Asian Stars Equities IL USD - LU0963031652

Key points

Contrarian strategy in Asia ex-Japan equities, targeting an active share in excess of 80%
Value with a future: Unique blend of value style and momentum awareness
Concentrated portfolio driven by bottom-up selection targeting approximately 30-50 positions

About this fund

Robeco Asian Stars Equities is an actively managed fund that invests in stocks of the most attractive companies in Asia. The selection of these stocks is based on fundamental analysis. The fund's focus is on the high-growth developing countries in the region. The fund focuses on stock selection and has a concentrated portfolio.

Key facts

Per 31-08-2025

Total size of fund	USD 49,687,802.80
Size of share class	USD 2,189,477.10
Inception date share class	2013-08-22
1-year performance	15.93%
Dividend paying	No

Fund manager

Vicki Chi
Joshua Crabb

Vicki Chi is Portfolio Manager in the Asia Pacific team with a focus on defensive sectors. Prior to joining this team in 2014, she was an Analyst in the Robeco Emerging Markets team where she covered Chinese stocks in the telecom and banking sector. Vicki started her career in 2006 at Robeco. She is a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Erasmus University Rotterdam. She also is a CFA® charterholder. Joshua Crabb is Lead Portfolio Manager and Head of Asia Pacific Equities. Before joining Robeco in 2018, Joshua was Head of Asian Equities at Old Mutual and Portfolio Manager at BlackRock and Prudential in Hong Kong. He started his career in the investment industry as Sector Analyst at BT Financial Group in 1996. Joshua holds a Bachelor's with Honors in Finance from the University of Western Australia and he is a CFA® charterholder.

Per period	Fund	Reference index
1 month	1.49%	1.10%
3 months	11.35%	9.97%
YTD	14.43%	18.72%
1 year	15.93%	18.96%
2 years	12.45%	17.33%
3 years	9.70%	11.02%
5 years	8.79%	4.72%
10 years	8.15%	7.59%
Since inception 08/2013	7.15%	6.53%

Statistics	3 years	5 Years
Tracking error ex-post (%) The ex-post tracking error is defined as the volatility of the fund's achieved excess return over the index return. In fund management, most managers are subject to an ex-ante (pre-determined) tracking error, which defines the extent of the additional risk they may take when aspiring to outperform the fund's benchmark. The ex-post tracking error explains the distribution of past fund performances compared to those of its underlying benchmark. With a higher tracking error, the fund's returns deviate more from its index's returns, hence there is a greater chance that the fund may outperform. The wider the spread of returns relative to the benchmark, the more "actively" a fund has been managed. In contrast, a low tracking error indicates more "passive" management.	5.50	5.58
Information ratio This ratio serves to evaluate the quality of the excess return a fund manager has achieved because it takes the active risk involved into account. The information ratio is defined as the excess return over the benchmark return divided by the fund's tracking error. The higher the information ratio, the better. For example, a fund with a tracking error of 4% and an excess return of 2% over benchmark has an information ratio of 0.5, which is quite good.	-0.08	0.93
Sharpe ratio This ratio measures the risk-adjusted performance and allows the performance quality of different investments to be compared. It is calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate from the fund's returns and dividing the result by the fund's standard deviation (risk). So the Sharpe ratio tells us whether a fund's returns are the result of smart investment decisions or stem from taking extra risk. The higher the ratio, the better, meaning that a greater return is achieved per unit of risk. This ratio is named after its inventor, Nobel Laureate, William Sharpe.	0.32	0.42
Alpha (%) Alpha measures the difference between a portfolio's actual return and its expected performance, given the level of risk, compared to the benchmark. A positive alpha figure indicates that the fund has performed better than expected, given the level of risk. Beta is used to calculate the level of risk compared to the benchmark..	0.23	5.11
Beta Beta is a measure of a portfolio's volatility, or systematic risk, in comparison to the benchmark. A beta of 1 indicates that the portfolio will move with the benchmark. A beta of less than 1 means that the portfolio will be less volatile than the benchmark. A beta of more than 1 indicates that the portfolio will be more volatile than the benchmark. For example, if a portfolio's beta is 1.2 it is theoretically 20% more volatile than the benchmark.	0.88	0.89
Standard deviation Standard deviation is a measure of the dispersion of a set of data from its mean. The more spread out the data is, the higher the deviation. In finance, standard deviation is applied to the annual rate of return of an investment to measure the investment's volatility (risk).	17.72	15.99
Max. monthly gain (%) The maximum (i.e. highest) absolute positive monthly performance in the underlying period.	14.64	14.64
Max. monthly loss (%) The maximum (i.e. highest) absolute negative monthly performance in the underlying period.	-9.81	-9.81

