Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V.
Investment company with variable capital incorporated under Dutch law
Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities
Chamber of Commerce 24432814
Annual report 2015
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 2
Contents
General Information 4
Key figures per share class 6
Report by the board 7
General introduction 7
Investment policy 9
Investment results 11
Executive remuneration 12
Risk management 12
Movements in net assets 12
Sustainability investing 12
Statement of operational management 14
Fund Governance 14
Annual financial statements 16
Balance sheet 16
Profit and loss account 17
Cash flow statement 17
Notes 18
General 18
Risk management 18
Risks relating to financial instruments 19
Accounting principles 23
Principles for determining the result 23
Allocation to share classes 23
Notes to the balance sheet 24
Notes to the profit and loss account 28
Currency table 31
List of securities 32
Other data 35
Profit appropriation 35
Special controlling rights in accordance with the Articles of Association 35
Directors’ interests 35
Statement of the independent auditor 36
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 3
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V.
(investment company with variable capital, having its registered office in Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
Contact details
Dave H. Cross (company secretary) (up to 1 October 2015)
Stefan Gordijn (company secretary) (from 1 October 2015)
Coolsingel 120 (with effect from May 2016: Weena 850)
Postbus 973
NL-3000 AZ Rotterdam
Tel. +31- 10 - 224 12 24
Fax +31 - 10 - 411 52 88
Internet: www.robeco.com
Management Board (and manager)
Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (“RIAM”)
Management Board members:
Leni M.T. Boeren
Hester W.D.G. Borrie
Hans A.A. Rademaker
Roland Toppen (from 7 March 2016)
Fund manager
Cornelis E. Vlooswijk
Fund agent and paying agent
Rabobank International
Europalaan 44
NL-3526 KS Utrecht
Independent auditor
KPMG Accountants N.V.
Laan van Langerhuize 1
NL-1186 DS Amstelveen
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 4
General Information
Legal aspects
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. (the 'fund') is an investment company with variable capital established in the Netherlands.
The fund is an Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) within the meaning of the
Council Directive for Investment Institutions dated 13 July 2009 (Directive 2009/65/EG, ‘UCITS IV’). UCITS have to
comply with certain restrictions to their investment policy in order to protect investors. The UCITS V directive (Directive
2014/91/EU) comes into force with effect from 18 March 2016.
Amendment of settlement of orders to T+2 As of 14 April 2015, the settlement of orders in all the fund's share classes has been amended from three to two
trading days.
Share classes
The ordinary shares are divided into two series, both of which are open. Each series is designated as a share class. The
series include the following share classes:
Share class A: Robeco Afrika Fonds
Share class B: Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G (opened for trading per 3 October 2013).
The management fee for the Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G share class (without distribution fee) is lower than for the
Robeco Afrika Fonds share class.
Allocation to share classes
The fund is managed in such a way that the allocation of results to the different share classes occurs proportionately on
a daily basis. Issue and repurchase of own shares are registered per share class. The differences between the various
share classes are explained in notes 9, 11 and 14 in the financial statements.
Tax features
On the basis of Section 28 of the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act, the fund has the status of a fiscal investment
company. This means that no corporate-income tax is due, providing that, after deducting 15% in Dutch dividend tax,
the fund makes its profit available for distribution to shareholders in the form of dividend within eight months of the
close of the financial year and satisfies any other relevant regulations.
Liquidity of ordinary shares The fund is an open-end investment company, meaning that, barring exceptional circumstances, it issues and
repurchases its shares on a daily basis at prices approximating net asset value, augmented or reduced by a limited
surcharge or discount. The only purpose of this surcharge or discount is to cover the costs made by the fund related to
the entry and exit of investors. The maximum current surcharge or discount is 1.00%. Surcharges and discounts will be
offset directly against the fund assets.
The Robeco Afrika Fonds and the Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G share class are listed on Euronext Amsterdam1, Euronext
Fund Service segment.
Key investor information and prospectus
A prospectus and Key-Investor-Information document with information on the fund, the costs and the risks are available
for Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. Both documents can be obtained free of charge from the fund offices or via
www.robeco.com.
1 Depending on the distributor, investments can be made in Robeco Afrika Fonds of Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 5
Information for investors in the respective countries The information below applies only to investors in the respective countries.
Representative and paying agent in Germany
State Street Bank GmbH - Frankfurt Branch (Agent Fund Trading), Solmsstrasse 83, D-60486 Frankfurt am Main is
assigned as paying agent in Germany. The information address for Germany is Robeco Deutschland, Taunusanlage 17,
D-60325 Frankfurt am Main. The prospectus, the Articles of Association and the annual/semi-annual reports may be
obtained free of charge from the information address. The prices at which shares are bought and sold are published on
www.robeco.de.
Financial services in Belgium
CACEIS Belgium N.V., Havenstraat 86C Bus 320, 1000 Brussels, has been appointed as financial-services provider in
Belgium. The most recent periodic reports, the prospectus and the Key Investor Information and other information
about the fund are available from them in Dutch and English.
Translations
The original financial statements were drafted in Dutch. This document is an English translation of the original. In the
case of any discrepancies between the English and the Dutch text, the latter will prevail. This report is also published in
Dutch. Only the original Dutch edition is binding and will be submitted to the General Meeting of Shareholders.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 6
Key figures per share class
Overview 2011-2015
Robeco Afrika Fonds
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Average
Performance in % based on:
- Market price 1,2
–18.1
5.1
6.8
25.6
–26.1
–3.1
- Net asset value 1,2
–17.3
4.4
7.7
24.7
–23.7
–2.4
50% MSCI EFM Africa ex South Africa (Net Return) + 50% MSCI South Africa (Net Return) 3
–13.0
14.7
1.7
28.1
–19.7
0.9
Dividend in EUR 4
3.00
4.00
1.60
2.20
2.00
Total net assets 5
15
16
44
55
50
Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G 2015 2014 2013 6
Average
Performance in % based on:
- Market price 1,2
–17.4
6.1
2.7
–4.6
- Net asset value 1,2
–16.5
5.3
4.8
–3.6
50% MSCI EFM Africa ex South Africa (Net Return) + 50% MSCI South Africa (Net Return) 3
–13.0
14.7
Dividend in EUR 4
3.40
3.00
1.40
Total net assets 5
33
45
15
1 Possible differences between the performance based on market price and on net asset value are caused by the fact that the last market price of the reporting period and the net asset value are determined at different times. The last market price of the reporting period is the price on the last market day of the respective reporting period based on the valuation data available at 06:00h. The net asset value is based on the valuation figures from the close of trading on that same day.
