Robeco Global Consumer Trends D EUR

Global equity markets have kept their strong momentum during the first six months of 2021. Vaccination campaigns are accelerating in most European markets. This has caused many governments to ease Covid-related mobility measures and we have seen increased consumer and enterprise activity. This has led to very strong economic data and earnings growth. In the last few weeks the leadership in the equity markets has changed. During the initial Hope phase of the cycle, returns are usually driven by anticipation of recovery and the leaders are often cyclical stocks, given their high operating leverage. As the cycle matures, the markets moves more towards the Growth phase. This recent market shift towards growth stocks was also helped by declining interest rates. Rising commodity and energy prices will continue to put pressure on inflation. However, the Fed still increased their 2021 inflation estimate by a percentage point. European stocks in the FTSE Eurotop 100 Index followed the US market and also rose. Finally, emerging markets were the worst-performing region with slight negative returns in USD, mainly driven by Chinese equity markets. The MSCI World All Country Index (in EUR) rose 4.5%.

The fund can engage in currency hedging transactions. Typically currency hedging is not applied.

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 Global Consumer Trends integrates ESG factors into its investment process by analyzing 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 (long-term) risks and opportunities of a company. The impact of material ESG factors can be positive or negative, reflecting risks or opportunities, that ensue from a company’s ESG analysis. If ESG risks and opportunities are significant, the ESG analysis could impact a stock’s fair value and the portfolio allocation decision. In addition to ESG integration, Robeco also has an exclusion policy and conducts proxy voting and engagement activities focused on specific themes, such as climate change, aiming to improve a company’s sustainability profile.

Robeco Global Consumer Trends is an actively managed fund that invests in stocks in developed and emerging countries across the world. The selection of these stocks is based on fundamental analysis. The fund's objective is to achieve a better return than the index. The fund promotes ESG (i.e. Environmental, Social and corporate Governance) characteristics within the meaning of Article 8 of the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and integrates ESG and sustainability risks in the investment process. In addition, the fund applies an exclusion list on the basis of controversial behavior, products (including controversial weapons, tobacco, palm oil and fossil fuel) and countries, next to voting and engaging. The fund invests in a number of structural growth trends in consumer spending. The first is the "digital transformation of consumption". The second trend is that of the growth in the “emerging middle class”. The third trend focuses on the increasing importance of "health & wellbeing". The fund managers aims to select stocks of the structural winners within these trends. The majority of stocks selected will be components of the Benchmark, but stocks outside the Benchmark may be selected too. The investment policy is not constrained by a Benchmark but the fund may use a benchmark for comparison purposes. The fund can deviate substantially from the issuer, country and sector weightings of the Benchmark. There are no restrictions on the deviation from the Benchmark. the Benchmark is a broad market weighted index that is not consistent with the ESG characteristics promoted by the fund.

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