Robeco Asset Management Podcast Robeco

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?