Robeco QI Global Multi-Factor Equities Fund EUR G

Guido Baltussen is Head of the Factor Investing Equities capability and Co-Head of Quant Fixed Income. He also holds a part-time position as Professor of Behavioral Finance and Financial Markets at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Before joining Robeco in 2017, Guido was Head of Quantitative Research Fixed Income and Multi Asset at NN Investment Partners. He has published in top-ranked academic journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics, the American Economic Review, Management Science and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analyses. He has worked together in research projects with the 2017 Nobel Prize laureate Richard Thaler. He started his career in the investment industry in 2004. Guido holds a PhD and a Master's (cum laude) in Financial and Business Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Daniel Haesen is Portfolio Manager Quantitative Equities and focuses on managing Factor Investing portfolios such as the Value-, Momentum-, Quality- and Multi-Factor portfolios. He specializes in factor research and portfolio management. Daniel joined Robeco in 2003 as a quantitative researcher, with a specific focus on quant selection research, working on both equity and corporate bond multi-factor selection models. He was also responsible for quantitative sustainability and quantitative allocation research. He has published in several academic journals, including the Journal of Banking and Finance. He holds a Master's degree in Econometrics and Quantitative Finance from Tilburg University in the Netherlands and is a CFA® charterholder. Wouter Tilgenkamp is Portfolio Manager Quantitative Equities and focuses on managing Factor Investing portfolios, such as the Value-, Momentum-, Quality- and Multi-Factor portfolios. Wouter joined Robeco in 2016 as a Data Scientist, with a specific focus on Equity Trading Research, automatization of portfolio processes, portfolio construction, and optimal execution of strategies. He started his financial career in 2014 as Derivative Trader at Optiver. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from Technical University of Delft and a master’s degree in Quantitative Finance. Jan Sytze Mosselaar is Portfolio Manager Quantitative Equities. He focuses on managing the wide range of regional and global Conservative Equities strategies, Robeco’s Low-volatility strategy, and the factor investing portfolios, such as Value-, Momentum-, Quality- and Multi-Factor portfolios. Jan Sytze is the author of ‘A Concise Financial History of Europe’, published by Robeco. He started his career in 2004 at Robeco and worked for ten years as a multi-asset portfolio manager, responsible for multi-asset funds, quant allocation funds and fiduciary pension mandates. He holds a Master’s in Business Economics with a specialization in Finance & Investments from the University of Groningen. He is a CFA® charterholder. Pim van Vliet is Head of Conservative Equities and Chief Quant Strategist. As Head of Conservative Equities, he is responsible for a wide range of global, regional, and sustainable low-volatility strategies. He specializes in low-volatility investing, asset pricing, and quantitative finance. He is the author of numerous academic research papers including publications in the Journal of Banking and Finance, Management Science, and the Journal of Portfolio Management. Pim is a guest lecturer at several universities, author of an investment book and speaker at international seminars. He became Portfolio Manager in 2010. Pim joined Robeco in 2005 as a Researcher with responsibility for asset allocation research. Pim holds a PhD and a Master's cum laude in Financial and Business Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

The fund is established in the Netherlands. The fund is managed as a 'naamloze vennootschap' (public limited company). The fund has the status of 'fiscal investment institution' in the sense of article 28 of the Dutch Corporate-Income Tax Act 1969, and, as such, is taxed at a corporate-income tax rate of 0%.The fund is obliged to pay out the realized current income in the form of dividend within 8 months after the end of the financial year. From 1 January 2007 the fund withholds Dutch dividend tax at a rate of 15% from these dividend payments. The fund can in principle use the Dutch treaty network to partially recover any withholding tax on its income.

For private investors residing in the Netherlands real interest and dividend income or capital gains received on their investments are not relevant for tax purposes. Participating units held by private investors who are taxpayers in the Netherlands belong in Box 3. If and insofar as an investor's net assets exceed the net wealth exemption limit, said investor is liable from 1 January to pay 1.2% annually on the balance of his or her net assets. Investors residing in the Netherlands may offset the Dutch dividend tax withheld (15% as at 1 January 2007) against their income-tax payment. Investors who are not subject to (exempt from) Dutch corporate-income tax (e.g. pension funds) are not taxed on the achieved result. Dutch tax-exempt bodies may seek a full refund on the 15% dividend tax withheld on dividends (25% prior to 1 January 2007). Interest income is exempt from tax withheld at source. Investors who are subject to Dutch corporate-income tax can be taxed for the result achieved on their investment in the fund. Dutch bodies that are subject to corporate-income tax are obligated to declare interest and dividend income in their tax return. In principle, Dutch bodies that are subject to corporate-income tax may offset the 15% dividend tax withheld on dividends (25% prior to 1 January 2007) against the corporate-income tax and seek a refund of the excess amount. Investors residing outside the Netherlands are subject to their respective national tax regime applying to foreign investment funds. Shareholders who do not pay tax in the Netherlands and who are resident in countries that have a tax treaty with the Netherlands to prevent double taxation, may seek a refund for part of the Dutch dividend tax from the Dutch tax authorities, depending on the treaty. As of 1 January 2007, a pension fund having its registered office in another EU member state is also entitled to a dividend-tax refund in the Netherlands. The above is based on the current fiscal legislation and regulation.

The fund systematically incorporates sustainability in the investment process via exclusions, ESG integration, ESG and environmental footprint targets, engagement and voting. The fund does not invest in stocks issued by companies that are in breach of international norms or where its activities have been deemed detrimental to society following Robeco's exclusion policy. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the portfolio construction to ensure the ESG score of the portfolio is better than that of the index. In addition, the environmental footprints of the fund are made lower than that of the benchmark by restricting the GHG emissions, water use and waste generation. With these portfolio construction rules, stocks issued by companies with better ESG scores or environmental footprints are more likely to be included in the portfolio while stocks issued by companies with worse ESG scores or environmental footprints are more likely to be divested from the portfolio. In addition, where a stock issuer is flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement. 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.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -2.98%. The fund aims to achieve higher risk-adjusted returns than both the broader market and generic factor indices over a full business cycle by building efficient, well-diversified exposure to enhanced factors. The value, momentum, low-risk and quality factors have all shown to provide better risk-adjusted performance than the broader market on an individual basis – either by providing higher returns than the market with similar volatility, or by providing returns in line with the market but with reduced volatility. In addition, the fund is benefiting from the diversification effect of exposure to four factor premiums.