You have recently completed a year like Head of Iberia in Robeco, how have you closed 2024 and what objectives have you marked?
In Iberia we finish the year achieving a more diversified organic growth. The year went from less to more, since market returns were very concentrated, but we have successfully defended a series of strategies that we thought they were going to have very good lace in these markets. With this, we have achieved the objectives that we had set to expand the business both at the clients and assets level. In 2025 we want to continue advancing in this line.
And those products on which this growth has been based, what are they and what will be in the face of the future?
According to our studies, in the market moments in which there has been a lot of concentration, they have followed stages of democratization of returns. It is already happening and we believe that the trend will continue.
The AI is a theme of a lot of future but at the same time, we have highlighted the attractiveness of segments that had been lagging behind. For example, the Value in the US, because active management allows you to select companies that are cheap and in this uncertain environment you can diversify the exposure for variable income betting, by the hand of Boston Partners for quality, business momentum and multiples that allow a revaluation in lower growth environments. One of the great surprises of the year at the level of geographical areas has been the revaluation of Europe, one of the great bets of the Global Premium BP Fund, raising the region to take advantage of much more moderate multiples and a better growth panorama in Europe thanks to the strong fiscal impulse programs.
In addition, we can respond to our clients in portfolios where there is a tendency to indexation. For those who seek positioning with low relative risk, our improved indexation strategies based on our quantitative analysis and management capabilities, have an alpha generation objective with a tracking limited error. In addition, Robeco is a firm closely linked to quality, a factor whose historical return usually provides long -term value, especially in an environment of political uncertainty like the current one, which can cause a slowdown in growth. For fixed income, we rely on strategies that bet on a higher credit quality and those that can provide regular income based on flexible investment.
What are the funds or categories of funds?
For global variable income, our Robeco Global Stars Fund, committed to quality companies, without style biases, geographical or sectoral. It has had a very consistent behavior since its launch in 2008, winning in volume over the years. In addition, its behavior is especially solid in bearish markets and achieves a performance related to the height of markets in bullish periods.
Within our fixed income range, we provide value on portfolios that need Building Blocks for assets, as in more niche spaces to cover a satellite exposure. As an example of this last case, our Financial Financial Institutions Bonds Fund complements very well the Exhibition in Credit quality of investment in that more satellite part of the fixed income portfolios through subordinated debt of financial ones with a prudent approach.
If you had to highlight some qualities that Robeco has but that are not especially known for it, what would you highlight?
For fixed income, our Robeco Euro Credit Bond and Robeco Euro Sdg Credit funds have a lot of growth potential. They are Building Blocks within fixed income of credit quality investment and are very interesting in terms of profitability adjusted by their risk. Also in flexible fixed income, in a volatility environment such as the one we have immersed, our Robeco SDG Credit Incom Fund allows to navigate different environments with flexibility, both at the level of beta – how much risk assume with respect to the credit markets according to the economic and market situation – as well as modular the duration based on the expectations of interest rates. In addition, it is flexible in its credit allocation, and invests in Investment Grade, High Yield and emerging, with the ability to adapt to the circumstances of valuation, fundamental and technical aspects, providing a recurring income for the investor.
And in alternatives, do you have exhibition?
It is another of the branches that is growing in the industry, next to passive management. We have a product range in the liquid alternative part, where we would highlight our BP Long/Short Equity fund that is very interesting when you want to monetize ideas of both purchase and sale conviction.
What are customers currently demanding?
They are asking us for investment and responses solutions for both the portfolio core and for the most satellite part. In what constitutes the nucleus of the portfolios we talk about our quantitative research and management capabilities, with application in different geographical and active areas and customizable for the investor. Within the strategies that seek Alfa, we focus on more specialized assets. For example, our specialization in debt issued by financial companies is part of the success of our Robeco Financial Institutions Bonds Fund. I would also highlight the Corporate Hybrids Fund since it is unique and reflects Robeco’s seal in terms of quality, investing in issuing issues of credit quality investment.
