Robeco Asset Management Podcast

With Russian tanks rolling into the suburbs of Kyiv, what should investors do? Wim-Hein Pals, head of Emerging Markets Equities, talks about keeping calm in a crisis, and the impact the conflict might have on various sectors and regions. Tune in to hear it all.

How tough will 2022 be for investors? What will it take to successfully navigate volatile market conditions, with very little in financial markets, central bank policy and fiscal action being business as usual? Robeco's CIO Victor Verberk and Mark van der Kroft discuss the tricks of the trade in our latest podcast.

With current market valuations now exceeding those of 1929, and even of 1999, the term ‘peak insanity’ is coined. Arnout van Rijn, CIO Asia Pacific, is less concerned. “It is not as bad as 1999. It's just a small segment of the market that is really at multiples that are hard to defend. The bigger segment of the market that now trades at relatively elevated multiples are just healthy cash flow-positive stocks that the market is willing to pay up for because of the TINA argument – ‘there is no alternative’.

The wave of inflows continues into ESG-focused funds and impact-targeting strategies. But what lies behind the impressive product labels and glossy marketing materials? What does it truly take to identify to build sustainable investment portfolios? Rachel Whittaker, Head of SI Research, discusses the latest thinking in this field.

In our latest podcast, we discuss China’s challenges – from property to power shortages. We also zoom in on China’s ambition as it moves from a trade war to a tech war with the US. "The rivalry will only intensify," says Jie Lu, Head of Investments China. Tune in for more fascinating insights.

While many quant equity strategies have struggled over the past few years, the performance of quant credits has been robust. Patrick Houweling, Co-head of Quant Fixed Income, talks about the tricks of the quant trade, how his team is integrating sustainability into models, and the potential impact of a rise in inflation. Tune in to our latest podcast episode.

A fundamental shift is occurring in how and where the internet is used. Investors could be caught out by who the real winners are in this transition, according to Robeco portfolio managers Bryan Satterley and Michiel van Voorst. They explain why in our latest podcast.

More and more investors say they choose their fund manager based on their sustainability credentials. But is the industry ready for this fundamental shift towards ESG and impact investing? In our latest podcast, Masja Zandbergen, Robeco’s head of sustainability integration, discusses what it takes to keep up the pace. She also tackles some hot topics in ESG investing, including activism, health and biodiversity

Value stocks are in revival – this after what seemed like an endless run of underperformance relative to growth stocks. But, is this the long-awaited value rotation? Andhow big is the opportunity from here onwards? David Cohen is portfolio manager for the Boston Partners Large Cap Value strategy and our guest in our latest podcast episode. Tune in

It’s never a dull moment in the asset management industry. Innovation, market swings, increasing regulatory pressure, the rotation from growth to value and, of course, the growing importance of climate investing solutions, are among the pressing themes in the industry. Each change and challenge offers opportunity to excel. Chief investment officer Mark van der Kroft discusses these topics – and more – in our latest podcast episode. Tune in.

It’s inevitable that the forceful fiscal stimulus and exceptionally loose monetary policy currently in place will result in higher inflation. But, say Rikkert Scholten and Bob Stoutjesdijk, portfolio managers in the Robeco Global Macro Fixed Income team, the impact will be temporary. “There are a number of very strong secular forces keeping inflation in check”. Tune in to hear why they’re not falling for the inflation fearmongering.

“The more you read about climate change, the more worried you become”, says Carola van Lamoen, Head of Sustainable investing. However,  “mankind is hugely creative, and we can live up to the challenge”, says Climate Strategist Lucian Peppelenbos. The two experts discuss the risks and opportunities of climate change for asset managers in our latest podcast episode. Tune in. 

Keep questioning the consensus in 2021, do your research and stay contrarian, says Victor Verberk, Robeco’s CIO Fixed Income, in our latest podcast episode. “Bond yields are controlled, independence of central banks is out of the window. Joe Biden is going to print another USD 2 trillion in stimulus and the Fed will finance it. It’s a concerted effort to keep the economy going.” To go back to normal, we do need defaults, though, he says. Tune in.

Will value stocks make a comeback in 2021? Robeco’s Chief Quant Researcher, David Blitz, acknowledges that mean reversion isn’t always inevitable. And if it does occur, it’s difficult to predict the timing. “It will take a change of investor sentiment. But valuations cannot be detached from fundamentals forever.” Listen to the full podcast.

With several vaccines on the way, 2021 promises to be a great year for equities. Earnings could reach double-digit growth and the trend of underperformance in value stocks could grind to a hold, say Jeroen Blokland and Peter van der Welle in our latest podcast episode. It’s also a time for non-US stocks to outperform their US equivalents. Tune in to hear it all.

Covid-19 seems to have increased the speed at which trends are changing our world. Share prices of companies related to ecommerce and digitalization have surged. “The stock market is known for exaggerating every now and again, and certainly we have seen some really outrageous moves in stock prices. But there is still no reason to think that stocks should go down dramatically,” Steef Bergakker and Sam Brasser claim in our latest podcast episode. Tune in to hear the full story.

Central banks are navigating through unchartered territory. “The longer you have negative interest rate policies, the harder it will become to offset the negative side effects and to retain the positive effects of it,” says Martin van Vliet, strategist in the Global Macro team. But the Fed and BoE are still very reluctant to cross the Rubicon into below-zero rates, he argues. Meanwhile, since the money being created is not pursuing goods, the risks for inflation are well within control. Tune in.

Value has underperformed growth in the large-cap space by 43% in the past year. “The pressure on value investors to reevaluate and potentially discard their philosophy and change their processes is immense,” says Jay Feeney, CEO and CIO of Boston Partners.

Arnout van Rijn has been investing in Asia for 25 years; for more than half of this time, he has lived in Hong Kong. His experiences have taught him to embrace Daniel Kahneman’s advice to be skeptical, trade little and be patient. In this podcast episode, Arnout talks about life in Hong Kong, the lagging performance of value stocks and the digitalization race between the east and the west. Tune in.

Is rebuilding the global economy after Covid-19 an opportunity to fundamentally reboot economic systems? Proponents of the circular economy – which now accounts for 9% of the world economy – certainly think so. In our latest podcast episode, we discuss the circular economy with portfolio manager Holger Frey. Tune in.