Robeco Sustainable European Stars Equities D EUR

Equity markets performed strongly in April, recovering further from their earlier collapse. Markets are well-known for forestalling future economic developments. The discrepancy between an unfolding economic downturn in full swing and strongly rising markets is staggering though, even to professional investors, and must feel very surreal to people working in the real economy, fearing bankruptcies and sky-rocketing unemployment in so many industries.Market sentiment has been largely driven by the hope that the unprecedented multi-trillion rescue packages will be effective, even if they will not help to combat the virus and its implied consequences as such. The ‘lesson learned’ in the post-global financial crisis period is still very much on investors' minds, i.e. ‘Never fight central banks’. This time is different in many respects, one of which being the combined monetary and fiscal ‘whatever it takes’ effort. The long-term consequences are unforeseeable, with ever rising debt burdens, subdued growth likely to persist and interest rates at rock bottom already. What is clear is that the current fundamental and economic environment looks increasingly dire.

To reduce any possibility of large currency deviations relative to the benchmark which heighten the level of risk, the fund may bring exposure into line with the currency weights of the benchmark by carrying out currency forward transactions.

The fund does not distribute dividend; any income earned is retained, and so the fund's entire performance is reflected in its share price.

Robeco Sustainable European Stars Equities integrates ESG at different stages of the investment process. We use sustainability performance rankings to focus our fundamental analysis on companies that have demonstrated superior sustainability performance compared to their peers. We then analyze the impact of financially material ESG factors to a company’s competitive position and value drivers. We believe that this enhances our ability to understand existing and potential risks and opportunities of a company. If ESG risks and opportunities are significant, the ESG analysis could impact a stock’s fair value and the portfolio allocation decision. Throughout the investment process, we strive for a low environmental impact, as measured by GHG emissions, energy consumption, water use and waste generation, with the aim of realizing 20% better levels than the index. In addition to ESG integration, Robeco conducts proxy voting and engagement activities focused on specific themes, such as climate change, aiming to improve a company’s sustainability profile. Furthermore, the fund will not invest in companies exposed to the following controversial sectors or business practices: military contracting, controversial weapons, fire arms, UN Global Compact breaches, tobacco, palm oil and thermal coal, according to strict revenue thresholds.

Our investment philosophy is grounded in the core belief that the integration of ESG factors into a disciplined, research-driven investment process leads to better-informed investment decisions and better risk-adjusted returns through an economic cycle.

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