RobecoSAM US Green Bonds SEH GBP

Michiel de Bruin is Head of Euro Sovereigns within the Global Macro team and Portfolio Manager. Prior to joining Robeco in 2018, Michiel was Head of Global Rates and Money Markets at BMO Global Asset Management in London. He held various other positions before that, including Head of Euro Government Bonds. Before he joined BMO in 2003, he was, among others, Co-Head of Fixed income Sales and Trading at NIB Financial Markets in Amsterdam. Michiel started his career in the industry in 1986. He is a Certified European Financial Analyst and holds a Bachelor’s in Applied Sciences from University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam. Peter Kwaak is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2005, he was Portfolio Manager Credits at Aegon Asset Management for three years and at NIB Capital for two years. Peter has been active in the industry since 1998. He holds a Master’s in Economics 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 0.05% 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 invest in green bonds. Green bonds are bonds that are recognized as such by external sources and which proceeds are used to finance or re-finance in part or in full new and/or existing environmentally-friendly projects. The green bond selection is based on external data or an internally developed five-step Green bond framework. The five-step framework states that the issuer's green bond framework must be aligned with market standards related to green bonds such as such as the ICMA Green Bond Principles. Next, the allocation of the investment proceeds must contribute to at least one of the six objectives of the EU Taxonomy nor do any significant harm to the other five. The six objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation are climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention and control, and the protection of healthy ecosystems. The third and fourth steps require that the bond issuer reports on the use of proceeds and that the issuance aligns with the wider sustainability strategy of the issuer. The fifth and last step states that the issuer must respect international norms related to conduct such as international labor rights, human rights and the UN Global Compact. In addition, the investment process also takes into account exclusions following Robeco's exclusion policy and integrates financially material ESG factors in the bottom-up issuer analysis to assess the impact on the issuer's fundamentals.

Global bond yields ended the month of April at similar levels as in March. In the US, 10-year Treasuries traded within a 3.3% to 3.6% range, ending the month at 3.42%. US government bonds rallied at the beginning of the month, as the ISM Manufacturing Index and job openings came in below expectations. In Europe, front-end German bond yields traded in a 2.5% to 3.0% range. On the last day of the month, bonds rallied strongly, with the 2-year German yield dropping 14 bps to 2.69%. Problems in the US regional banking sector continued to pop up. First Republic Bank, which is mainly active in the market for wealthy clients, was the latest victim. The bank was acquired by JPMorgan in a transaction organized by the US government. Most company earnings exceeded expectations, as the latter had been guided down to relatively low levels. In the real estate sector there continue to be defaults in office property loans due to rising vacancy rates, higher interest rates and tighter lending standards. Primary markets were relatively subdued due to the earnings calendar, despite lower rate and spread volatility.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 0.68%. The fund posted a positive absolute return over the month, underperforming its index slightly. The total return of the fund was 0.77%. The Bloomberg MSCI US Green Bond Index delivered a total return of 0.92% this month. The credit spread on the USD Green Bond Index widened by 16 bps to 108 basis points. Our credit beta positioning and issuer selection made a negative contribution for the month.

Central banks have been experimenting with monetary policy for years – and have invented a lot of new monetary instruments and strategies along the way. The result has been low or negative yields for way too long. The economic system created debt in all corners of society. A fast and aggressive hiking cycle will for sure reveal many problems. All time-series show a recession could start somewhere toward the end of the year – and we believe central banks will cause one. Recent developments in the banking sector will lead to more tightening lending standards, which will put additional pressure on the economy. We do believe risks are more skewed to the US market this time. Our concern is with leveraged sectors that might be rate sensitive like covenant-lite leveraged loans, real estate, and CLOs. We are far enough into the business and rate cycle that when markets become too bearish, buying on the dip makes sense. This time, the sell-off in AT-1 and subordinated financials led to excessive risk premiums and a buying opportunity in that segment. Valuations for non-financials are less attractive and valuations for cyclicals are not fully reflecting recession risks at the moment.