Robeco launches Sustainable Senior Loan Fund

16 March 2023

Robeco has launched the Robeco Sustainable Senior Loan Fund (SLF), its second closed-ended private debt fund and one of the first to credibly integrate sustainability into private debt investments. SLF has so far raised EUR 130 million, including a significant sponsor commitment from ORIX Corporation Europe N.V., a group company of ORIX Corporation, and also Robeco’s parent company, and will start investing while continuing fundraising throughout 2023 and 2024. Robeco’s Sustainable Senior Loan Fund is intended for professional and institutional investors.

SLF aims to take advantage of an ongoing shift from bank lending to alternative lenders by deploying capital to sustainability-screened small- and mid-sized companies in the economically strong and lender-friendly European regions of Benelux, DACH, and selectively in the Nordics. The strategy applies sustainability screening based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and selects stable and resilient businesses. SLF not only invests in companies that are already ‘green’, but also finances tangible and meaningful measures that a prospective borrower is willing to take to improve its sustainability profile.

Robeco’s Sustainable Senior Loan Fund builds on the strength of Robeco’s first private debt fund, the Bedrijfsleningenfonds (BLF), which has invested more than EUR 700 million across 41 corporate transactions in the Netherlands since 2016. Like BLF, SLF is managed by our seasoned, pan-European private debt investment team, including Erik Hylarides and Jan Hendrik Kroon who are based in Rotterdam, and Frankfurt-based Glebs Ivanovs and Erwin Schreiber covering German-speaking markets. The team is embedded within Robeco’s Fixed Income department, with more than 100 fixed income professionals managing around EUR 60 billion in assets globally. This allows the private debt investment team to use the fixed income infrastructure, investment expertise, and support throughout the investment process.

Erik Hylarides, Lead Portfolio Manager: “Our new Sustainable Senior Loan Fund creates a unique opportunity for investors to gain exposure to sustainability-screened loans. It builds on Robeco’s SDG framework, aiming to create real-world impact by targeting and working with firms to improve the sustainable nature of their businesses.”

Victor Verberk, CIO Fixed Income & Sustainability: “With EUR 130 million of initial commitments, we are excited to launch our Sustainable Senior Loan Fund. We’re already seeing significant further appetite from clients looking to integrate sustainability into their private debt allocations.”

Source: Robeco