Michiel Plakman is Lead Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. He is also Co-Head of Robeco’s Global Equity team. He is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on SDG investing and on companies in the information technology, real estate & communication services sectors, as well as portfolio construction. He has been in this role since 2009. Previously, he was responsible for managing the Robeco IT Equities fund within the TMT team. Prior to joining Robeco in 1999, he worked as a Portfolio Manager Japanese Equities at Achmea Global Investors (PVF Pensioenen). From 1995 to 1996 he was Portfolio Manager European Equities at KPN Pension Fund. He holds a Master's in Econometrics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and he is a CFA® Charterholder. Chris Berkouwer is Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. He is also Deputy Lead Portfolio Manager. He is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on the low-carbon transition and on companies in the energy, materials and industrials sectors, as well as portfolio construction. He joined Robeco in 2010. Prior to that, he worked as an analyst for the The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. He conducted country, industry and company research for various equity teams prior to joining the Global Equity team. He a holds Master's in Business Administration and International Public Management from the Erasmus University Rotterdam and is a CFA® Charterholder.

The fund is established in Luxembourg and is subject to the Luxembourg tax laws and regulations. The fund is not liable to pay any corporation, income, dividend or capital gains tax in Luxembourg. The fund is subject to an annual subscription tax ('tax d'abonnement') in Luxembourg, which amounts to 0.05% of the net asset value of the fund. This tax is included in the net asset value of the fund. The fund can in principle use the Luxembourg treaty network to partially recover any withholding tax on its income.

The fiscal consequences of investing in this fund depend on the investor's personal situation. For private investors in the Netherlands real interest and dividend income or capital gains received on their investments are not relevant for tax purposes. Each year investors pay income tax on the value of their net assets as at 1 January if and inasmuch as such net assets exceed the investor’s tax-free allowance. Any amount invested in the fund forms part of the investor's net assets. Private investors who are resident outside the Netherlands will not be taxed in the Netherlands on their investments in the fund. However, such investors may be taxed in their country of residence on any income from an investment in this fund based on the applicable national fiscal laws. Other fiscal rules apply to legal entities or professional investors. We advise investors to consult their financial or tax adviser about the tax consequences of an investment in this fund in their specific circumstances before deciding to invest in the fund.

The fund incorporates sustainability in the investment process via exclusions, ESG integration, ESG and environmental footprint targets, and voting. The fund does not invest in issuers that are in breach of international norms or where activities have been deemed detrimental to society following Robeco's exclusion policy. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up fundamental investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. In the stock selection the fund limits exposure to elevated sustainability risks. The fund also targets a better ESG score and at least 20% lower carbon footprint compared to the reference index. In addition, where a stock issuer is flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to exclusion. Lastly, the fund makes use of shareholder rights and applies proxy voting in accordance with Robeco's proxy voting policy.For more information please visit the sustainability-related disclosures.The index used for all sustainability visuals is based on MSCI World Index (Net Return, EUR).

The first five weeks of Trump 2.0 has not gone by unnoticed, to put it mildly, unequivocally staking new ground and shaking global equity markets (-0.8% in EUR; -0.7% in USD). The back-and-forth on tariffs, the role of Elon Musk in the Trump administration and subsequent gutting of the federal government, and rising AI fatigue have brought cracks to the 'US exceptionalism' trade. In fact, concerns around the US overheating have started to creep in, with its economy still running hot and inflation far from gone. Potentially, this can even lead to higher rates, despite this being something President Trump would not 'allow'. On the flip side, we see Europe finally back on the radar again after a long period in the doldrums, outperforming most other indices since the start of the year. It has brought fund flows back to the 'old continent', potentially reviving old-economy value sectors such as materials and energy as well. Staring down the barrel of tariffs, no growth and little geopolitical power, the realization of an existential threat seems to bring about a coalition for drastic change.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -1.62%. In February, the portfolio had a negative absolute return, also lagging the benchmark. Sector-wise, our positioning in consumer discretionary and healthcare helped performance most, while industrials and financials lagged. In terms of stock selection, AbbVie contributed best to performance. The immunology pharma segment posted healthy results, in particular sales numbers of AbbVie's drugs Skyrizi (psoriasis) and Rinvoq (arthritis) continued to trend ahead of expectations, sending the stock higher. AbbVie also flagged that physicians are increasingly switching away from the legacy Humira product to newer agents, benefiting both Skyrizi and Rinvoq. Deutsche Telekom also contributed positively. Even though fixed-line telecom trends in Germany disappointed, the story of Deutsche Telekom is still very much driven by its majority stake in T-Mobile USA, which continues to show healthy service revenues, growth in postpaid net adds and strong FCF generation now that Sprint is fully integrated into the business.

As of late, markets have started to question the narrative of US exceptionalism, in particular the path forward to further monetize it all. Tougher trade and geopolitical language from the Oval Office has put a dampener on ever more risk appetite, at least for now. It is of course possible there is a so-called 'Trump put' at play, meaning that if markets drop in response to policy moves made by President Trump, he will retract on it, as we've seen with many tariff threats so far. Still, the collateral damage that comes with it brings a type of overhang for stocks that investors tend to dislike. Whether we've indeed seen the US as a share of world market cap peaking remains to be seen, but the market rotations so far seem to be firming up. The move away from a relatively stable global world order to a 'you're on your own' world order brings about shifts in investor risk appetite. Such elevated macro uncertainty requires a portfolio approach that inhibits a built-in flexibility to navigate different backdrops and regime shifts, akin to what our investment strategy is designed for in our search for alpha.