Cost of this fund	Percentage
Ongoing charges Indication of annual charges that are deducted for this fund. This indication is based on the costs over the last calendar year and may vary from year to year. Transaction costs incurred by the fund, any performance fees and other one-off costs are not included in the ongoing charges.	1.07%
Included management fee A fee paid by the fund to the asset management company for the professional management of the fund.	0.90%
Included service fee This fee is intended to cover official fees, such as the cost of annual reports, annual shareholders' meetings and price publications.	0.16%
Transaction costs The transaction costs shown are the average annual transaction costs over the last three years calculated in accordance with European regulations.	0.09%

Fiscal product treatment

The fund is established in Luxembourg and is subject to the Luxembourg tax laws and regulations. The fund is not liable to pay any corporation, income, dividend or capital gains tax in Luxembourg. The fund is subject to an annual subscription tax ('tax d'abonnement') in Luxembourg, which amounts to 0.01% of the net asset value of the fund. This tax is included in the net asset value of the fund. The fund can in principle use the Luxembourg treaty network to partially recover any withholding tax on its income.

Fiscal treatment of investor

Investors who are not subject to (exempt from) Dutch corporate-income tax (e.g. pension funds) are not taxed on the achieved result. Investors who are subject to Dutch corporate-income tax can be taxed for the result achieved on their investment in the fund. Dutch bodies that are subject to corporate-income tax are obligated to declare interest and dividend income, as well as capital gains in their tax return. Investors residing outside the Netherlands are subject to their respective national tax regime applying to foreign investment funds. We advise individual investors to consult their financial or tax adviser about the tax consequences of an investment in this fund in their specific circumstances before deciding to invest in the fund.

Policies

Per 31-08-2025

Profile

Per 31-08-2025

ESG IntegrationVoting & Engagement

Sustainability

Per 31-08-2025

The fund incorporates sustainability in the investment process through exclusions, ESG integration, engagement and voting. The fund does not invest in issuers that are in breach of international norms or where activities have been deemed detrimental to society following Robeco's exclusion policy. Financially material ESG factors are integrated in the bottom-up investment analysis to assess existing and potential ESG risks and opportunities. In the stock selection the fund limits exposure to elevated sustainability risks. In addition, where a stock issuer is flagged for breaching international standards in the ongoing monitoring, the issuer will become subject to engagement. Lastly, the fund makes use of shareholder rights and applies proxy voting in accordance with Robeco's proxy voting policy.For more information please visit the sustainability-related disclosures.The index used for all sustainability visuals is based on MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index (Net Return, USD).

Market development

Per 31-08-2025

Asian markets rose 1.3% in August, underperforming versus the S&P500 (+1.9%) as well as the MSCI DM (+2.5%). Among the major developments in August was another 90-day extension of tariffs on China (previously set to expire on 12 August). A-share indices were higher by 10%+ and trading volumes reached record highs. Retail margin balances rose 13%, and fund allocations shifted toward equities. This participation also spilled over to Hong Kong via southbound buying, driving the MSCI China up +5.0% despite lingering deflation concerns. Also helping broader regional/global equities was the increased probability of Fed rate cuts in September, triggered initially by negative payroll revisions and subsequently by a shift in the tone of Fed Chair Powell's speech at Jackson Hole. As a result, the USD was down 2.2% in August. Despite this, though, Asian equity markets generally experienced outflows, particularly India.

Performance explanation

Per 31-08-2025

Based on transaction prices, the fund's return was 1.49%. The portfolio underperformed versus its benchmark, driven by stock selection. Stock picks worked well in Taiwan and Indonesia but detracted in China and India. In terms of sectors, stock selection was positive in financials but detracted in healthcare and utilities.

Expectation of fund manager

Vicki Chi
Joshua Crabb

Equity markets have maintained their strong momentum despite ongoing tariff and geopolitical tensions. Concerns about earnings expectations persist, leading to general downgrades, including in Asia. Despite a more dovish tone post-Jackson Hole, US long yields remain elevated. The trade deal with China is still in progress, but tensions with India have increased due to disagreements over Russian oil amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Despite these challenges, Asian markets remain attractively valued, especially in relative terms. Asian countries still have monetary and fiscal tools at their disposal, with inflation being less of an issue. Once political issues in ASEAN stabilize, long-term fundamentals should support structural growth. Improvement in shareholder returns remains a powerful theme, with Japan leading the way and South Korea's 'Value Up' initiative gaining momentum. Earnings revisions need to be monitored carefully given the moderating macro backdrop. It is crucial to remain calm, focus on the fundamentals, and take advantage of volatility to identify medium-term alpha opportunities.

Robeco Asian Stars Equities IL USD

Concentrated and unconstrained investment in Asia's brightest stars

Key points

About this fund

Key facts

Fund manager

Performance

Statistics

Costs

Fiscal product treatment

Fiscal treatment of investor

Fund allocation

Policies

Profile

Sustainability

Market development

Performance explanation

Expectation of fund manager

Fund documents

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports

Announcements

Let's keep the conversation going