“This crisis is different from previous ones because our investment teams have to deal with it by working remotely.” Almost four weeks since Covid-19 caused Europe to lock down and financial markets to fall sharply, Robeco’s Head of Investments, Peter Ferket, talks about the challenges of lack of liquidity in credit markets, outflows, and the long-term implications for the economy and the asset management industry. 

Is it just part of a greenwashing scheme or is it a crucial element in an integrated sustainable investing approach? Active ownership (engagement and voting) is a useful tool for investors to help companies be more sustainable but it also leads to better-informed investment decisions, say Carola van Lamoen and Peter van der Werf.  A podcast masterclass on active ownership with two of Robeco’s experts.

“If you wake up and see -6%, you know what kind of day it is going to be.” In our latest podcast, Jeroen Blokland, head of Multi Asset, talks coronavirus and oil price war. “I do not think we are going to see a V-shaped recovery, but a U-shaped recovery is still possible.” Blokland still feels comfortable being underweight in risky assets. For now, the real safe have seems to be US Treasuries, he says. Tune in.

If we start investing much more towards the long term, and to sustainable solutions, things will go very, very quickly, says Robeco CEO Gilbert Van Hassel. In our latest podcast episode, he describes the industry as being in a period of soul searching and that asset managers are needing to make deliberate choices about positioning for the future. “If you focus on sustainability, you are going to be a better asset manager”

If investors ignore the challenges the SDGs represent, future growth will be much lower and much more erratic than it has been in the past. This will have an impact on valuations and, ultimately, the returns investors make, warns Take Wiersma, co-head of Credit Research, in our latest podcast episode. Wiersma discusses the opportunities that incorporating the SDGs into credit strategies offer and the process used at Robeco to assess the contribution companies are making to the achievement of these global objectives.

Various index providers are increasing the weight of China in their indices. For institutional investors, this poses a dilemma. Should they blindly follow this move, thereby taking on increased portfolio risk? Strategist Jaap Hoek discusses this topic in our latest podcast episode. Inclusion of a stock or country in an index usually leads to higher prices. If you enter the Chinese stock market now, you might be a bit late – but not too late, Hoek argues.

“The only way to create alpha is to deviate from the benchmark. Increasing the active share enhances the portfolio without increasing the volatility – at least the way we did it.” In our latest podcast, portfolio manager Jan Keuppens discusses the quest for alpha. He talks about the major changes one of the Robeco flagship funds underwent in order to stand the test of time.

In our latest podcast, portfolio manager Jack Neele talks about the tricks of the trade in trends investing. Valuation of many of the growth stocks obviously is one of the challenges. “The valuation of our portfolio is much higher than the market, but we think that’s justified.” Neele also talks about new trends he sees developing and what would be the right moment to invest in these trends.

In our latest podcast, Core Quant portfolio manager Machiel Zwanenburg discusses the need for sustainability building blocks to suit different client needs. “If a client is looking for a tailor-made solution, we can provide the building blocks or even develop new ones with them. Everyone is looking to increase their returns, but with sustainability it really depends who you’re talking to. So it’s important to have building blocks to hand.”

Peter Ferket, CIO, discusses the disruptive trends in the asset management industry, the race to zero costs being one of them. “If you buy cheap solutions, you ultimately end up with lower net returns.”