Robeco Asset Management Podcast

Emerging markets are often viewed through the lens of geopolitics, growth and valuations. But for quantitative investors, another question matters just as much: how do systematic models need to evolve as markets change? In this episode, we explore why the asset class remains structurally under-owned, and how innovation in signals, data and portfolio construction can help navigate a more concentrat...

Investors in EM equities may worry they're doubling up by investing in EM debt. That isn't the case though with EM bonds drawing on sovereign credit cycles and local currency dynamics that move independently from equities. The foundation has never been stronger with emerging market economies having recently navigated geopolitical shocks, inflation, and developed-market turbulence.

Emerging markets are anything but homogeneous: institutions, policy regimes, commodity exposure, governance standards and political risk vary. This dispersion is the opportunity set for true active managers to compound value.

The rotation into emerging markets is embryonic, with global investor portfolios still over-exposed to US assets. Realigning investments to better reflect the engines of global economic growth will take decades, not months and this trend is only just gaining momentum.

Stock markets have been dominated by the energy and AI themes, centered around a tech-dominated US market that some feel is over-priced. In the latest episode of our podcast series with Robeco's investors, Chris Hart, Portfolio Manager of Robeco Boston Partners Global Premium Equities, explains how he finds pockets of value all over the world.

Framing around emerging markets has typically focused on risk, but long‑term investors see mispriced opportunity. In this 'EM to the core' episode, portfolio manager Daniela da Costa shares how she looks through the geopolitical noise to focus on how different emerging markets are repositioning themselves in this new environment.

In episode 3 we focus on a key structural force: the emerging markets consumer. Karnail Sangha of Robeco's Emerging Markets Equity team discusses who these consumers are, how rising incomes and digital inclusion are transforming their spending patterns, and what sectors stand to benefit from this powerful, long‑term growth trend.

Emerging markets are now leading innovation in strategic sectors. In our new 'EM to the core' episode, Robeco's Jaap van der Hart explains how countries like China, Korea, Taiwan and India have become key to the supply chains in semiconductors, AI hardware, autos and renewable energy – and what that means for investors.

In the first episode of our new podcast series, portfolio manager Wim-Hein Pals discusses six factors that support the case for emerging markets equities. The relative discount of around 30% compared to developed markets is probably the most significant.

Factor investing was built on powerful academic foundations , but its real-world results have become harder to ignore. While many traditional factor approaches have disappointed, some quant strategies have continued to outperform across cycles. In this podcast , we unpack the gap between theory and practice, and what it reveals about the evolution of quant investing.

Markets are selling off and this does not feel like a 'buy the dip' moment. Asian markets are taking a blow after the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed, while Europe is hit harder than the US. Profit taking even hurts traditional safe haven assets such as gold. The dollar, however, strengthens – as it should in times of crisis. 

As tensions in the Middle East intensified over the weekend, investors have been retreating toward traditional safe havens , such as oil, gold, the US dollar, and US Treasuries . The conflict's ripple effects are also being felt unevenly across regions, from Europe and the US to China. Robeco's Colin Graham takes a multi‑asset lens to the situation, exploring how markets are reacting and what thos...

Equity investing has always been about understanding businesses from the ground up. But we're now in an era when geopolitics matters more, where power is shifting, and in which a handful of technologies are reshaping entire industries. So the key question for investors today is how shareholder value is created and defended in a world that feels noisier, faster, and more fragmented than before. And...

Credit markets usually do not make the headlines, as the big themes of the day, such as AI, are perhaps less relevant to fixed income investors. However, they quietly shape how investors generate income and manage risk. Credit investors Evert Giesen and Jan Willem Knoll discuss the state of the markets and their favorite segments in this podcast episode.

Listed real estate continues to trade at a discount to the broader equity market, while dividend yields have been steady at attractive levels. Does the sector offer sufficient investor appeal over the coming years?

Emerging market equities have comfortably outperformed developed markets over the year to date – for the first time in years. Is this the start of something bigger, or just a temporary catch-up? And what lessons are there in the tremendous performance dispersion within the emerging-market universe?

There is talk of ESG fatigue – at least in some parts of the world – and concerns about how shareholder rights are evolving. There's also fresh thinking about the role of defense spending in sustainable portfolios. Tune in to our latest podcast episode where Carola van Lamoen and Rachel Whittaker discuss the state of sustainable investing.

Exciting AI developments and technological innovation meet macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds. Global economic growth will keep momentum, but it may be somewhat subdued in the next five years. Tune in to hear strategist Peter van der Welle and co-head of Investment Solutions, Colin Graham discuss the prospects for various asset classes and dig deeper into the findings of Robeco's 5-year inve...

Growth stocks have outpaced value stocks over the past decade, with growth's lead particularly clear in the US market. That's the high-level perspective – which suggests that value investors have been left out in the cold in recent years. But have they . really ? Chris Hart, portfolio manager at Boston Partners, discusses what it takes to invest successfully in a world of hype, hyperbole, and very...

What's next for AI in investing? In the final part of our AI summer course, we join our experts and look beyond the horizon. Discover how AI developments may redefine investment roles, strategy development, and asset classes, preparing investors and the industry for a future driven by innovation and technological evolution.

Who's riding the AI wave? Which innovations are shaping investing today and tomorrow? Explore the dynamic AI trends shaping investing from 2023 through 2027 in the second podcast episode of our AI summer course, and how Robeco's Dynamic Theme Machine ETF and incubator strategies use cutting-edge AI tools to identify emerging themes, optimize timing, and capture real-world opportunities.  

In the first podcast of our AI s ummer c ourse, we trace AI's journey from academic experiments to becoming a core driver of alpha in Robeco's flagship quant strategies. This episode highlights key breakthroughs, innovative use cases, and how AI is reshaping investment decision-making in practical and powerful ways today

With so much reliance on technology in quant investing, what role do humans play in the process? In the eleventh and final episode of our series on quant investing, Harald Lohre discusses the human side of quant. Why, for example, is creativity important in such a data-driven and systematic field? What makes for good quant researchers at Robeco? Are they in fact all geniuses?

Disruption has been the trend of 2025. Upheaval is everywhere, from geopolitics and trade, to the fields of technology, payments, ways of working and more. Does a thematic approach help equity investors to cut through all the noise, or could it be that investment themes or trends are also being disrupted?

What kind of performance can investors expect from Active Quant? In this episode we look at what contributes to the stability of Active Quant, what makes it flexible, and what we really mean when we say 'systematic alpha capture'.