Robeco Sustainable Healthy Living E EUR

David Kägi is Portfolio Manager of the Robeco Sustainable Healthy Living strategy and member of the Thematic Investing team. Before joining Robeco in 2019, he worked as a Buy-Side analyst covering the global healthcare sector for Bank J. Safra Sarasin in Zurich, first for Private Banking, then for Asset Management. There, he also managed the Demography Health basket certificate for Bank J. Safra Sarasin. After some years in biomedical research following his PhD, he started his career in the financial industry in 1999 as a Healthcare Analyst at the investment company BT&T, followed by a position as an Investment Analyst for private biotechnology companies with Schweizerhall Management AG in Zurich. David holds a Master in Biochemistry and a PhD in T-cell Immunology both from the ETH Zurich. Alyssa Cornuz is Co-Portfolio Manager of the Robeco Sustainable Healthy Living strategy and member of the Thematic Investing team. She is also the Deputy Portfolio Manager for the Fashion Engagement Fund and covers sportswear, off-price and cosmetics, amongst other, for the strategy. She joined in 2021 from Credit Suisse, where she was a Fund Selection Analyst covering ESG and impact funds. Until the end of 2019, she worked as a Fundamental Equity Analyst at Nordea for their Global Climate and Environment Fund. She started her career in 2016 at UBS in the Portfolio Advisory and European Equity team. Alyssa holds a Master of Science in Finance from HEC Lausanne 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’s sustainable investment objective is to promote good health and well-being and contributing to an efficient healthcare system. Healthy living and sustainability considerations are incorporated in the investment process by the means of a target universe definition, exclusions, ESG integration, and voting. The fund only invests in companies that have a significant thematic fit as per Robeco's thematic universe methodology. Through screening on both Robeco's internally developed SDG Framework and Robeco’s exclusion policy, the fund does not invest in issuers that have a negative impact on the SDGs, are in breach of international norms or where products have been deemed controversial. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up fundamental investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. 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.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 MSCI World Index TRN.

Global markets performed strongly in November, driven by a positive reaction of the US stock market to Donald Trumps's win of the election. Stocks which benefited most from the result were financials and cyclicals expecting more benign regulations and lower corporate taxes. In other parts of the market, the outlook of a new US government was perceived more negatively as it generated a great deal of uncertainty and concerns. This on the one hand applies to companies importing their goods into the US from outside, which may be impacted by announced future tariffs. European stocks were also affected by the collapse of the German coalition government and France's budget crisis. On the other hand, investors in the healthcare sector became concerned about the lack of a scientific approach and expertise of the individuals nominated for heading important government agencies such as the HHS, FDA and CDC. These are guiding annual spending of USD 1.7 trillion and are responsible for drug approval, oversight over food safety, public health, Medicare and Medicaid. Biopharmaceuticals stocks reacted negatively on the possibility that drug approval processes may take longer going forward.

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 2.72%. In November, the Sustainable Healthy Living Fund performed positively but underperformed versus its global benchmark. The Healthy Lifestyles cluster performed best, followed by Healthy Nutrition, Healthcare Efficiency and Therapeutics. On an individual stock level, the biggest positive contribution came from the producer of protein shakes Bellring Brands. Investors continue to trust in the company's ability to keep up a high pace of growth into the rest of the year and into 2025. In addition, Bellring may be able to add additional growth by expanding its presence from large retailers such as Walmart into convenience retail via a partnership with a direct-store-delivery company. The second-largest positive contribution came from the footwear company Deckers Outdoor. The company benefited from strong results reported at the end of October for both its HOKA and UGG-branded products. The company is also regarded as less exposed to US tariffs than other sporting shoe manufacturer, due to a relatively modest share of manufacturing in China.

The risks to economic growth have increased due to inflation, higher interest rates, geopolitical tensions and the economic imbalances in China. With consumers feeling the impact of inflation, buying patterns have become more cautious. It will therefore be even more important to focus on solid business fundamentals, pricing power and quality. We remain constructive on the mid to long-term potential of the equity markets and are making use of current market conditions to further solidify our positions in companies that have very strong long-term business prospects. The pandemic has accelerated changes necessary to build more robust and sustainable economies. It has also made individuals more inclined to adopt a healthier lifestyle. The Healthy Living portfolio of sustainable companies is well positioned to benefit from these changes in the longer run.