Michiel Plakman is Portfolio Manager and Co-Head of Robeco's Global Equity team. He is Lead Portfolio Manager Sustainable Global Stars Equities and Portfolio Manager Global SDG Engagement Equities. He is responsible for fundamental global equities with a focus on SDG investing and on companies in information technology, real estate, communication services and portfolio construction. He has been in this role since 2009. Previously, he was responsible for managing the Robeco IT Equities fund within the TMT team. Prior to joining Robeco in 1999, he worked as a Portfolio Manager Japan at Achmea Global Investors (PVF Pensioenen). From 1995 to 1996 he was Portfolio Manager European Equities at KPN Pension Fund. He holds a Master's in Econometrics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and he is a CFA® Charterholder. 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.

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 via exclusions, ESG integration, ESG and environmental footprint targets, 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 fundamental investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. In the stock selection the fund limits exposure to elevated sustainability risks. The fund also targets a better ESG score and at least 20% lower carbon, water and waste footprints compared to the reference index. 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 market seems caught in a hall of mirrors with every tremor distorting the view of what comes next, triggering global equity markets into sell-off mode (-8.0% in EUR; -4.5% in USD). The foundation for further US exceptionalism was built on hopes that the new Trump administration would be pro-business and deregulatory, resulting in a continuation of supercharged growth. However, reality has been different so far, with rising concerns about US economic growth actually turning negative. Constant drumbeats around DOGE job cuts and tariff war messaging come at the cost of delayed corporate spending decisions, and waning consumer confidence. Meanwhile, investors are quickly redeploying funds elsewhere, most notably to Europe and China. At the moment, the myriad of questions around US policy remains unanswered, resulting in stalling flow momentum for global equities, shifting to relative safe havens such as cash, gold and treasuries instead. Consequently, our strategy has tilted to the more defensive end of the spectrum as well for now, as well as allocating more toward cash.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was -8.73%. In March, the portfolio had a negative absolute return, also lagging the benchmark. Sector-wise, our positioning in consumer discretionary helped performance most, while consumer staples and financials lagged. In terms of stock selection, AutoZone contributed most to performance. With new car sales still subdued given high prices, consumers continue to spend more on old-car maintenance instead, helping AutoZone stock to move higher. The company is also well on track to reach 300 mega hubs at full build-out, as well as opening new distribution centers with new technology to deepen SKU availability. TotalEnergies also made a positive contribution. Defying lower oil and gas prices year-to-date, the high-dividend-paying energy sector is acting as a traditional safe haven in the current macro backdrop. TotalEnergies' large exposure to LNG also helps, as Europe needs to significantly refill its gas storage in the coming months to already prepare for next winter.

As the Trump administration adamantly tries to reshape the global world order, markets are witnessing a regional and factor rotation away from US growth. In unpicking the consequences of this regime change, the current volatility might last longer than many hope for, as the dangerous mix of high inflation and recession fears is no longer unthinkable. It's too early to properly assess the exact consequences and potential side effects of US policy making, most notably those of 'Liberation Day' (related to tariffs) on 2 April. That's why we don't expect this to show up yet in the 'hard' data during the upcoming earnings season, although we are keen to learn more from management commentary on their full-year outlook. Across the pond, the allocation shift toward Europe and China might look extended on some metrics, but a good case can be made that this repatriation has more runway as the bulk of equity buying has predominantly come from domestic investors so far. Although we were surprised by how easily Germany shifted to fiscal stimulus and release of the 'debt brake', such actions might also open the door to the implementation of the 'Draghi report' on increasing Europe's competitiveness.