2 Any dividend payments that are distributed in any year are assumed to have been reinvested in the fund.
3 This concerns a reference index.
4 The dividend relates to the reporting year mentioned and is distributed in the following year. Proposed for 2015. Further information on the proposed dividend can be found in the section Proposed profit appropriation on page 31.
5 EUR x millions.
6 Concerns the period 3 October 2013 through 31 December 2013.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 7
Report by the board
General introduction
Economy
In 2015 the global economy was characterized by slow economic growth. Global GDP growth of just 2.6% meant that
the economic recovery in 2015 was not convincing. Although the United States, with the Eurozone in its wake,
managed to continue on its path of improved economic activity, there was a sharp decline in the pace of growth in
emerging markets. The widely anticipated first US rate hike in nine years became a reality thanks to a solid recovery in
the labor market. The strong dollar, slower growth in China, low commodity prices and weakening global economy
characterized the macroeconomic climate.
There was a clear acceleration in economic activity in the Eurozone in 2015. Business and consumer confidence picked
up gradually, aided by low oil prices, an improvement in international competitiveness and an improvement in real
purchasing power. The relaxed monetary policy of the ECB, which initiated a bond-buying program worth EUR 60 billion
a month in January, contributed to this by causing a sharp depreciation of the euro. The sustained decline in the price
of oil (and other commodities) strengthened the disinflationary trend in the Eurozone and forced the ECB to take this
unconventional step. The ECB also lowered its deposit rate in the course of the year to –0.30% for commercial bank
deposits. And the EU rules on budget deficit levels were stretched in response to the refugee crisis and terrorism.
Reforms on the supply side of the economy remained relatively limited, despite evidence of favorable developments in
the periphery.
The strong recovery of the US labor market gave the Fed the opportunity to return to conventional monetary policy,
with an initial rate hike of +0.25%. The strong dollar had prevented an earlier rate hike. Increasing house prices,
moderate wage growth and higher real purchasing power caused by lower fuel prices boosted consumer spending.
Continuing low inflation and hidden unemployment meant that only a moderate tightening of monetary policy was
possible for the time being. The energy sector in the US suffered from the strong decline in oil prices that continued the
downward trend that started in 2014.
The rate of economic growth in Japan remained stuck at 0.48%. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic-
reform program had still not succeeded in bolstering the propensity to invest and push up wages for workers.
Nevertheless core inflation picked up and the weaker yen has vastly improved the profitability of Japanese companies.
Better-than-expected tax income contributed to the health of the government's finances, but its high debt ratio was still
a challenge. The reform program also relied fairly exclusively on quantitative easing by the Japanese central bank.
With GDP growth of 6.9%, the Chinese economy did not quite meet the Chinese policymakers' 7% target. The policy of
the Chinese policymakers was far from transparent, with an unexpected devaluation of the renminbi that caused unrest
on the global financial markets in August. Chinese policymakers attempted to strike a delicate balance between a
controlled dampening down of the overheated sectors and the introduction of a relatively high 6.5% target for the
years ahead. A tough stand on corruption brought a halt to excessive lending and also led to less demand for
commodities, while also causing investment levels to shrink. The authorities tried to prevent a sharp decline in growth
and had more than enough buffers in place to absorb the fallout from bankruptcies.
Movements in the commodities markets once again played a pivotal role in global economic developments. The
strategy of OPEC to win market share to the detriment of producers with higher production costs added to the supply
surplus in the oil market in 2015. Oil producers in the US proved resilient due to an unexpectedly sharp reduction in the
production costs, which helped keep oil production stable. The disappointing demand for oil caused by the slowdown in
growth in China and other emerging markets put further pressure on prices. At the end of 2015 a barrel of oil cost 37
US dollars. There was a clear wealth shift from oil-producing countries to net-oil importers.
Outlook for the equity markets
2015 was marked by a return of volatility to the global equity markets, with a total return of 8.8% for the MSCI World
All Countries Index in euro terms, close to the historical average returns for equity markets. The main contributors to
this performance were the developed equity markets and in particular an appreciation of the US dollar relative to the
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 8
euro. As in previous years, emerging markets lagged developed markets with an absolute return of –5.2% in euro
terms.
From a multi-asset perspective, the outlook for equities remains favorable. Nonetheless we expect below-average
returns for this asset class in 2016. After years of double-digit returns, equities find themselves in the late phase of a
long-term rally and investors will need to exercise greater caution now that price-earnings ratios have risen to higher
levels. Differences in monetary policy, below-average economic growth and a further fall from historically high profit
margins in the US are all factors that could put the brakes on further price increases. Although stock-price gains are
likely to contribute less to overall equity returns, we expect global corporate earnings to continue to grow, with the best
potential in the Eurozone, with expected earnings growth of around 10%. A lower interest burden, as yet moderate
wage growth, increased bank lending, low energy prices, less fiscally restrictive governments and a relatively favorable
exchange rate will all contribute to this.
