RobecoSAM Global Gender Equality Equities I EUR

Audrey Kaplan is Lead Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. She is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on gender-based investing and on companies in financials, consumer staples, and portfolio construction. She joined Robeco in 2021. Previously, she was Head of Global Equity Strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute (NY). Prior to joining Wells Fargo, she worked as Head of International Equity Team and Senior Portfolio Manager at Federated Investors, Inc. (NY, now known as Federated Hermes). She also held roles in European research at Merrill Lynch International (London) and in Asian research at Salomon Brothers, Inc. (Tokyo) earlier in her career. She holds a Master's in Finance from London Business School and a Bachelor’s in Computer & Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Michiel Plakman is Lead Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. He is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on SDG investing and on companies in information technology, real estate and portfolio construction. He has been in this role since 2009. Previously, he was responsible for managing the Robeco IT Equities fund within the TMT team. Prior to joining Robeco in 1999, he worked as a Portfolio Manager Japan at Achmea Global Investors (PVF Pensioenen). From 1995 to 1996 he was Portfolio Manager European Equities at KPN Pension Fund. He holds a Master's in Econometrics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 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 0.01% 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.

Investors who are not subject to (exempt from) Dutch corporate-income tax (e.g. pension funds) are not taxed on the achieved result. 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, as well as capital gains in their tax return. Investors residing outside the Netherlands are subject to their respective national tax regime applying to foreign investment funds. We advise individual 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 by the means of a target universe definition, exclusions, negative screening, ESG integration, and voting. The fund invests at least two-thirds in companies that have a Gender Equality score of 50 or higher and only invests in companies with positive or neutral SDG scores based on the internally developed SDG Framework. The fund also applies a negative screening to exclude the 20% worst ESG scoring stock issuers from the investable universe and does not invest in stock issuers that are in breach of international norms or where products have been deemed controversial as per Robeco's exclusion policy. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up fundamental investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. 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.

Global equity markets were flat in April, while achieving a strong YTD rally (+6%) in euros. Europe was the best-performing region in the month and continues to lead YTD returns, spurred on by robust business activity data across Europe. China's Q1 GDP print was also stronger than expected. The US is midway through the earnings season and companies are recording their best performance relative to analysts' expectations since 21Q4. However, all is not rosy, with demand for services keeping pressure on price increases and global central banks continuing their rate hikes. Monetary policy concerns and tighter bank lending conditions propelled defensive sectors in April, including consumer staples (+2.4%) and healthcare (+1.9%), while energy (+2.3%) rallied with the oil price. Unlike the composite PMIs, the manufacturing PMIs in Europe and the US both printed below 50, likely prompting the cyclical sectors to lag. The US ISM Manufacturing Index being below 50 for six months and the New York Fed model results are both suggesting a recession ahead.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 0.79%. In April, the portfolio rose modestly (0.85%) and outperformed the MSCI World (0.14%) by 72 bps, which was primarily driven by broad-based favorable stock selection across both defensive and cyclical sectors. In healthcare, AstraZeneca led among several top-performing pharmaceutical companies including Merck and Eli Lilly. AstraZeneca joined the club of good quarterly reporters, as its beat puts the company on track to exceed its full-year guidance, with all key franchises performing well and higher R&D spend on nearly 30 new Phase-III trials to broaden its oncology footprint. In consumer staples, Unilever, for the fifth consecutive quarter, reported an underlying sales growth above the top end of its medium-term guidance range, which helped propel Unilever to our top alpha-producing position. Our consistent focus on DE&I-leading companies that promote gender equality kept us from owning Tesla, which aided our relative performance. While stock selection overall was positive, the semiconductor stocks that contributed especially positively to performance in 23Q1 lagged. The underweight energy sector also dragged on performance for the month.

Interestingly, Europe seems to be a relative safe haven, with the US facing more specific risks including a large reduction from massive Covid liquidity, risky commercial real estate, the regional banks saga, debt ceiling debates and continued political divisions. The valuation differential between both argues in favor of Europe. Still, large issues at play in the US, such as a hard landing or a severe contraction in credit markets, will undoubtedly spill over to Europe too, outweighing any modest tailwind it currently gets from China's reopening. Since we do not own a crystal ball on rate pathways or easing timelines, we believe the status quo is fragile and the flurry of data points imply calmer rate markets and a range-bound equity market. We remain focused on a diverse mix of high-quality companies with strong operational track records and resilient business models. Within our strategy, we continue to select leading gender equality companies working to diversify not only their boards and C-suites but also in senior and junior management and within their overall workforce.