Robeco Asset Management Podcast

Markets are preparing for lower rates. Fixed income investors who need their portfolios to keep on generating enough income are having to evaluate their options. For those who don't have the stomach for high yield debt, the investment grade segment of the credit market has some interesting possibilities. Tune in to hear Jan Willem Knoll and Daniel Ender discuss the merits of subordinated debt.

Many investors are still underweight emerging market equities. While the asset class outperformed developed markets by a wide margin in the first decade after the millennium, emerging market equity returns have since lagged, leaving investors with a degree of skepticism. But, looking ahead, one cannot deny the immense promise that many emerging markets now offer. Tune in to hear the views of Vicki Chi and Karnail Sangha.

It's almost unnerving, watching equity-market indices repeatedly touching new all-time highs. Particularly when the gains are founded on a very select group of stocks, while economic indicators are relatively mixed. In such a set-up – we ask portfolio manager Michiel Plakman – what's the best strategy for managing a market-beating investment portfolio?

What does it take to truly see the significant shifts taking place in the world around us – those structural themes that might be obscured by the noise, but which require investors' attention? Daniel Ernst and Sam Brasser are passionate about watching the world, discerning persistent themes and forming views on how to construct portfolios to benefit from them. Tune in to our latest podcast episode.

Anticipating how financial markets might react to the US presidential elections is a tough call for investors. Mike Mullaney, Director of Global Markets Research at Boston Partners, gives some clear guidelines on the scenarios.

While the returns of the Magnificent Seven stocks dwarfed the performance of thematic strategies in 2023, the tide may slowly be turning. In this podcast episode we talk to two seasoned thematic investors, Jack Neele and Roman Boner.

Quant equity investing has enjoyed the resurgence of value since late 2020. Meanwhile, the quest for innovation in capturing returns continues unabated. Since the birth of quant investing, there's been a steady rise in the number of factors that researchers claim can explain alpha. But it turns out that 15 factors are enough to capture most of the drivers of equity market returns.

A new aspect of the evolution in sustainable investing is the emphasis on what is termed 'transition finance'. It is a broad concept – some argue it's too broad – but there are strong views that the complex shift that we need to get our economies to net zero will depend on this form of capital. How are investors going about the process of transition investing?

A year ago, many market participants were arguing that 2023 would be a great year for fixed income. Following a series of aggressive policy rate hikes, it seemed at the start of the year to be a great entry point. But interest rates continue to rise for most of 2023 and flows into the asset class turned out to be surprisingly modest. Have we now reached a turning point?

2023 gave investors little reason to complain. Both global equities and bondsare likely to deliver positive returns and Goldilocks still reigns supreme. In this podcast, Colin Graham and Peter van der Welle discuss the cracks in the resilience of Western economies (and their consumers), a contrarian view on the soft-landing consensus, inflation, geopolitics … and Taylor Swift.