Outlook for Africa
The prospects for 2016 vary per African country. South Africa is at risk of losing its investment grade status at Standard
& Poor's and other credit rating agencies. The national debt has risen to nearly 50% of the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) since the financial crisis. Therefore, a disciplined budget policy is required; however, investor confidence in this
area has declined since the sudden replacement of the Minister of Finance in December 2015. The central bank will
probably implement a number of small interest rate hikes to keep inflation under control. The dry weather conditions
will have a negative impact on agricultural production. The high unemployment rate will remain a problem for the long
term as, in general, wages are too high relative to productivity. There are some positive signs in other areas. For
instance, the trade deficit has decreased and as the currency has weakened, this trend could continue. The electricity
shortage will also probably have less of a negative impact. Capacity has been increased somewhat and both businesses
and consumers have become better at dealing with the situation. All in all, we expect the South African economy to
only grow by about 1%.
With regard to the political situation, Nigeria managed to make it through 2015 quite well. The security situation
appears to have improved as a result of military successes against terrorist group Boko Haram. However, it will still be a
challenging year for the economy due to the low oil price. The Nigerian government is unable to increase its
expenditure due to lower income from oil extraction. The government and the central bank are also struggling with the
exchange rate. As the exchange rate is expected to weaken as a consequence of the drop in oil prices in the second half
of 2015. Policy makers have chosen to keep the exchange rate stable. However, this does not appear to be tenable if
the oil price does not rise strongly. This makes doing business very difficult for many Nigerian companies and thus has a
negative effect on economic growth. Investors are also adopting a wait-and-see attitude. We expect the Nigerian naira
to weaken considerably, but as this occurs, the prices of Nigerian equities will probably go up.
The Kenyan economy will probably continue to grow strongly due to the large infrastructural projects that are being
carried out. Agriculture and industry are also doing well. We do not expect the tourist sector to show a strong recovery
in the near future. Kenya has large deficits on it government budget and balance of payments. However, development
banks and international investors are apparently still willing to finance these deficits as these are largely due to large
infrastructure projects.
Egypt is no longer popular with European tourist and thus an important source of hard currency has dried up, at least
temporarily. Nevertheless, the Egyptian economy is expected to still be able to grow by 3-4% due to the execution of
large investment projects. The low oil price is actually favorable for Egypt, but it will probably have a negative impact on
financial support from allies such as Saudi Arabia, the Untied Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
Government finance have been brought back under control in Ghana following an agreement with the International
Monetary Fund (IMF). The exchange rate has also stabilized after three years of significant weakening. We expect
inflation to decrease this year and we expect the interest rate to also go down as a result. This will then provide an
impulse for growth. Parliamentary and presidential elections will be held at the end of 2016. In view of the IMF's
involvement, we do not expect these elections to lead to a lot of extra government spending as in previous election
years.
Economic growth slowed down somewhat in Botswana in 2015, but fortunately Botswana has a low national debt and
thus there is room for fiscal stimulus measures. The government has announced a fiscal stimulus plan directed at
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 9
tourism, agriculture, industry and the construction sector. The creation of jobs is also an important objective. We expect
growth to increase to over 3%.
Zambia will be having another difficult year if the copper price remains low. The lower copper price leads to a lower
inflow of hard currency, lower government income and fewer jobs. It has already led to a considerable weakening of
the currency and rise in inflation, as a result of which the central bank had to raise interest rates substantially. Only an
increase in the copper price will be able to really improve Zambia's prospects in the short term.
Investment policy
Introduction
Traditional problems in Africa, such as the poor business climate, political instability and low productivity growth are
gradually disappearing. Laws and regulations have been further defined and levels of compliance are improving, which
are important preconditions for long-term investment. Economic growth is high and expectations are positive.
Valuations on the other hand are lower than in developed markets.
The fund will be able to benefit from Robeco Group’s extensive expertise and experience in the various sectors and
countries in which investments are made. In general, investments will be made in listed shares, although the fund may
invest up to 10% of its total assets in unlisted shares.
Investment objective
The objective of the fund is to give investors access to shares of companies that are based on the African continent or
that realize the majority of their sales and/or earnings in this region. The fund's reference index is composed of 50%
MSCI EFM Africa ex South Africa (Net Return) + 50% MSCI South Africa (Net Return).
Implementation of the investment policy
In 2015, the Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. invested in companies domiciled on the African continent or that realize the
majority of their sales and/or earnings in this region. Country allocation is the first step in this investment policy.
Subsequently, the most attractive stocks are selected in each country. Country allocation takes place on the basis of an
analysis of the macro-economic and political variables. In addition, stock-market valuation, expected earnings growth
and available liquidity are also taken into account. The attractiveness of individual stocks is determined on the basis of
a fundamental analysis of the company and the valuation of the shares.
The policy to keep trading volumes low, which has been implemented since the fund's inception, was continued in
2015 in view of the high transaction costs. The daily inflows/outflows are used to reposition the portfolio. However, we
only made minor and limited changes in 2015.
With a wide spectrum of companies, suitable liquidity on the market and low transaction costs, South Africa is still the
biggest country in the portfolio. The weighting increased in January from 46% to 48% as a result of the relatively good
performance of South Africa. However, after that, the weighting decreased gradually following a number of changes in
the portfolio and due to the fact that South Africa remained behind in comparison to the African average. The
weighting of South Africa was nearly 42% at the end of December. The fund continues to be underweight relative to
the reference index. The main reason for this underweight position was the relatively high valuation of South African
stocks combined with the lower growth potential compared to other African countries. This underweight position
resulted in small positive contribution to the relative performance. The positive contribution was limited due to the fact
that the reference index is rebalanced every month and profited from the changing outperformance and
underperformance of South Africa. The stock selection in South Africa was very good and provided a significant positive
contribution.
