Audrey Kaplan is Portfolio Manager and member of the Global Equity team. She has a focus on gender-based investing and on consumer goods. She is responsible for fundamental global equities and portfolio construction. She joined Robeco in 2021. Previously, she was Head of Global Equity Strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute (NY). Prior to joining Wells Fargo, she worked as Head of International Equity Team and Senior Portfolio Manager at Federated Investors, Inc. (NY, now known as Federated Hermes). She also held roles in European research at Merrill Lynch International (London) and in Asian research at Salomon Brothers, Inc. (Tokyo) earlier in her career. She holds a Master's in Finance from London Business School and a Bachelor's in Computer & Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

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 by the means of a target universe definition, exclusions, negative screening, ESG integration, and voting. The fund invests at least two-thirds in companies that have a Gender Equality score of 50 or higher and only invests in companies with positive or neutral SDG scores based on the internally developed SDG Framework. The fund also applies a negative screening to exclude the 20% worst ESG scoring stock issuers from the investable universe and does not invest in stock issuers that are in breach of international norms or where products have been deemed controversial as per 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 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 TRN.

Global markets extended their February sell-off into a sharp March correction, with the MSCI World down -8.0% in EUR and -4.3% in USD. The decline began after Walmart issued downbeat guidance and worsened as broader US data pointed to a slowing economy and sticky inflation. Confidence fell among both consumers and corporates. Capex plans were slashed, and CEO sentiment declined. Trade policy uncertainty under 'Trump Turmoil 2.0' added pressure, leading investors in search of safer assets. Only energy (+4.4%) and utilities (+2.4%) ended in positive territory. Sectors such as IT (-8.9%), consumer discretionary (-8.2%), and communication services (-7.5%) lagged. Europe and Asia outperformed the US, with Norway, Austria, and Spain among the best performers. Denmark lagged. President Trump's executive orders targeting DEI programs evoked criticism. The portfolio remains focused on high-quality, gender-leading companies with strong fundamentals and diverse talent pipelines, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, consumer staples and financials, which show greater female representation in leadership and STEM roles.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -8.33%. In March, the portfolio underperformed versus the benchmark. The main drag came from sector allocation, particularly the portfolio's zero exposure to energy and utilities, which together cost 50 bps in relative performance. However, stock selection and currency effects were positive contributors. Strong performance in information technology was driven by an overweight in Check Point Software Technologies and underweights in underperforming names such as Apple and Broadcom. In communication services, the portfolio benefited from a defensive overweight in Deutsche Telekom and an underweight in Meta. The strongest stock-selection alpha came from European financials, notably Allianz and Intesa Sanpaolo, which contributed about 40 bps. Consumer staples also had a strong month, with Unilever having news of a CEO change and expectations of a faster restructuring. On the downside, Lululemon Athletica detracted despite strong Q4 results, due to soft guidance and store traffic slowdown. The broader consumer discretionary sector was pressured by tariffs and economic uncertainty, though the portfolio still continues to favor Lululemon's high-quality, halo Global Wellbeing brand.

A new era in global markets has begun, with a rotation out of US stocks, and Europe emerging as a prime beneficiary. With ongoing policy uncertainty, including tariffs on allies and non-allies, job cuts in the federal workforce, and funding reductions for institutions such as the NIH and academia, we remain cautious on US equities and focused on fundamentals. Europe, where companies trade at attractive valuations, is currently overweight in our Global Gender Equality strategy, while North America is underweight. Despite Europe outperforming US equities by the widest margin in 25 years, we see more opportunities ahead. We are also overweight in Japan, where equities have the highest earnings revisions. Our portfolio focuses on companies who lead in gender equality, diversity, and inclusion, with strong operational performance and lower environmental impact. In uncertain economic times, our focus remains on the fundamentals.