Fixed income quality permeates all our credit strategies. The motto we have in Robeco for fixed income is: beat the market, avoiding losing. There will be environments where you can achieve spectacular increases but really, long -term fixed income success is obtained by avoiding risks by means of a prudent approach, as stable as possible.
What have been your main joys and the main challenges you raise in Robeco?
My work now has a more strategic and equipment management approach. Robeco has strategic partners both in Iberia and globally and that is something that requires additional effort and a challenge to continue working and reinforce that line. It is a market in which concentration is creating larger entities and having access to them as strategic partners is a privilege and a daily challenge. As for the opportunities, in Robeco I have discovered many jewels where we see specific growth opportunities by Boston Partners or our Indian local manager Canara, with which we can have a very long route because India is an infrare -representative market in the indices.
How are you attending the demand for private banking customers, the robbery of advisor …?
Each client is different and we have the capacity to adapt our portfolios our service to their needs. Our investment solutions offer the possibility of customizing the strategy based on profitability, risk, and sustainability requirements. Sustainability can also be approached from multiple dimensions, so that you cover dictation objectives, impact, at the SDG level. We do not impose a concrete approach, but we offer different frames to adapt to what our clients are looking for.
Are you entering mandates? What is Robeco doing to benefit from growth in the sector?
Robeco has a great experience with institutional client and is growing internationally in mandates. In Iberia, we are also participating in manager and private benches growth projects, but we are extraordinarily careful when talking about our clients.
Will sustainability become the great fashion trend that was a few years ago?
Everything that is fashion comes and goes but things that make economic and social sense last over time. I believe that three dimensions must be taken into account when investing – profitability, risk and sustainability. In this sense, the industry has been extremely ambitious with the sustainability objectives and there have been certain excesses that had to be rethink. The concept of sustainability will evolve but has come to stay.
What are you doing to compete with passive management?
We want to compete without losing our DNA. Robeco has more than 87,000 million euros, of the 214,000 that we manage, in quantitative investment. This shows that there is a client profile that bets on factor investment. In fact, our quantitative research serves as a basis for certain strategies managed by fundamental. Robeco since its inception has been working in quantitative management although it was applied for the first time in a strategy in 2004, so we have a long record track in developed and emerging markets where we seek to overcome the rates with high information ratios. We have different ranges, such as the Enhanced Indexing funds from Robeco where the ex -error tracking can not exceed 1% and this allows a strategic control of risks without excessively separating by sectors or countries.
In addition, we have strategies that assume some more relative risk, with a more active management that allows greater deviation from the indices, and that have allowed the investor that does not want to move away from the indices generate alpha consisting consistent in different geographical areas.
On the other hand, our conservative range is ideal for navigating markets in moments of uncertainty and volatility since one of the fundamental factors of values selection is low risk.
These strategies analyze variables that measure risks such as beta and volatility, but also observe differentials or the distance to default, among others, to minimize future risk. The new generation of quantitative strategies is based on AI, the natural Language Processing, and in the technique of Machine Learning to identify incipient structural trends.
Robeco launched in 2024 a range of active ETFs based on quantitative management, and one of the strategies that is aroused more interest in this vehicle. This is our – Dynamic Theme Machine ETF – Fruit of collaboration between our thematic investment teams and quantitative investment and that allows identifying tendencies early.
What is your macro level vision of everything that is happening this 2025?
Volatility will continue and the concentration will go to less. The United States will continue to give strong returns but we are seeing many positive changes in Europe. Although caution is imposed, we are constructive for variable income. In fixed income, our investment processes start from a Top Down vision in which, we judge the fundamental and technical aspects of the market in addition to the valuations. At this time we have preference for quality credit degree of European investment and we believe that the yield curve will continue to gain pending with longer types for longer due to inflation involved in global protectionism. We believe that the financial sector will be reinforced its credit fundamentals.