In Nigeria, the fund mainly invested in the banking sector, with exposure spread across ten large- and medium-sized
banks. In addition, the fund holds positions in cement producers and food companies. Nigeria's weighting in the
portfolio was nearly 15% at the end of the year, which was almost the same as the weighting at the beginning of the
year. In the first few months of the year, the weighting decreased to 13%. However, after the presidential elections
went smoothly, the weighting increased considerably only to decrease again later in the year following a new drop in
the oil price and disappointment among investors about the new government's lack of action in its first months. Nigeria
was the second largest country in our portfolio throughout the year, but it was still underweight relative to the
reference index. The underweight position had a slightly negative effect as Nigeria did not perform quite as badly as the
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 10
African average. The positioning with many banks, instead of defensive producers of food products and beer in the
reference index, also resulted in a slight underperformance.
In Egypt, the fund invests in a diversified portfolio of banks, a real estate developer, a telecom company, a poultry
producer and other companies. The fund continued to be underweight relative to the reference index during the year.
The political situation remained stable throughout the year, but we feel that the risks remain high because a large part
of the population is not participating in the democratic process. The announcement, and in some cases already the
commencement, of a number of large investment projects financed by foreign investors was positive. The discovery of a
huge gas field ensures that Egypt will have cheap gas and income in the coming years. With a negative return of 15%,
the Egyptian stock exchange performed in line with the average of the other African stock exchanges. The weighting in
our portfolio remained stable at around 8%. The underweight position relative to the reference index had hardly any
effect on the relative performance. The stock selection in Egypt contributed negatively due to an underweight position
in the largest bank that performed better than the market average. However, participating in stock-market flotations of
Egyptian companies did contribute positively on balance.
Kenya's weighting in the portfolio rose from 8.2% to 9.3% in 2015. This was partially because Kenya performed slightly
better than most other African stock markets. During the year the fund was slightly overweight and this made a positive
contribution to relative performance. Stock selection made a marginally negative contribution to relative performance.
In Ghana, the fund was invested in banks and in beer and dairy producers. Ghana experienced a volatile year and
ultimately lagged the African average. Ghana's weighting decreased from 6.0% to 5.9%. As Ghana is not in the
reference index, the Ghanaian stocks made a slightly negative contribution to relative performance.
Botswana was the best-performing country with a positive return of 6.7% in euros. The weighting in the portfolio
increased from 3.2% to 4.5%. Botswana is not part of the reference index and therefore our positions in financial
service providers and a supermarket chain made a positive contribution to the relative performance.
We expanded our portfolio slightly in Morocco by participation in the stock-market flotation of Total Maroc and also
due to this, the country weighting has increased from 1.5% to 2.2%. Consequently, the fund has been considerably
underweight relative to the reference index. This had a negative impact on the relative performance as the Moroccan
stock market, with a negative return of 3%, performed relatively well. Stock selection in Morocco had a slight positive
effect on the relative performance.
It was a very bad year for the Zambian stock market with a negative return of 35.5%, mainly due to the currency's slide
as a consequence of the strong drop in the copper price. We expanded our position in a meat producer during the year.
However, due to the fall in stock prices, the country weighting remained approximately the same at around 3%.
Zambia is not part of the reference index and therefore made a strongly negative contribution to the absolute and
relative performance of the fund.
Our investments in Mauritius had a neutral effect on the relative performance.
Our investment position in Tunisia was neutral with regard to country allocation, but our holdings performed better
than the market average and the stock selection was thus positive.
Geographically, the portfolio was further diversified following the inclusion of a Senegalese telecom company that is
listed on the regional stock exchange BRVM, which is located in Ivory Coast. The investment contributed positively to
the relative performance.
Our positions in companies active on the African continent but listed in Australia, Canada, Portugal and the United
Kingdom already had a much lower weighting than a few years ago due to the drop in stock prices. However, these
stocks had a negative impact again on the fund's absolute and relative performance in 2015 (these stocks do not, by
definition, form part of the reference index). This was mainly due to price decreases of oil, copper and gold.
Currency policy
An active currency policy is pursued with the euro as base currency. The fund may use forward exchange transactions to
adjust these currency weights. Management of currency risks is part of the fund’s total risk management. For further
quantitative information on the currency risk we refer to the information on currency risk provided on page 20.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 11
Investment results
Investment result per share class
Price in EUR x 1
Price in EUR x 1
Dividend paid
Investment result
Share class
31/12/2015
31/12/2014
May 2015 1
reporting period in % 2
Robeco Afrika Fonds
4.00
- Market price
104.30
130.98
–18.1
- Net asset value
106.76
132.67
–17.3
Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G
–3.00
- Market price
86.59
107.52
–17.4
- Net asset value
88.63
108.91
–16.5
1 Ex-date.
2 Any dividend payments that are distributed in any year are assumed to have been reinvested in the fund.
Net returns per share 1
EUR x 1
Robeco Afrika Fonds
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Investment income
4.91
5.07
4.40
4.42
3.56
Change in value
–24.99
2.12
7.70
22.63
–36.64
Management costs, service fee and other costs
–2.66
–2.72
–2.49
–2.35
–2.27
Net result
–22.74
4.47
9.61
24.70
–35.35
Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G
2015
2014
2013 2
Investment income
4.18
4.33
0.38
Change in value
–19.98
2.52
–0.74
Management costs, service fee and other costs
–1.27
–1.29
–0.32
Net result
–17.07
5.56
–0.68
1 Based on the average amount of shares outstanding during the reporting year. The average number of shares is calculated on a daily basis.
