RobecoSAM Sustainable Water Equities I USD

In October, global equity markets performed positively again. The world economy is still doing well despite some materials and components shortages. Most water-related equities rebounded from the weakness seen before the start of the recent earnings update season. Many water companies gave strong updates, often ahead of consensus data, as well as positive outlooks. California is still suffering from a severe drought, with Governor Gavin Newsom appealing to all Californians to do more to conserve water. The State Water Resource Control Board also said it may introduce emergency regulations to prohibit the wasting of water. On a municipal level, some of California's bigger cities already have similar measures in place, including San Jose, where four months ago, the water company asked its customers to cut back their water consumption by 15%.

The fund is allowed to pursue an active currency policy to generate extra returns and can engage in currency hedging transactions.

In principle the fund does not intend to distribute dividend and so both the income earned by the fund and its overall performance are reflected in its share price.

The RobecoSAM Sustainable Water Equities strategy invests globally in companies offering products and services that address the challenges related to the quantity, quality and allocation of water. It employs systematic, bottom-up stock selection that combines proprietary Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) data and research throughout the investment process. ESG criteria for exclusions and theme-specific suitability are applied during universe construction. An in-house Sustainability Investing (SI) research team integrates financially-material sector and company-specific sustainability analysis into investment cases. A dedicated thematic equity team incorporate SI research within fundamental analysis and stock valuations. Impact assessments of controversial incidences affecting portfolio holdings provide additional risk management. An active ownership and engagement team interacts directly with company management of fund holdings, offering additional channels for sustainable impact.

RobecoSAM Sustainable Water Equities is an actively managed fund that invests globally offering products and services that address the challenges related to the quantity, quality and allocation of water. 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 has sustainable investment as its objective within the meaning of Article 9 of the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The fund contributes to water infrastructure and to distribution of tap water, and collection and treatment of wastewater and focuses on companies which supply to the value chain of water or which offer products or technologies which are more water efficient than others in their category. This is done by investing in companies that advance the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs): Clean water and sanitation, Good health and well-being, Life below water and Life on land. The fund integrates ESG (i.e. Environmental, Social and corporate Governance) in the investment process, applies an exclusion list basis controversial behavior, products (including controversial weapons, tobacco, palm oil and fossil fuel) while avoiding investment in thermal coal, weapons, military contracting and companies that severely violate labor conditions, next to voting and engaging.The strategy integrates sustainability criteria as part of the stocks selection process and through a theme specific sustainability assessment. The portfolio is built on the basis of an eligible investment universe that includes companies whose business models contibute to the thematic investment objectives. The assessment regarding relevant SDGs uses an internally developed framework about which more information can be obtained via the website www.robeco.com/si. 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 the 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 sustainable objective of the fund.

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