Cornelis Vlooswijk is Lead Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst African Equities. Previously, he worked for Robeco as an investment strategist focusing on North America and Emerging Markets since 2005. Before joining Robeco in 2005, he worked for Credit Suisse First Boston as an Investment Banking Analyst, focusing on the transport and logistics sector. He started his career in the financial industry in 1998. Cornelis holds a Master’s in Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and is a CFA® charterholder.

The fund is established in the Netherlands. The fund is managed as a 'naamloze vennootschap' (public limited company). The fund has the status of 'fiscal investment institution' in the sense of article 28 of the Dutch Corporate-Income Tax Act 1969, and, as such, is taxed at a corporate-income tax rate of 0%.The fund is obliged to pay out the realized current income in the form of dividend within 8 months after the end of the financial year. From 1 January 2007 the fund withholds Dutch dividend tax at a rate of 15% from these dividend payments. The fund can in principle use the Dutch treaty network to partially recover any withholding tax on its income.

For a private investor residing in the Netherlands, the actual received interest, dividends or capital gains are not relevant for tax purposes. For Dutch tax-resident private investors, their holdings fall under Box 3. Investors pay annual tax on a fixed yield calculated based on the value of their assets as of 1 January. The return depends on the pro-rata allocation of assets to different categories, namely savings, debts or other assets. The holdings qualify as other assets for which the return rate is set at 6.04% (as of 1/1/2024; 6.17% as of 1/1/2023). The return rate is adjusted annually based on historical returns from previous years. The balance of the different asset categories is referred to as the return base. The effective return rate is then calculated by dividing the return by the return base. This effective return rate is applied to the savings and investments base to calculate the benefit from savings and investments. The savings and investments base is equal to the return base minus the tax-free amount. Investors pay income tax (36% in 2024; 32% in 2023) on this calculated benefit from savings and investments. The withheld Dutch dividend tax (15% as of 1/1/2024) is creditable against the income tax payable for investors residing in the Netherlands. Investors who are not subject to (exempt from) Dutch corporate tax (including Dutch pension funds) are not taxed on the result obtained. Dutch exempt entities can fully reclaim the 15% dividend tax withheld on dividends.Investors subject to Dutch corporate tax may be taxed on the result obtained from their investment in the fund, including dividend income and capital gains. Dutch corporate taxpayers can, in principle, credit the withheld dividend tax (15% as of 1/1/2024) against corporate tax and, under certain conditions, credit the excess in later years. For investors outside the Netherlands, their own national tax legislation applies to foreign investment funds. Shareholders who are not subject to tax in the Netherlands and reside in countries that have a double taxation treaty with the Netherlands may, depending on the treaty, reclaim (a portion of) the Dutch dividend tax from the Dutch tax authorities. A pension fund located in another EU member state or a country that has entered into an information exchange agreement with the Netherlands and is similar to a Dutch pension fund is also entitled to a refund of Dutch dividend tax. The above is based on current Dutch tax legislation.

The fund incorporates sustainability in the investment process through exclusions, ESG integration, engagement 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 investment analysis to assess existing and potential (long-term) ESG risks and opportunities. In the stock selection the fund limits exposure to elevated sustainability risks. In addition, where a stock issuer is flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement. 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 South African monthly macroeconomic indicators disclosed in February were on balance neutral, but there were several pieces of negative news. On February 2nd, US president Donald Trump announced that the US would halt all funding to South Africa until a full investigation into the new Expropriation Act (which makes it easier for the state to take land in the public interest, but would still require fair compensation) is concluded. The South African government responded calmly, ensuring the relationship with the US does not deteriorate much. On February 19th, the scheduled government budget announcement was postponed by three weeks, as Finance Minister Godogwana wanted to hike Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2 ppts, but the Government of National Unity (GNU) partners refused, particularly the Democratic Alliance (DA). On February 23rd, state-owned electricity supplier Eskom announced scheduled power outages due to high electricity demand and problems at various power plants. In Nigeria, there was good news with economic growth accelerating and exceeding expectations in Q4 on the back of strong growth in the services sector.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 2.54%. In February, the fund's value per share increased by 2.65% in euro terms, outperforming the reference index, which increased by 1.63%. The fund's performance was better than the Emerging Markets Index (+0.7%) and Developed Markets Index (-0.5%). Ghana led the markets with a significant 7.4% gain. Kenya followed, increasing by 4.2%. Morocco rose by 4.0%, while Nigeria was up by 3.4%. Tunisia and Senegal had gains of 3.3% and 3.2%, respectively. Botswana rose 1.3%. South Africa was up by 0.8%. Mauritius had a modest 0.3% gain. Egypt declined marginally by 0.3%. Zambia was the weakest market with a 1.2% loss.

The long-term prospects for the African region are good. Firstly, commodity demand from China and other countries is likely to grow in the long run. This should result in higher tax income and employment, which in turn should boost demand by local consumers. Secondly, the business climate is improving. In an international context, most African countries currently do not score well, but governments are actively trying to reduce bureaucracy. Thirdly, investments in infrastructure are reducing logistics problems, which should boost economic growth and company earnings. Lastly, many companies now trade at low price/earnings multiples and have high dividend yields compared to other regions.