Robeco Global Credits IH EUR

Reinout Schapers is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2011, Reinout worked at Aegon Asset Management where he was a Head of European High Yield. Before that, he worked at Rabo Securities as an M&A Associate and at Credit Suisse First Boston as an Analyst Corporate Finance. Reinout has been active in the industry since 2003. He holds a Master's in Architecture from the Delft University of Technology. Matthew Jackson is Portfolio Manager Global Investment Grade in the Credit team. He joined Robeco in 2024 from Western Asset Management in London where he started his career in the industry in 2003 and consequently held roles of Risk Analyst, Portfolio Analyst, Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager of numerous dedicated credit funds and mandates. He holds a Bachelor’s in Economics (Hons) from the University of Sheffield. Evert Giesen is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Previously, he was an Analyst, responsible for covering the Automotive sector within the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2001, Evert worked at AEGON Asset Management for four years as a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager. He has been active in the industry since 1997 and holds a Master's in Econometrics from Tilburg University. Daniel Ender is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Previously, he was a Credit Analyst at Actiam. Daniel started his career in the industry in 2018 at ABN AMRO. He has a Master’s in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Economics from the University of Connecticut. Daniel also is CFA® charterholder. The Robeco Global Credits Sub-fund is managed within Robeco’s credit team, which consists of nine portfolio managers and twenty-three credit analysts (of which four financials analysts). The portfolio managers are responsible for the construction and management of the credit portfolios, whereas the analysts cover the team’s fundamental research. Our analysts have long term experience in their respective sectors which they cover globally. Each analyst covers both investment grade and high yield, providing them an information advantage and benefiting from inefficiencies that traditionally exist between the two segmented markets. Furthermore, the credit team is supported by dedicated quantitative researchers and fixed income traders. On average, the members of the credit team have an experience in the asset management industry of seventeen years, of which eight years with Robeco.

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 incorporates sustainability in the investment process via exclusions, ESG integration, a minimum allocation to ESG-labeled bonds, and engagement. The fund does not invest in credit 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 security analysis to assess the impact on the issuer's fundamental credit quality. In the credit selection the fund limits exposure to issuers with an elevated sustainability risk profile. Furthermore, the fund invests at least 5% in green, social, sustainable, and/or sustainability-linked bonds. Lastly, where issuers are 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.The index used for all sustainability visuals is based on Bloomberg Global Aggregate Corporates Index.

The US elections were the main event in November, with Donald Trump securing the presidency and the Republican party taking control of both chambers of Congress – a so-called ‘clean sweep'. This result was warmly received by US risk markets, with the S&P 500 gaining close to 6% for the month. The returns for risk assets outside of the US were considerably more mixed. US Treasury yields initially rose after the election, as the markets pondered the inflationary impact of Trump's fiscal plans and potential tariffs. However, they retraced significantly, ending the month lower, as the market applauded the appointment of Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary. German Bunds outperformed as weak data supported the case for deeper ECB rate cuts, while French government bonds widened as concerns emerged over the budget and potential collapse of the government. The divergence between credit markets was notable, with US IG spreads tightening by 6 bps in November, while EUR IG spreads widened 4 bps.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 0.67%. This month, the Global Aggregate Corporate Bond Index posted a return of 1.25% (hedged to EUR), with excess returns at 0.32%. The positive total returns for the period were in large part due to a fall in underlying government bond yields, with German and US 10-year yields decreasing by 30 and 12 basis points to 2.09% and 4.17%, respectively. Meanwhile, the credit spread of the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Corporate Bond Index narrowed by 3 basis points, ending the period at 89 basis points. The portfolio underperformed versus its benchmark before fees, with performance driven primarily by issuer selection. Our regional positioning – overweight in euros and underweight in USD credit – detracted from performance from an allocation perspective. On an issuer level, the top contributors were holdings in Warner Brothers Discovery and Paramount, given reassuring earnings and increasing speculation of industry consolidation.

The prevailing market consensus is that the Fed will succeed in achieving a soft landing, balancing the labor market without triggering a sharp rise in unemployment. While we agree with this consensus, we believe this to be reflected in valuations. As such, we do not see this as the moment to increase portfolio betas. In investment grade credit, we continue to feel comfortable with a beta slightly above 1. For now, we see no change in the strong technical, and if spreads do widen, we have ample room to increase beta accordingly. In a period of economic and political change, not all companies will thrive and credit selection is the key driver of alpha. The overweight positions in banks and corporate hybrids still offer attractive opportunities, so we maintain those exposures. In global portfolios, we remain overweight in European credit, both in investment grade and high yield segments.