2 Concerns the period from 3 October through 31 December 2013.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. does not use an index as a benchmark. Compared to the reference index, which is comprised
of 50% MSCI South Africa and 50% MSCI EFM Africa, excluding South Africa, with monthly re-balancing, both share
classes in the fund underperformed the reference index by 2.6% (based on the gross return). Based on the net return
(after management fees), the Robeco Afrika Fonds underperformed the reference index by 4.3% and Robeco Afrika
Fonds - EUR G underperformed the reference index by 3.5%. The most important reasons for this were the weakening
of the currency in Zambia, the underweight position in the relatively well performing Morocco and the overweight
position in mining companies, which were negatively impacted by strongly declining commodity prices.
Return and risk
While the investment result is important, so is portfolio risk management. As far as the concentration risk is concerned,
the fund adheres to the UCITS guidelines, which prescribe that an individual stock may not structurally comprise more
than 10% of the fund and that the largest ten positions may not together represent more than 40% of the portfolio. In
addition, the fund managers aim to diversify the country weightings over many African countries, insofar as this is
possible by investing in stocks that are considered attractive. Robeco Afrika Fonds is more geographically diversified
than most other Africa funds. The individual share risk is also smaller, as the fund strives for a portfolio with 100 to 120
individual stocks. This is a lot more than most other Africa funds and, therefore, the probability that the fund will be hit
hard by a negative development on a company-level is relatively small. Finally, the fund managers take the liquidity of
the portfolio into account so that positions can be sold or reduced easily and without high costs in the event of
considerable withdrawals from the fund. Since its inception in June 2008, the fund has never experienced difficulties in
generating sufficient cash for large withdrawals. This is because a large part of the portfolio is invested in South Africa
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 12
and the United Kingdom (via, among others, depositary receipts of Egyptian and Nigerian stocks), whereas also the
Egyptian, Kenyan and Nigerian stock exchanges usually show a good liquidity.
The beta of the portfolio compared with the reference index amounted to 0.99 in 2015 and 0.89 over the last three
years. In general, it is the case that a portfolio with a beta of less than 1 goes up less than the market in a rising market
and goes down less than the market in a declining market. The level of beta is not a target in itself, but a result of
portfolio stock selection. The fund has a very long investment horizon (more than five years). We buy shares that we
expect will outperform the market in the long term. In order to keep transaction costs low, the fund mainly uses the
inflow and outflow of the fund to re-position the portfolio.
Executive remuneration
A description of the remuneration policy for fund executives can be found in the information on remuneration policy on
page 30.
Risk management
A description of risk management regarding financial instruments can be found in the information on the annual
financial statements on pages 18 through 22.
Movements in net assets
During the reporting period the assets of the Robeco fund fell by EUR 12 million to EUR 48 million. This decline can be
explained by the following items. On balance, stocks to the amount of EUR 1 million were bought. The withdrawal of
the net result decreased these assets by EUR 9 million. A total of EUR 2 million was paid out in dividend.
Survey of movements in net assets
EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Assets at opening date
60,268
58,508
Company shares issued
12,435
48,977
Company shares repurchased
–13,571
–49,285
Situation on closing date
59,132
58,200
Direct investment income
2,202
2,439
Costs
–806
–897
Indirect investment income
–10,711
1,303
Net result
–9,315
2,845
Dividend payments
–1,598
–777
Assets at closing date
48,219
60,268
Sustainability investing The sustainability investing carried out by funds at Robeco is implemented with minimum restrictions to the investment
universe, and consists of a combination of effective measures:
• exercising voting rights
• engagement
• exclusions
• integration of ESG factors1 into the investment processes.
Exercising voting rights
The manager aims to exercise voting rights on shares held by the fund throughout the world. The manager is convinced
that effective corporate governance will be beneficial to shareholder value in the longer term. The corporate-
governance policy of the manager is based on the internationally accepted principles of the International Corporate
Governance Network (ICGN). The manager is of the opinion that local legislation and codes for corporate governance,
1 ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 13
such as the Corporate Governance Code in the Netherlands, should be guiding principles for corporate-governance
practice and voting behavior. This approach is in line with the ICGN Global Corporate Governance Principles.
The ICGN Global Corporate Governance Principles are guidelines for shareholders and listed companies on different
corporate governance topics such as the composition of the board of listed companies, independent supervision of the
day-to-day management, an effective remuneration policy, rights for shareholders and the company's management
board. The aim of Robeco's voting policy is to improve the corporate governance of its investments. Common agenda
items at shareholder meetings concern the appointment of new management or supervisory board members, approval
for share issues and the approval of remuneration policy.
Some proposals such as those made by shareholders or about mergers and takeovers can differ greatly in form and
content. The way in which Robeco votes on such agenda items is different for each specific proposal. International basic
principles from the Principles for Responsible Investing and the International Corporate Governance Network for
example, also offer support for such specific analyses. The manager puts the wider interests of the investors first.
In 2015, the manager voted at 1,049 meetings on behalf of (Dutch) funds managed by RIAM. In 60% of these
meetings the manager's vote was different from the company board's proposal on at least one agenda item.
Engagement
Engagement is the active use of the rights of investors to influence how companies are managed. Robeco enters into
active dialogue with companies on corporate social responsibility and CSR policies. In our opinion this will increase
shareholder value for the investors in the longer term. We use an integral approach, which combines the expertise of
our investment analysts, our sustainability investing research analysts and our engagement specialists. By using
financially material information as the basis for our talks, we strive to ensure that our dialogue introduces added value
and improves the risk/return profile of the company's stock. This enables us to generate value for both the investors
and the company.
Robeco uses two forms of engagement that differ in approach: The first is 'value engagement', which is aimed at
improving the sustainability profile of companies and thus also the quality of investments in those companies. Different
sustainability themes are discussed with companies based on the conviction that opportunities can be better used and
risks better mitigated by companies that pursue a sound sustainability policy. In 2015, constructive dialogs were
initiated on behalf of the RIAM-managed funds with listed companies on topics such as environmental challenges for
European electricity companies, ESG risks and opportunities in the bio-pharmaceutical industry and corporate
governance in Japan.
