Robeco Global Climate Transition Equities I USD

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. Yanxin Liu is Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. She is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on information technology as well as portfolio construction. Yanxin spent 11 years with our Emerging Markets Equity team, prior to joining the Global Equity team in 2022. Within the Emerging Markets team her focus was on all sectors in Greater China. Prior to that, Yanxin worked for DSM Pension Services in the Netherlands as an analyst focusing on US large-cap equities. Yanxin has a Master’s in Finance from the Erasmus University Rotterdam and a Bachelor’s in Financial Accounting from Nankai University in Tianjin, China. She became a CFA® Charterholder in 2015 and is a native Mandarin speaker.

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 0.01% 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.

Investors who are not subject to (exempt from) Dutch corporate-income tax (e.g. pension funds) are not taxed on the achieved result. Investors who are subject to Dutch corporate-income tax can be taxed for the result achieved on their investment in the fund. Dutch bodies that are subject to corporate-income tax are obligated to declare interest and dividend income, as well as capital gains in their tax return. Investors residing outside the Netherlands are subject to their respective national tax regime applying to foreign investment funds. We advise individual 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 aims to invest at least 80% of its assets in companies that are making or enabling the climate transition in line with the Paris agreement. Furthermore, the fund incorporates sustainability in the investment process through exclusions, ESG integration, engagement, and voting. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. The fund limits exposure to issuers OR companies? with an elevated sustainability risk profile to 5%. Elevated sustainability risk is defined by Robeco as companies with an ESG Risk Rating of 40 and higher. In addition, where a stock issuer is flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement.The following sections display the ESG-metrics for this fund along with short descriptions. For more information, please visit the sustainability-related disclosures.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -2.27%. October was a slightly positive month for our strategy from an absolute return perspective, with a small outperformance against the benchmark (+0.6% versus +0.5%, respectively). Sector-wise, the main positive contributors were consumer staples and energy, while our positioning in consumer discretionary and financials detracted. In terms of stock selection, most performance contribution came from Sprouts Farmers Market. The company once again impressed with its strong same-store-sales growth numbers, underpinned by higher traffic and good traction of its e-commerce platform, partly thanks to its partnership with Uber Eats. Vontier Corp, a mobility tech play, also enjoyed a good month after a positive earnings report, beating expectations on both topline growth and margin improvement. On the flip side, we saw Japanese bike equipment supplier Shimano pulling back after giving a subdued outlook for the cycling industry next year. As the market has increasingly priced in a Trump win and First Solar is perceived an IRA loser, the stock has suffered, making our entry point look poor in hindsight.

As the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement approaches in 2025, it's already clear it has not succeeded in preventing global warming from topping 1.5 degrees Celsius. Also, with the next COP, number 29, coming up in November, we expect more firm climate policies to be announced, not only regarding mitigative strategies but also increasingly on climate adaptation. However, for now it'll be mainly the US elections that ring the bell. We should not forget that many carrots (and sticks) around climate policies date back for decades and have actually had bipartisan support throughout, making an outright 'cancellation' of the IRA very unlikely in case of a Trump victory. Clearly, some parts might be more at risk than others, such as EV subsidies, but the business case for most programs remains firmly in place, most notably for grid investments and nuclear energy. One way or another, from a climate thematic, political landscape or portfolio construction perspective, we keep arguing for a comprehensive suite of solutions to invest in. Especially against the background of a wide range of macro uncertainties, portfolio diversification remains key.