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Robeco investment funds: mixed results for 2011
The stock market fell in 2011, while fixed-income markets showed a positive picture overall.
The AEX Index dropped by 9%, the MSCI World Index was down nearly 2% and the MSCI
Emerging Markets Index fell by 16%.
The Robeco investment funds achieved mixed returns. Overall, 50%10 of Robeco's managed
assets outperformed the benchmark for 2011; the three-year historical figure was 73%.
The table below shows the returns delivered by Robeco's main funds in 2011 and compares
them with the benchmark.
Fund
Return
Benchmark
Managed assets
(in billions)
Harbor International
-10.4%
-12.1%
29.5 USD
Harbor Capital Appreciation
1.3%
2.6%
12.4 USD
Harbor Bond
4.0%
7.8%
7.5 USD
Transtrend Enhanced Risk USD
-8.6%
7.2 USD
Robeco
-5.6%
-1.8%
3.9 EUR
Rolinco
-14.9%
-3.7%
0.6 EUR
Robeco US Premium Equities
-0.8%
-0.1%
5.0 USD
Robeco Emerging Markets Equities
-16.8%
-15.7%
2.5 EUR
SAM Sustainable Water
-1 3.6%
-2.4%
0.7 EUR
Rorento
5.0%
5.9%
1.8 EUR
Robeco Lux-o-rente
7.8%
6.9%
2.9 EUR
Robeco All Strategy Euro Bonds
3.2%
3.2%
2.0 EUR
Robeco High Yield Bonds 3.5% 3.9% 2.0 EUR
Robeco responsible investments
Robeco is committed to responsible investing, having signed the United Nations Principles for
Responsible Investment in December 2006. Since 2010, Robeco has focused even more on
responsible investment practices and strengthening its leadership position in this area. This is
achieved mainly by including environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in the
investment process.
Robeco also increasingly enters into dialogues with businesses in which it invests and
exercises its voting rights in shareholders'meetings. In the second quarter of 2011, for instance,
Robeco performed an in-depth study of corporations where the engagement theme 'forced
labour in the retail chain'comes into play. Robeco launched this theme in 2008. All corporations
that were involved in the study showed improvements in terms of our objectives, thanks, in
part, to their dialogue with Robeco.The dialogue on forced labour was closed successfully
with respect to a number of corporations in 2011These included Gap, Carrefour, Best Buy,
Vodafone and Inditex.
10 Percentages are based on weighted
assets; with the exception of
alternatives (Transtrend), performance
figures include asset management fees.
11 Robeco was involved in 471
dialogues with businesses in 2011
(2010: 365).
12 Robeco exercised its voting rights in
2,781 shareholders'meetings in 2011
(2010: 2,188).
Robeco also classifies funds by how and to what extent they apply responsible investment
practices. In addition, Robeco has an exclusion policy aimed at businesses involved in the
production of, or the trade in, controversial weapons such as cluster munitions and anti
personnel mines. Finally, SAM, the subsidiary specialising in sustainable investments, develops
sustainable investment indices together with Dow Jones and publishes studies on water
shortages, obesity and other ESG topics.
Assets managed, by instruments for responsible investing (in billions of euros)
2011
2010
Assets managed by Robeco Group
150
150
Assets invested in sustainable theme funds
4
4
Assets to which ESG factor integration is applied
84
60
Assets managed on which dialogues with businesses are ongoing11
41
44
Assets managed for which votes are cast12
26
26
66
Annual Report 2011 Rabobank Group