The second form of engagement is 'enhanced engagement', which focuses on companies that breach the UN Global
Compact. The UN Global Compact defines several universal principles with which organizations must comply. These
principles are of a general nature and focus on respecting human rights, good working conditions, combating
corruption and exercising due care for the environment. If a company structurally breaches one or more of these
principles, Robeco starts a dialogue with it. If after three years' of dialogue, a company makes insufficient progress in
eliminating or mitigating the breach, Robeco may decide to exclude the company from its investment universe.
Exclusions
Robeco's exclusion policy is based on three main exclusion criteria. Firstly, it excludes companies that are involved in
the production of controversial weapons or essential components for such weapons, or that derive income from the
sale or transport of these weapons. We base our policy of not investing in such companies on a legislative amendment
in the Netherlands governing investments in cluster-munition companies effective since 1 January 2013. Secondly,
there is a policy for excluding countries. Robeco considers any country that systematically violates the human rights of
its citizens to be controversial. These exclusions relate to investment-related sanctions that are imposed by the UN, US
or EU. Thirdly, an unsuccessful dialogue may in time lead to a company's exclusion from the investment universe. Such
a dialogue with a company concerns serious and systematic violations of widely accepted international directives on
good corporate governance. Robeco focuses in particular on the United Nations Global Compact. Robeco Group’s
Management Board has the final authority to exclude companies and countries. Robeco Institutional Asset
Management B.V. will apply this exclusion list in its capacity as manager. The exclusion list can be found on the Robeco
website.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 14
Integration of ESG factors in investment processes
ESG factors are taken into consideration in the decision-making process both on a macro level and on a company level.
On a macro level, factors such as transparency, strengthening of democratic institutions, political stability and
protection of shareholders are assessed and taken into account in the positioning of a country in the portfolio.
On a company level, ESG is assessed in the fundamental analysis as a separate item, in addition to other factors such as
business analysis, earnings revisions, quantitative scores and valuation. Three sources are mainly used as input for the
ESG analysis. The Emerging Markets team carries out its own ESG analysis every other year. This analysis has been
performed since 2001 and was initially only directed at the Governance factor. This analysis was expanded in 2011 and
the Environmental and Social factors were also included. In addition, the sustainability scores of RobecoSAM and of
independent sustainability research agencies are also used. RobecoSAM has developed its own ESG score based on an
extensive list of sector-specific and business-specific factors. RobecoSAM has started to monitor more and more
companies in Africa and, as a result, the use of its ESG score has increased considerably.
Based on the ESG analysis, the decision can be taken to refrain from investing in a specific company. The results of the
ESG analysis are also used to determine the discount rate in the discounted cash-flow model that is used to determine
the value.
Statement of operational management Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. has a statement of operational management, which meets the
requirements of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act [Wet op het financieel toezicht, or 'Wft'] and the Dutch Market
Conduct Supervision of Financial Enterprises Decree [Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiële ondernemingen, or ‘BGfo’].
Activities
During the past financial year, we evaluated different aspects of corporate governance with the aid of a model with
three ‘lines of defense’ as described in the section on Risk management on page 19. In our assessment, we observed
nothing that would lead us to conclude that the description of the structural aspects of operational management within
the meaning of article 121 of the BGfo failed to meet the requirements as specified in the Wft and related regulations.
On the basis of this, we, as directors of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V., declare that we possess a
statement of operational management as defined in article 121 van het BGfo that meets the requirements of the BGfo.
Report on operational management
In our assessment we noted nothing that would lead us to conclude that operational management does not function as
described in this statement. We therefore declare with reasonable assurance that operational management has been
effective and has functioned as described throughout the reporting year.
Fund Governance Robeco has its own Principles on Fund Governance These principles largely correspond to the principles of the Dutch
Fund and Asset Management Association (DUFAS). The objective of the Principles is to give more detailed guidelines for
the organizational structure and working methods of fund managers or independent investment companies and to
provide guarantees for integrity in the fund's activities and ensure the careful provision of services. Group Compliance is
the Robeco department that ensures that the Principles are constantly monitored. Once every three years Robeco's
Group Internal Audit carries out an audit of the fund Governance as structured and implemented at Robeco, and of its
compliance with the DUFAS Principles on Fund Governance. The last audit was in July 2014. This text can be found on
the Robeco website.
In addition, one of the committees of the Robeco Group N.V. Supervisory Board (the Investment Committee) focuses
particularly on the funds managed by the Robeco Group as a whole. The meetings were attended by the members of
the Management Board of Robeco Group N.V., the board of RIAM and representatives from the investment
departments. The product range, the profitability of the products, the investment policy pursued and the fund
performance were all discussed. During these discussions, comparisons were also made between the performance and
the set performance targets and ratings, such as those of Morningstar.
The Audit & Risk Committee of the Robeco Group N.V. Supervisory Board discusses issues relating to compliance and
risk management, in the presence of members of the Robeco Group N.V. Management Board, the heads of Group
Internal Audit, Group Compliance and Group Risk Management and representatives from the independent auditor. In
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 15
these meetings various elements are covered including reported incidents and the measures taken to handle these,
and Group Compliance reports on active and passive breaches relating to investment guidelines if these have occurred.
Both committees are made up of seven members, six of whom are independent (from the shareholders). This ensures
that developments relating to Robeco Group funds are brought to the attention of the Supervisory Board that is
responsible for the supervision of the Robeco Group.
