Robeco Global Total Return Bond Fund IH USD

On 1 March, German Bund yields declined 20 basis points to -0.07%, as fears of the war in Ukraine fueled the flight-to-quality demand. US Treasury yields also fell, but in a more modest fashion. Nonetheless, as energy prices skyrocketed and the market became more convinced that the conflict would be contained to Ukraine and Russia, inflation pressures started dominating market pricing. Bond yields rose fast, helped as well by hawkish central bank rhetoric. Fed officials pointed to the possibility of 50-bps rate hikes and a quick balance sheet reduction, after a 25-bps step in March. The ECB continued to pave the way for hiking rates later this year. US 2-year yields rose 90 bps in the month and 2-year German yields moved into positive territory for the first time since 2014. Yields on 10-year US Treasuries (2.34%), Bunds (0.55%) and OATs (0.98 %) all closed March at around multi-year highs.

Currency risks are hedged, however active currency positions of the fund are part of the investment strategy and will not be hedged.

All income earned is accumulated and not distributed as dividend. Therefore the total return is reflected in the share price development.

The fund incorporates sustainability in the investment process via exclusions, negative screening, ESG integration, limits on investments in companies and countries based on ESG performance as well as engagement. For government and government-related bonds, the fund complies with Robeco’s exclusion policy for countries, excludes the 15% worst ranked countries following the World Governance Indicator 'Control of Corruption', and ensures investments have a minimum weighted average score of 6 following Robeco's proprietary Country Sustainability Ranking. The Country Sustainability Ranking scores countries on a scale from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) based on 40 environmental, social, and governance indicators. For corporate bonds, the fund does not invest in credit issuers that are in breach of international norms or where activities have been deemed detrimental to society following Robeco's exclusion policy. ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up security analysis to assess the impact on the issuer's fundamental credit quality. In the credit selection the fund limits exposure to issuers with an elevated sustainability risk profile. Lastly, where issuers are flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement.

Robeco Global Total Return Bond Fund invests in government and corporate bonds, and has the flexibility to invest in emerging debt, with the aim of capturing opportunities in fixed income classes around the globe. The investment process and bond selection is fundamentally driven, based on in-depth research. By adopting a contrarian approach to markets, with a focus on value, while utilizing tools to measure risk aversion, euphoria and value, we believe we can exploit market inefficiencies over the cycle. The fund aims to deliver an attractive total return, also on a risk-adjusted basis. The duration of the fund will be managed actively and can move between 0 and 10 years. Active currency positions are part of the investment strategy. The backbone of the investment process is consistent and in-depth fundamental research on both companies and countries. An important element in this analysis is the assessment of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

The fund aims to deliver an attractive total return, also on a risk-adjusted basis. The fund targets an ex-ante total return volatility within the range of 2 to 6% and can adjust the duration of the portfolio between 0 and 10 years. The leverage exposure of derivatives on a fund level is restricted as described in the prospectus.