RobecoSAM Sustainable Healthy Living Equities E EUR

David Kägi is Portfolio Manager of the RobecoSAM Sustainable Healthy Living Equities strategy. Before joining Robeco in 2019, he worked as a Buy-Side analyst covering the global healthcare sector for Bank J. Safra Sarasin in Zurich, first for Private Banking, then for Asset Management. There, he also managed the Demography Health basket certificate for Bank J. Safra Sarasin. After some years in biomedical research following his PhD, he started his career in the financial industry in 1999 as a Healthcare Analyst at the investment company BT&T, followed by a position as an Investment Analyst for private biotechnology companies with Schweizerhall Management AG in Zurich. David holds a Master in Biochemistry and a PhD in T-cell Immunology both from the ETH Zurich.

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 promote good health and well-being and contributing to an efficient healthcare system. Healthy living and sustainability considerations are incorporated in the investment process by the means of a target universe definition, exclusions, ESG integration, 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. 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].

Global equity markets reached a peak for the year at the end of July, and from there eroded during the first half of August. Investors have increasingly started to worry about the imbalances and issues in China affecting domestic economic growth and also in other countries in Europe and Asia which depend on the large Chinese market for exports. Chinese export numbers decreased by double digits in July, while negative import numbers also indicated falling domestic demand. In the US, inflation has slowed, while so far the economy has remained surprisingly resilient to the rate increases. Consequently, the US Fed has signaled that rates will stay high for longer than some investors expected and even left the option open for a further rate hike this year if necessary. It remains to be seen whether the soft landing scenario for the US economy will manifest or whether the country will go through a mild recession. The energy and healthcare sectors outperformed the broad global markets, while the consumer staples, consumer discretionary, and materials sectors underperformed in the month.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -1.42%. In August, the Healthy Living strategy yielded a return above its investible universe and slightly below the broad global market benchmark. In the portfolio, the Therapeutics and the Healthy Lifestyles clusters performed the best, with the Healthy Nutrition and Healthcare Efficiency clusters lagging. On an individual stock level, the biggest positive contribution came from BellRing Brands with strong second-quarter results. The protein shakes, bars and powders producer demonstrated that it was one of the few consumer companies able to grow volumes due to strong consumer demand in the quarter. Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk delivered the second-largest positive contribution. Positive investor sentiment for the company's diabetes and weight loss treatments got further support from a clinical study showing that the drugs have the very desirable effect of lowering the risk for heart attacks and strokes. The largest negative contribution came from salmon farming company Bakkafrost. In its second-quarter report, the company disclosed additional biological problems for its operations in Scotland, which will continue to affect harvesting in the second half of the year.

The risks to economic growth have increased due to inflation, rate increases by central banks, geopolitical tensions and a slower recovery in China. We expect the global economy to weaken in the course of 2023. It will therefore be even more important to focus on solid business fundamentals, pricing power and quality. We remain constructive on the mid to long-term potential of the equity markets and are making use of current market conditions to further solidify our positions in companies that have very strong long-term business prospects. The pandemic has accelerated changes necessary to build more robust and sustainable economies. It has also made individuals more inclined to adopt a healthier lifestyle. The Healthy Living portfolio of sustainable companies is well positioned to benefit from these changes in the longer run.