Rotterdam, 31 March 2016
The Management Board
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 16
Annual financial statements
Balance sheet Before profit appropriation, EUR x thousand
31/12/2015
31/12/2014
ASSETS
Investments
Financial investments
Equities 1
47,979
59,986
Total investments
47,979
59,986
Accounts receivable
Receivables on securities transactions 146
347
Dividends receivable 2
15
141
Other receivables 3
169
311
330
799
Other assets
Cash and cash equivalents 4
65
824
LIABILITIES
Accounts payable
Payable to credit institutions 5
59
871
Payable to affiliated parties 6
52
62
Other liabilities 7
44
408
155 1,341
Accounts receivable and other assets less accounts payable
240
282
Assets minus accounts payable 48,219
60,268
Composition of shareholders’ equity
Issued capital 8,9
516
528
Share-premium reserve 8
51,778
52,902
Other reserves 8
5,240
3,993
Undistributed earnings 8
–9,315
2,845
48,219 60,268
Net asset value Robeco Afrika Fonds per share
106.76 132.67
Net asset value Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G per share
88.63 108.91
The numbers of the items in the financial statements refer to the numbers in the Notes.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 17
Profit and loss account EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Investment income 10
2,202
2,439
Changes in value 1
Unrealized profit
3,504
12,565
Unrealized losses –16,986
–11,716
Realized profit 4,762
3,958
Realized losses –1,991
–3,504
–8,509
3,742
Costs
Management costs 11
638
704
Service fee 11
69
74
Other costs 13
99
119
806
897
Net result
–9,315
2,845
Cash flow statement Indirect method, EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Cash flow from investment activities
Net result
–9,315
2,845
Unrealized changes in value 1
13,482
–849
Realized changes in value 1
–2,771
–454
Purchase of investments 1
–8,831
–11,528
Sale of investments 1
10,260
10,704
Increase (–)/decrease (+) accounts receivable 2,3,4
452
–471
Increase (+)/decrease (–) accounts payable 6.7
–36
–27
3,241
220
Cash flow from financing activities Received for shares subscribed
12,435
48,977
Paid for repurchase of own shares
–13,571
–49,285
Dividend payments
–1,598
–777
Increase (–)/decrease (+) accounts receivable 3
17
–8
Increase (+)/decrease (–) accounts payable 7
–338
18
–3,055
–1,075
Net cash flow
186
–855
Currency and cash revaluation –133
33
Increase (+)/decrease (–) cash
53
–822
Cash at opening date 4
824
2,091
Accounts payable to credit institutions at opening date 5
–871
–1,316
Total cash at opening date
–47
775
Cash at closing date 4
65
824
Accounts payable to credit institutions at closing date 5
–59
–871
Total cash at closing date
6
–47
The numbers of the items in the financial statements refer to the numbers in the Notes.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 18
Notes
General The annual financial statements have been drawn up in conformity with Part 9, Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code and the
Wft. The fund’s financial year is the same as the calendar year. The notes referring to fund shares concern ordinary
shares outstanding.
The ordinary shares are divided into two series, both of which are open. Each series is designated as a share class. The
series include the following share classes:
Share class A: Robeco Afrika Fonds
Share class B: Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G.
Risk management
Risks are inherent in asset management. Therefore it is very important to have a procedure for controlling these risks
embedded in the company's day-to-day operations. The manager (RIAM) ensures that risks are properly managed via
the three-lines-of-defense model: RIAM management (first line), Group Compliance and Group Risk Management
departments (second line) and Group Internal Audit department (third line).
Within RIAM, the management is primarily responsible for risk management – as part of its daily activities. The Group
Compliance and Group Risk Management departments develop and maintain policy, methods and systems that enable
management to fulfill its responsibilities in terms of risk control. These departments also monitor whether the
portfolios remain within the investment restrictions set out in the prospectus and whether they meet the internal
regulations. The Risk Management Committee makes decisions on the implementation of the risk management policy
and monitors whether risks remain within the set limits. The Group Internal Audit department carries out audits to
check the effectiveness of internal controls.
RIAM uses a risk-management and control framework that supports the effective control of all types of risk. Within this
framework, risks are periodically identified and assessed as to their significance and materiality. Internal procedures
and measures are focused on providing a structure to control both financial and operational risks. Control measures are
included in the framework for each type of risk. The implementation of procedures and measures within this framework
is actively monitored.
Operational risk
Operational risk is the risk of loss as a result of inadequate or failing processes, people or systems. Robeco constantly
seeks opportunities to simplify processes and reduce complexity in order to mitigate operational risks. Automation is an
important means of achieving this and to this end systems are used that can be regarded as the market standard for
financial institutions.
Compliance risk
Compliance risk is the risk of sanctions, financial loss or reputation damage as a result of non-compliance with internal
and external legislation and regulation applicable to the activities of Robeco. The markets in which Robeco is active are
strictly regulated and are under the supervision of the financial authorities. Robeco's compliance with all applicable
laws and regulations is in our clients’ interest. Robeco has implemented a meticulous process with clear responsibilities
in order to ensure that new legislation and regulation is reported and implemented in a timely fashion.
In 2015 further significant changes could be observed that could affect the Robeco funds. An important example of this
is the amendment of the European Investment Institution’s Directive for Collective Investment in Securities (UCITS
Directive). This amended directive, also referred to as UCITS V, will come into effect on 18 March 2016. In January
2015, a project group was set up at Robeco with the objective of ensuring that the company is completely compliant
with UCITS V by the time it becomes effective.
The two most important elements of UCITS V that will effect Robeco funds are:
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 19
1. Remuneration: The UCITS V includes 17 principles covering the remuneration policy of fund managers. These
principles correspond to a large extent with the existing principles for remuneration policies under the AIFM
Directive.
2. Custodian: Under UCITS V, far more stringent requirements will be placed on custodians. All banks and other
parties that have specifically received a license for this (including investment institutions) may act as
custodians. Detailed conditions have been drawn up with which the custodian must comply when
implementing its custodial tasks. Experience with the AIFM Directive, where a similar provision applies, has
shown that regulators can be critical about the content of these custodial agreements. Furthermore, under
the UCITS V strict conditions are placed on the outsourcing of activities by the custodian and the related
responsibility and liability.
