Navigating complexity: A smarter approach to alpha
Institutional investors face an enduring challenge – how to achieve outperformance while managing risk effectively in today's environment. With equity markets more concentrated than ever, dominated by a handful of mega-cap tech stocks, investors must navigate an unfamiliar landscape where passive strategies provide cost-efficiency but limited upside, while traditional active approaches introduce unpredictability and higher costs.
Robeco's Active Quant strategies offer an innovative solution. By combining systematic investing with active flexibility, they capture high, stable alpha in a risk-controlled, benchmark-aware manner. Unlike many benchmark-agnostic active funds, which might struggle when deviating too far from index heavyweights, Active Quant ensures balance – seizing opportunities for excess return without excessive deviation from the benchmark.
Why Active Quant?
Active Quant provides a structured, research-backed approach that systematically captures market inefficiencies. It integrates insights from both traditional factors (such as value and momentum) and next-generation AI-powered signals, ensuring that portfolios remain adaptable to changing market conditions.
What differentiates Active Quant
✔ Systematic alpha capture – identifies and capitalizes on proven investment factors such as value, momentum, quality, and analyst revisions.
✔ Risk control without sacrificing returns – ensures benchmark alignment while generating targeted outperformance.
✔ AI and next-gen insights – integrates alternative data sources, AI-powered signals, and machine learning models for enhanced decision-making.
✔ Transparency, not a black box – every investment decision is fully research-backed and explainable.
This multi-layered, disciplined approach allows Active Quant to adapt dynamically to evolving markets, making it a highly appealing solution for institutional investors.
Why Now? Active Quant in today's market
1. Addressing market concentration risks
The dominance of a few mega-cap tech stocks presents a challenge. While passive investors are fully exposed, active managers risk underweighting these stocks too aggressively. Active Quant balances benchmark awareness with factor-based stock selection, ensuring investors don't fall behind in market trends while also capitalizing on opportunities for alpha.
2. AI and alternative data are reshaping investing
The integration of AI-driven stock selection and next-gen alternative data sources enables Active Quant to stay ahead of the pack. Machine learning insights, such as job momentum tracking and sentiment analysis from earnings calls, provide a cutting-edge advantage in stock selection.
3. Sustainability integration matters
With increasing ESG mandates and regulatory pressures, institutional investors are seeking strategies that can deliver both financial and sustainability objectives. Active Quant offers customizable sustainability integration options while monitoring ESG risks.
A robust, risk-controlled approach to outperformance
Unlike high-conviction active funds that hold 20-50 stocks, Active Quant maintains 200-250 holdings, ensuring greater diversification and stability. This approach reduces stock-specific risk while still aiming for an expected excess return of 2.5%, striking the ideal balance between active stock selection and controlled risk exposure. By combining long-term factors like value and quality with dynamic AI-driven signals, Active Quant provides a structured, repeatable approach to alpha generation that is adaptable to varied market conditions.
Proven performance: A track record of success
· The Emerging Markets Sustainable Active Equities Strategy has delivered an annualized outperformance of 2.84% since inception, outperforming the index in 7 out of 10 years.
· The Global Developed Active Quant strategy outperformed the MSCI World Index by 6.36% in 2024.
· Active Quant ranks among the top-performing quant strategies globally, validated by institutional investors and consultants.
This consistent track record highlights Active Quant's ability to generate excess returns across different market environments while managing risks effectively.
Technology meets human expertise
While Active Quant integrates AI, alternative data, and machine learning, it is not run by machines alone. Robeco's 50+ quant researchers and portfolio managers continuously refine and validate the models, ensuring they remain relevant, effective, and risk-aware.
By combining cutting-edge technology with deep human expertise, Active Quant offers investors confidence in both the process and the outcomes.
Customisable for institutional mandates
Institutional investors have unique priorities – whether it's return profiles, sustainability integration, or risk management. Active Quant can be tailored to meet:
· Specific risk-adjusted return targets
· ESG and climate-conscious investment mandates
· Regional or sector-specific allocation preferences
This customisability ensures that Active Quant fits seamlessly into institutional portfolios, complementing existing investment approaches while providing a structured, repeatable source of alpha.
Why Robeco? A legacy of quant expertise
Active Quant is built on Robeco's 20-year track record of quant innovation. With:
🔹 One of the largest quant teams in the industry (50+ researchers)
🔹 An information ratio of 1.01 in Emerging Markets Active Quant
🔹 A high percentage of quant strategies rated ‘High' by Morningstar
Robeco continues to be a leader in systematic investing. The firm's commitment to ongoing research and AI integration ensures that Active Quant remains at the forefront of quant-driven alpha generation.
Active Quant – A smart addition to institutional portfolios
Robeco's Active Quant strategies provide:
✔ A benchmark-aware, systematic approach to alpha generation
✔ A resilient, cost-effective complement to fundamental active investing
✔ AI-enhanced signals that uncover new sources of return
✔ ESG integration for responsible investing
With a proven track record, deep quant expertise, and transparent investment processes, Active Quant delivers a smart, adaptable way forward for institutional investors.
Discover how Active Quant fits in your portfolio
Important information: This information is for professional investors only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The value of investments and any income derived from them can go down as well as up, and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Active strategies, including the Active Quant approach, are subject to investment risks, including market fluctuations, tracking error, and the potential for underperformance. While the strategy aims to generate excess returns, there is no guarantee that it will achieve its investment objective. The views expressed are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice or an offer to buy or sell any financial instrument. Alpha refers to the excess return of an investment relative to a benchmark index and is a measure of performance.
