Michiel de Bruin is Head of Global Macro and Portfolio Manager. Prior to joining Robeco in 2018, Michiel was Head of Global Rates and Money Markets at BMO Global Asset Management in London. He held various other positions before that, including Head of Euro Government Bonds. Before he joined BMO in 2003, he was, among others, Head of Fixed Income Trading at Deutsche Bank in Amsterdam. Michiel started his career in the industry in 1986. He holds a post graduate diploma investment analyses from the VU University in Amsterdam and is a Certified EFFAS Analyst (CEFA) charterholder. He holds a Bachelor’s in Applied Sciences from University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam. Stephan van IJzendoorn is Portfolio Manager and member of Robeco’s Global Macro team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2013, Stephan was employed by F&C Investments as a Portfolio Manager Fixed Income and worked in similar functions at Allianz Global Investors and A&O Services prior to that. Stephan started his career in the Investment Industry in 2003. He holds a Bachelor’s in Financial Management, a Master's in Investment Management from VU University Amsterdam and is Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA) Charterholder. Lauren Mariano is Portfolio Manager and member of Robeco’s Global Macro team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2024, she worked at Manulife as an analyst and as a fixed income portfolio management associate with a focus on sovereigns, currencies and macro-economic analysis. She started her career in the industry in 2017 at Manulife. She holds a Bachelor’s in Finance from Bentley University and is a CFA® Charterholder.

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, negative screening, ESG integration, limits on investments in companies and countries based on ESG performance as well as engagement and a minimum allocation to ESG-labeled bonds. The fund invests a minimum of 20% in green, social, sustainable and/or sustainability-linked bonds.For credits, the fund does not invest in companies that are in breach of international norms and applies the activity-based exclusions of Article 12 of the EU regulation on Climate Transition Benchmarks, EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks and sustainability-related disclosures for benchmarks through exclusions as per Robeco’s exclusion policy. 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. Where issuers are flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement. The fund's investments consist of a minimum of 30% of corporate and government related bonds, including the EU, that have a SDG rating of 1 or higher and the average corporate SDG rating is better than the average corporate SDG of the General Market Index. The Corporate carbon footprint is better than the weighted average footprint of the General Market Index.For government and government-related bonds, the fund complies with Robeco’s exclusion policy for countries, excludes the 15% worst ranked countries following the World Governance Indicator 'Control of Corruption', and ensures investments have a minimum score of 4.5 on the Robeco Country Sustainability Ranking, and the weighted average score is better than the weighted average score of the benchmark. The Fund’s weighted government carbon footprint is better than the weighted footprint of the General Market Index.

Government bond markets returns were mixed over March. The US market posted a small positive return as the 10-year government bond yield remained unchanged at 4.21%, while shorter tenor yields were somewhat lower. German government bonds posted negative returns as the 10-year bund yields rose by 33 basis points to 2.74%, which was the largest month-on-month rise in the Bund yield in over a year. Japanese yields continued to rise for a 6th consecutive month to 1.49%. During March, the US administration made abrupt back and forth changes to its trade policy, imposing global tariffs on steel and aluminum and additional tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. A byproduct of this policy uncertainty was a large drop in US consumer confidence. Meanwhile, in Europe the German government voted in favor of a EUR 500 billion infrastructure fund and also approved extra defense spending. European longer maturity bond yields rose considerably in anticipation of more supply to fund this spending and an improvement in Germany's growth rate. The ECB reduced its policy rate to 2.5%, while the Fed remained on hold at its March meeting.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -0.60%. The fund return was negative but above its index (gross of fee). The key driver of outperformance over the month were the curve steepener positions in the fund, particularly in Germany as the risk of sustained high fiscal deficits and economic uncertainty supports a steeper yield curve. Positioning in emerging markets local debt also contributed, as Mexican government bonds rallied on the back of the central bank easing expectations, while Chinese yields rose as the PBOC signaled that current monetary policy was already sufficiently supportive. SSA allocations added to performance, as SSA spreads tightened. However, allocations to non-EMU bonds detracted from performance, primarily as Norwegian inflation came in much higher than anticipated by markets, adversely impacting valuations of the Norwegian bond position in the fund.

US policy uncertainty is impacting markets globally as it is becoming clear to policymakers that the international role of the US is changing. Moreover, tariffs lead to a negative shock to growth and increase US inflation (at least as a one-off rise). This implies that the US unemployment rate needs to rise to allow the Fed to deliver the more than 75 bps of easing that is priced in for the rest of the year. European countries are stepping up their defense spending and the biggest concern in the short term is the impending trade tensions between the US and Europe. For the ECB we anticipate one additional 25 bps cut by June. We see some further potential for curve steepeners, also because the risk of high fiscal deficits and inflation uncertainty should lead to a higher term premium. European government bond spreads to Germany performed well, with spreads approaching new lows. We remain cautious with regard to France, as political tensions are bound to return, especially around next year's budget negotiations set for later this year. We remain more constructive on Spanish and Greek government bonds.