Robeco Climate Global Credits IH EUR

Reinout Schapers is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Prior to joining Robeco in 2011, Reinout worked at Aegon Asset Management where he was a Head of European High Yield. Before that, he worked at Rabo Securities as an M&A Associate and at Credit Suisse First Boston as an Analyst Corporate Finance. Reinout has been active in the industry since 2003. He holds a Master's in Architecture from the Delft University of Technology. Matthew Jackson is Portfolio Manager Global Investment Grade in the Credit team. He joined Robeco in 2024 from Western Asset Management in London where he started his career in the industry in 2003 and consequently held roles of Risk Analyst, Portfolio Analyst, Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager of numerous dedicated credit funds and mandates. He holds a Bachelor’s in Economics (Hons) from the University of Sheffield. Daniel Ender is Portfolio Manager Investment Grade in the Credit team. Previously, he was a Credit Analyst at Actiam. Daniel started his career in the industry in 2018 at ABN AMRO. He has a Master’s in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a Bachelor’s in Political Science and Economics from the University of Connecticut. Daniel also is CFA® charterholder. The Robeco Climate Global Credits is managed within Robeco’s credit team, which consists of nine portfolio managers and twenty-three credit analysts (of which four financials analysts). The portfolio managers are responsible for the construction and management of the credit portfolios, whereas the analysts cover the team’s fundamental research. Our analysts have long term experience in their respective sectors which they cover globally. Each analyst covers both investment grade and high yield, providing them an information advantage and benefiting from inefficiencies that traditionally exist between the two segmented markets. Furthermore, the credit team is supported by dedicated quantitative researchers and fixed income traders. On average, the members of the credit team have an experience in the asset management industry of seventeen years, of which eight years with Robeco.

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 0.01% 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.

Investors who are not subject to (exempt from) Dutch corporate-income tax (e.g. pension funds) are not taxed on the achieved result. Investors who are subject to Dutch corporate-income tax can be taxed for the result achieved on their investment in the fund. Dutch bodies that are subject to corporate-income tax are obligated to declare interest and dividend income, as well as capital gains in their tax return. Investors residing outside the Netherlands are subject to their respective national tax regime applying to foreign investment funds. We advise individual 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’s sustainable investment objective is to contribute to keeping global temperature rise well-below 2°C by reducing the carbon footprint of the fund. Climate change and sustainability considerations are incorporated in the investment process via exclusions, ESG integration, a minimum allocation to ESG-labeled bonds and a carbon footprint target. 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 as per Robeco’s exclusion policy. ESG factors, including climate change, are integrated in the bottom-up security analysis to assess the decarbonization potential and the impact of financially material ESG risks on the issuer's fundamental credit quality. Furthermore, the fund invests at least 5% in green, social, sustainable, and/or sustainability-linked bonds. In the portfolio construction the fund targets a carbon footprint at least equal to or better than the Solactive Paris Aligned Global Corporate Index. This is to ensure the fund is aligned with the desired decarbonization trajectory of an average 7% year on year.The following sections display the ESG-metrics for this fund along with short descriptions. For more information please visit the sustainability-related disclosures.The index used for all sustainability visuals is based on Solactive Paris Aligned Global Corporate Index.

The US elections were the main event in November, with Donald Trump securing the presidency and the Republican party taking control of both chambers of Congress – a so-called ‘clean sweep'. This result was warmly received by US risk markets, with the S&P 500 gaining close to 6% for the month. The returns for risk assets outside of the US were considerably more mixed. US Treasury yields initially rose after the election, as the markets pondered the inflationary impact of Trump's fiscal plans and potential tariffs. However, they retraced significantly, ending the month lower, as the market applauded the appointment of Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary. German Bunds outperformed as weak data supported the case for deeper ECB rate cuts, while French government bonds widened as concerns emerged over the budget and potential collapse of the government. The divergence between credit markets was notable, with US IG spreads tightening by 6 bps in November, while EUR IG spreads widened 4 bps.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 0.64%. The Paris-Aligned Global Corporate Index return was +1.37% this month (hedged to GBP). The positive total returns were driven by both tighter credit spreads and lower underlying government bond yields. Specifically, the German and US 10-year yields decreased by 30 and 12 basis points to 2.09% and 4.17%, respectively. Meanwhile, the spread on the Paris-Aligned Global Investment Grade Corporate Index tightened by 2 bps to 83 bps at the end of the month. The portfolio return was +1.25% this month (hedged to GBP). The beta positioning had a minimal impact on performance, with underperformance attributing solely to issuer selection. Regional positioning, which had previously contributed positively in October through an overweight in EUR and underweight in USD credit, detracted from returns in November. Additionally, the Adani complex sold off, following news that Indian billionaire Gautam Adani faced charges from US prosecutors regarding an alleged bribery scheme. Bonds from renewable energy companies, including Ørsted and NextEra, underperformed due to concerns that a potential Trump presidency, with a Republican-majority Congress, could negatively affect renewable energy projects.

The prevailing market consensus is that the Fed will succeed in achieving a soft landing, balancing the labor market without triggering a sharp rise in unemployment. While we agree with this consensus, we believe this to be reflected in valuations. As such, we do not see this as the moment to increase portfolio betas. In investment grade credit, we continue to feel comfortable with a beta slightly above 1. For now, we see no change in the strong technical, and if spreads do widen, we have ample room to increase beta accordingly. In a period of economic and political change, not all companies will thrive and credit selection is the key driver of alpha. The overweight positions in banks and corporate hybrids still offer attractive opportunities, so we maintain those exposures. In global portfolios, we remain overweight in European credit, both in investment grade and high yield segments.