Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds BH EUR

Government bonds posted their strongest returns in nearly three years in March as interest rate expectations fell globally. All Eurozone government bonds performed well – both German Bunds and Italian BTPs generated a return of 1.7% – as German 10-year yields fell from 0.18% to -0.06%, at one point reaching a low of -0.09%. This is not the lowest level for Bunds yields post-2008, but it is the lowest since September 2016 in the aftermath of the UK’s original vote to leave the EU. The rally was driven by dovish turns from both the ECB and the Fed. The ECB downgraded its growth forecasts and pushed back the timing of the first rate hike in their forward guidance. Weak German manufacturing PMI data (44.7) also helped push rates lower. Southern European bonds have seen surprisingly low volatility compared to the events of 2018. The ECB announced its new subsidized funding program for banks (the TLTRO). However, the lack of detail, and the fact the ECB stopped the PSPP (Public Sector Purchase Programme) at the end of 2018, prevented riskier Eurozone sovereign markets from outperforming.

Relatively small positions in currencies other than the euro are permitted. Derivatives can be used for various reasons such as hedging single positions and arbitrage, or for leverage to gain extra exposure.

Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds make use of derivatives for hedging purposes as well as for investment purposes. These derivatives are regarded very liquid.

The fund distributes dividend on a quarterly basis. The dividends referred to are target dividends and may be subject to change as a result of market conditions.

For Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds, ESG factors play an important role in the investment process, both in country analysis and credit analysis. For sovereigns, the Country Sustainability Ranking and underlying research is used as input for assessment of the structural outlook for a country. For credits, the ESG analysis is part of the fundamental scoring by the sector analyst.

Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds is an active bond fund looking to optimize returns on a risk adjusted basis. Its benchmark agnostic investment style is well suited to benefit from inefficiencies linked to benchmarks. It applies a top down strategic allocation. The fund benefits from market segmentation and prevailing silo thinking as it can allocate between all of the asset classes within the fixed income universe. The fund performance is driven by multiple drivers, of which country allocation is currently the most dominant. The Fixed Income Allocation portfolio managers focus on strategic asset allocation decisions. This team is responsible for the asset allocation of the fund and is looking at duration and credit strategies to be implemented into the portfolio. The team can also allocate to foreign exchange strategies but this is not the main contributor to performance.The fixed income investment teams focus on asset class specific strategies. The fund benefits from the expertise of each specific team. The team sets up detailed investment theses bases on fundamental research, applying a structured analysis framework that combines both top-down (macro environment & policy, valuation, sentiment & positioning) and bottom-up perspectives (a country's debt sustainability, macro-economic cycle, ESG profile). As such the portfolio managers have created a repeatable process that has led to long term alpha generation. Alpha generation of the fund is based on multiple performance drivers, such as country allocation, duration management and yield curve positioning. Risk budgeting can be adaptive through time in order to capture the most compelling investment opportunities.

Risk management is fully embedded in the investment process to ensure that positions always meet predefined guidelines.