Finance at the University of St. Gallen and is a CFA® charterholder. Clément Chamboulive is a Co-Portfolio Manager of the RobecoSAM Smart Mobility Equities strategy and also covers thematic research within the Thematic Investing Energy/Mobility/Materials team, with a focus on technology. Prior to joining in 2021, he was at the Swiss investment firm 2Xideas, where he worked as an equity analyst focusing on technology. Clément started his career in 2011 at Baillie Gifford, where he was an investment analyst, and then investment manager, on different strategies. Clément holds a BSc (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc from ETH Zürich, both in Physics. Giacomo Fumagalli is Co-Portfolio Manager of RobecoSAM Smart Mobility Equities strategy and also covering thematic research within the Thematic Investing Energy/Mobility/Materials team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2019, he worked at Lemanik SA, an investment management company located in Lugano, where he was part of the Italian equities team that managed two mutual funds mainly invested in Italian stocks. Previous to that, he worked as Junior Portfolio Manager at Credit Suisse in Milano, where he started his career in 2012, covering European equities for UHNWI discretionary mandates and was Assistant Portfolio Manager of the CS Equity Italy mutual fund. Giacomo holds a M.Sc. in Finance from Bocconi University in Milano as well as a M.Sc. In Accounting and Control from the Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University). He is a CFA® charterholder since 2016.

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 support the transformation and decarbonization of the global transportation sector. The transformation and decarbonization of the global transportation sector 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 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 Smart Mobility theme continued to expand, as the transformation of the automotive industry towards electrification maintained its momentum. Globally, June 2023 marked a 19% share of plugin electric vehicles, with the BEV share at 13%. Strong growth is currently observed in the US after the launch of the Inflation Reduction Act, with more than 10% EV penetration for cars in July. China saw NEV sales increase more than 41% year-to-date to July, reaching a market share of 29%.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -8.03%. Gentherm reported in-line Q2 results and reiterated guidance. The company's share price increased on the back of a strong order backlog, which rose to 1.2 bln year-to-date vs 1.8 bln for the whole of last year. Margins are expected to rise in the second half of the year. CATL appreciated on news of its new 4C LFP battery, which would mark extremely fast charging at 4x the battery capacity vs the 2C currently in the market for LFP. BYD's blade battery is also very strong on LFP, but CATL certainly positions itself very strongly across all types of batteries. Eurogroup Laminations was up again after reporting positive numbers, with automotive demand very strong in EV/automotive applications for stators and rotors. XPeng was also weaker despite a strong set of announcements in the month. It announced a partnership with ride share operator DiDi on smart EVs. This will be based on the MONA platform to be manufactured in XPeng's plant with an initial target of 100-180k cars a year.

The underlying fundamentals (as reflected by the core themes addressed by the strategy) are very robust. The tight components supply situation is slowly improving. However, some of it may persist for longer, but in the meantime supports semiconductor companies. Technology companies with strong and sustainable moats remain the focus of the strategy's investments. These companies focus on the development of high-voltage electric, low-voltage electronic and software-managed solutions that enable electrification, connectivity and autonomous driving. Other key enabling technologies include battery management systems, power inverters, 3D sensing, big data communication and artificial intelligence (AI). The strategy will also continue to seek exposure to the EV market as well as to companies helping to develop EV infrastructure worldwide.