Chris Berkouwer is Portfolio Manager with a focus on the low-carbon transition and on companies in the energy, materials and industrials sectors and member of the Global Equity team. He is also Deputy Lead Portfolio Manager. He is responsible for fundamental global equities, 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 with a focus on information technology and member of the Global Equity team. She is also Deputy Lead Portfolio Manager. She is responsible for fundamental global equities 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 0.05% 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 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.For more information, please visit the sustainability-related disclosures.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -7.09%. In March, our strategy had a negative absolute return, but did manage to outperform relative to the benchmark (-7.0% versus -7.5%, respectively). Sector-wise, the main contributors proved to be consumer discretionary and consumer staples, while industrials and energy lagged. In terms of stock selection, most performance contribution came from Chinese NEV car maker BYD Corp, which announced a break-through new Supercharger system ('Super-E platform') that could recharge an EV at almost the same speed as a traditional gas pump refill. With its advanced lithium-ion technology, high voltage EV architecture and high-power charging stations, BYD sees enormous potential in rolling this out. Resona Holdings performed well too, as earnings results provided confidence that the company is well on track to hit guidance and meet expectations. On the flip side, Chart Industries detracted most in March. The way the market reacted to otherwise decent results looked overly harsh to us, as Chart's backlog and order trends are nothing short of very strong.

For the climate space, decision-making on IRA keeps on being the main overhang, driving some of the key players out. So far, messaging has been chaotic and it the question remains whether any repeal or adjustment will follow a scalpel or sledgehammer approach. By now, it seems our thinking has become more contrarian by saying we still don't believe a full IRA repeal is likely. As a reminder, any legislative changes including tax code revisions need to go through Congress and even the Republican's majority is not large enough to push through such drastic changes. In fact, a recent letter from several prominent House Republicans requesting no IRA repeal, given the many benefits it has provided to Red States, would suggest otherwise. Moreover, given the tectonic technological and societal shifts we're witnessing, the case for higher energy demand is stronger than ever, necessitating a comprehensive approach including renewables and other clean tech solutions. The paradox of today's scarcity and tomorrow's assumed surplus are not opposing forces, but in fact two chambers of the same hourglass. It's not one over the other, it's 'all of the above'.