Robeco BP US Premium Equities YH EUR

Mr. Ramallo is the senior portfolio manager for Boston Partners Premium Equity product.  Previously, Mr. Ramallo was the assistant portfolio manager for the Small Cap Value products.  Prior to his portfolio management role, Mr. Ramallo was a research analyst for Boston Partners.  He joined the firm from Deloitte & Touche L.L.P., where he spent three years, most recently in their Los Angeles office.  Mr. Ramallo holds a B.A. degree in economics/business from the University of California at Los Angeles and an M.B.A. from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA.  He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.  He is also a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).  He has twenty years of investment experience.

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 via exclusions, ESG integration, a carbon target, engagement and voting. Through exclusions the fund avoids investments in 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 investment analysis to assess the sustainability risk profile of companies. In the stock selection the fund limits exposure to elevated sustainability risks. The fund also targets a lower carbon footprint compared to the reference index. 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.

Markets in the United States as measured by the S&P 500 Index declined -2.4% in the second month of 2023. While all styles of US indices were lower, the growth segment of the market outperformed its value counterpart. US Large Cap Value fared the worst, falling -3.5%, as measured by the Russell 1000 Value Index.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -2.63%. Robeco BP US Premium Equities outperformed the Russell 3000 Value Index in February. Stock selection drove relative results in the month, with positive effects in 7 of 9 invested sectors. There were four areas which contributed meaningfully, led by industrials. Wesco International was up 11%, battery business EnerSys rose 9%, Copart improved by 6%, Landstar gained nearly 5% and Science Applications traded higher by 3%, to summarize a group of holdings that added value over the month. The next largest impact came from healthcare, one of the worst sectors on a monthly absolute basis, but several fund holdings shined, with AbbVie and Avantor notching positive results. Stock picking in consumer discretionary and technology also added value, where fund holdings AutoZone, Booking Holdings, Tempur Sealy and Harley Davidson and positions in the semiconductor space outpaced the market, as did individual holdings Jabil and FLEETCOR Technologies. Sector allocation had a minimal impact in February, with every sector negative between 0.8% and 6.0%.

Higher rates due to elevated inflation, heightened geopolitical risk and lower margin/earnings expectations do not seem all that conducive to a rip-roaring stock market. Growth continues to lead value, driven by a late 2010s style favoritism for the top stocks in the growth index. The fund remains well positioned with holdings that reflect Boston Partners' three-circle characteristics – attractive valuations, solid business fundamentals and identifiable catalysts.