Robeco Global Credits - Short Maturity DH SEK

Evert Giesen is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Previously, he was an Analyst, responsible for covering the Automotive sector within the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2001, Evert worked at AEGON Asset Management for four years as a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager. He has been active in the industry since 1997 and holds a Master's in Econometrics from Tilburg University. Reinout Schapers is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2011, Reinout worked at Aegon Asset Management where he was a Head of European High Yield. Before that, he worked at Rabo Securities as an M&A Associate and at Credit Suisse First Boston as an Analyst Corporate Finance. Reinout has been active in the industry since 2003. He holds a Master's in Architecture from the Delft University of Technology. The Robeco Global Credits - Short Maturity fund is managed within Robeco’s credit team, which consists of nine portfolio managers and twenty-three credit analysts (of which four financials analysts). The portfolio managers are responsible for the construction and management of the credit portfolios, whereas the analysts cover the team’s fundamental research. Our analysts have long term experience in their respective sectors which they cover globally. Each analyst covers both investment grade and high yield, providing them an information advantage and benefiting from inefficiencies that traditionally exist between the two segmented markets. Furthermore, the credit team is supported by dedicated quantitative researchers and fixed income traders. On average, the members of the credit team have an experience in the asset management industry of seventeen years, of which eight years with Robeco.

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, a minimum allocation to ESG-labeled bonds, and engagement. The fund does not invest in credit 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 security analysis to assess the impact on the issuer's fundamental credit quality. In the credit selection the fund limits exposure to issuers with an elevated sustainability risk profile. Furthermore, the fund invests at least 5% in green, social, sustainable, and/or sustainability-linked bonds. Lastly, where issuers are flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement.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 Bloomberg Global Aggregate Corporate 1-5 years (hedged into SEK).

October was a weak month for credit markets, with credit spreads widening during the month. Spreads for the Bloomberg Global Agg Corp 1-5 rose 9 bps to 1.29%, leading to an excess return over Treasuries of -0.19% for the index. The conflict in the Middle East that started with the attack carried out by Hamas on Israel on 7 October dominated news headlines. The event raised concerns about a broader conflict and commodities like oil and gold traded higher during the month. Most companies reported decent quarterly earnings, although many companies reported that economic activity is decelerating. In the US, GDP increased due to healthy consumer spending. Labor markets in the US continue to be strong and employment costs continued to rise. On top of that, investors are concerned about the US funding gap, debt ceiling discussions and new House speaker Mike Johnson. 5Y Treasury yields rose from 4.61% to 4.85%. In Europe, macro data was weaker, with Q3 GDP showing a minor contraction. On a positive note, Eurozone inflation data dropped to a two-year low. 5Y German yields declined 12 bps over the month.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 0.10%. With beta reduced to slightly above 1, the contribution from beta positioning was slightly negative in October. Issuer selection made a positive contribution. The exposure to Tier-1 bank bonds made a positive contribution. The position in IFF did well after the company announced an asset disposal. Austrian bank Raiffeisen did well, as the earnings release showed a strong performance in its non-Russian business.

The US economy has been remarkably resilient despite the sharpest hiking cycle in decades. The factors that caused the lag in monetary policy transmission have now largely played out. The European economy has not enjoyed the same fiscal impulse and is not immune to weakness in China, a key trading partner. The Chinese economy has shown outright signs of weakness and the level of monetary and fiscal support has been underwhelming. Our expectation is that it is likely that we will see economic weakness going forward. Market consensus and valuations in markets have shifted more towards a soft-landing scenario recently, which we view as unlikely. This is one of the main reasons for us to be cautious at the moment. In investment grade markets we see banks offering the best value, as spreads in this sector price in some recession risk. We remain cautious on cyclical sectors where valuations do not price in recession risks.