Folmer Pietersma is Portfolio Manager of the Robeco Sustainable Property Equities fund. Prior to joining Robeco in 2007, Folmer worked at ABN AMRO Asset Management as a Portfolio Manager and Analyst Financials. He started his career at ING in 1997. He holds a Master's in Economics from the University of Tilburg and has a CEFA registration. Frank Onstwedder is Portfolio Manager of the Robeco Sustainable Property Equities fund. He rejoined Robeco in 2018. Prior to that, Frank worked at NN IP in the period 2009-2018 as Head of Financials and Analyst Real Estate in the global equity research team, and as a portfolio manager at Lehman Brothers/Neuberger Berman in the period 2007-2009. In the periods 1994-1998 and 2000-2007 he worked at Robeco in various roles, including Portfolio Manager Robeco Property Fund, between those periods he worked at Aegon Investment Management. He holds a Master's in Econometrics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

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 S&P Developed Property Index (Net Return, EUR).

The Trump 2.0 uncertainty remains a key short term driver of volatility in equity markets, while geopolitical uncertainty also keeps increasing – political shifts in the West, US-Russia-Ukraine ‘peace talks' and live-fire drills by the Chinese army close to Australia. Real estate stocks didn't show the same volatility in February as general equities. The performance of the real estate sector in February was driven more by the decline in US bond yields. In addition, the sector's more domestic focus versus general equities means that the business models are more insulated from geopolitical uncertainty and tariffs. More than halfway through the earnings season for the full-year 2024 earnings, half of the real estate companies reported slightly better-than-expected results, while guidance for 2025 was conservative and mostly below consensus. Individual stocks showed big moves depending on their results, with US office REITs and US shopping center REITs disappointing, while US Residential REITs and some US healthcare REITs, Welltower in particular, positively surprised the market.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 2.26%. Most real estate subindustries showed a positive performance in February. Healthcare REITs, and both single-family as well as multi-family residential REITs were the three best-performing subindustries. Healthcare REITs reported earnings in February, which were strong and well received by investors. Demographics support demand growth with the elderly age-cohort growing, also referenced to as the silver wave. Residential REITs offer a more affordable alternative to home ownership and investors interpret their 2025 guidance as conservative. Transactional evidence in both public and private markets at low cap rates provide support for the sector's valuation. The relative performance was driven by office REIT and shopping center REIT holdings in the Sustainable Cities trend. Shopping center REITs' guidance disappointed, with companies initially cautious on the 2025 outlook driven by recent headlines of tenant bankruptcies and potential store closings. Within the Lifestyle trend, self-storage REITs were the main detractors to performance, with companies still not showing a turnaround in revenue growth due to historically low housing transactions pressuring occupancy and rents.

Commercial real estate fundamentals are decelerating, but from very healthy levels. Labor markets are tight and employment growth is strong, though decelerating. Historically, employment growth has been a key demand driver of real estate space. The supply of new real estate space is being curtailed, as construction costs increased and financing has dried up. Developed economies are expected to remain in an inflationary environment. In general, it is easier for a landlord to negotiate rent increases when other goods and services are also going up in price. Financing costs become less of a headwind from an earnings perspective. As in previous cycles, the listed real estate market was early in pricing in a correction in the direct market and could also be early in factoring in an end to the downturn. Looking at longer-term periods in history, we find that the sector has generated attractive returns versus general equities. Ownership of property assets offers an attractive income stream and the opportunity to benefit from land value appreciation. Its attractive yield is even more valuable due to the sector's inflation-hedging attributes.