The European regulation relating to the central settlement of derivatives (EMIR) contains three different types of
obligations for certain forms of derivatives: (1) reporting to the regulators, (2) central settlement via central clearing
institutions, and (3) supplementary requirements for bilateral transactions, such as the periodic reconciliation of
derivative positions and exchange of collateral. The regulation entered into force at the end of 2012 and is taking effect
in stages. The reporting, reconciliation and exchange of collateral obligations have already entered into effect and have
been implemented for the Robeco funds. The central settlement of interest-rate swaps in the currencies GBP, EUR, USD
and JPY will take effect as of 21 June 2016 for the Robeco funds. Central settlement for other categories of derivatives
is expected to be introduced at a later stage.
The new European directive for markets in financial instruments (MiFID II) is also significant for the Robeco funds,
particularly in the area of fund distribution and the protection offered to (potential) investors. European distributors of
Robeco funds will in principle no longer be permitted to receive and hold commission based on MiFID II. In addition, it
will be necessary to identify a so-called ‘target market’ for each fund. Moreover, more information will have to be
provided to both retail and institutional clients, for instance on the costs incurred for the fund and its distribution. The
rules contained in MiFID II relating to the infrastructure of the financial markets contain no direct obligations for Robeco
as a fund manager, but are liable to have an indirect impact. This applies for instance to the obligation to trade liquid
derivatives via trading platforms in future. Initially, MiFID II was to enter into effect on 3 January 2017, but on 10
February 2016 the European Commission proposed deferring the date of effect to 3 January 2018.
Developments
RIAM has improved certain aspects of its processes and methods for measuring and controlling financial risks, for
example in the area of market risk and liquidity risk. As regards market risk, a methodology has been developed that
makes it possible to independently monitor the level of active management within the investment funds. RIAM is
therefore better equipped to determine whether, given their positioning, its funds are actually able to outperform the
reference frameworks (such as a benchmark or reference index). There has also been an increased focus on the issue of
liquidity risk within RIAM in the recent period. RIAM has set up a working group that has taken various measures to
ensure that it is effectively prepare for a continuation of the current trend of reduced liquidity in the corporate bond
market.
Risks relating to financial instruments Investment risk
The value of investments may fluctuate. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The net asset value of the
fund depends on developments in the financial markets and can therefore either rise or fall. Shareholders run the risk
that their investments may end up being worth less than the amount invested, or even worth nothing. The general
investment risk can also be characterized as market risk. Market risk
Market risk can be divided into three types: price risk, currency risk and concentration risk. Market risks are contained
using limits on quantitative risk measures such as tracking error, volatility or value-at-risk. This means that the
underlying risk types (price risk, concentration risk and currency risk) are also indirectly contained.
Price risk
The net asset value of the fund is sensitive to market movements. In addition, investors should be aware of the
possibility that the value of investments may vary as a result of changes in political, economic or market circumstances,
as well as changes in an individual business situation. The entire portfolio is exposed to price risk. The degree of price
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 20
risk that the fund runs depends among other things on the risk profile of the fund's portfolio. More detailed
information on the risk profile of the fund's portfolio can be found in the section on Return and risk on page 11.
Currency risk
All or part of the securities portfolio of the fund may be invested in currencies, or financial instruments denominated in
currencies other than the euro. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have both a negative and a positive
effect on the investment result of the fund. Currency risks may be hedged with currency forward transactions and
currency options. Currency risks can be limited by applying relative or absolute currency concentration limits.
Currency risks were not being hedged at balance sheet date.
Currency exposure
EUR x thousand
Currency Gross position 31/12/2015
Exposure to forward
exchange contracts
31/12/2015
Net position 31/12/2015
In % 31/12/2015
In % 31/12/2014
ZAR 20,430
–
20,430
42.4
46.6
NGN 6,283
–
6,283
13.0
13.2
KES 4,485
–
4,485
9.3
8.2
EGP 3,129
–
3,129
6.5
6.4
GHS 2,861
–
2,861
5.9
6.0
BWP 2,100
–
2,100
4.4
3.3
USD 1,618
–
1,618
3.4
4.0
CAD 1,411
–
1,411
2.9
1.9
ZMW 1,099
–
1,099
2.3
3.2
MAD 1,056
–
1,056
2.2
1.5
MUR 1,018
–
1,018
2.1
1.9
GBP 886
–
886
1.8
2.1
EUR 830
–
830
1.7
0.5
TND 504
–
504
1.0
0.5
XOF 267
–
267
0.6
0.0
AUD 242
–
242
0.5
0.7
Total 48,219
0
48,219
100.0
100.0
Concentration risk
Based on its investment policy, the fund may invest in financial instruments from issuing institutions that (mainly)
operate within the same sector or region, or in the same market. In the case of concentrated investment portfolios
events within the sectors, regions or markets in which they invest have a more pronounced effect on the fund assets
than in less concentrated investment portfolios. Concentration risks can be limited by applying relative or absolute
country or sector concentration limits. The table below shows the exposure to stock markets through stocks per country
in amounts and as a percentage of the fund's total equity capital.
Concentration risk by country
Equities
Stock market index futures
Total exposure
In % of net assets
In % of net
assets
31/12/2015
31/12/2015
31/12/2015
31/12/2015 31/12/2014
Africa
South Africa
20,212,926
–
20,212,926
41.9
46.3
Nigeria
7,005,766
–
7,005,766
14.5
15.1
Kenya
4,484,749
–
4,484,749
9.3
8.2
Egypt
3,900,254
–
3,900,254
8.1
8.3
Ghana
2,861,086
–
2,861,086
5.9
6.0
Botswana
2,169,375
–
2,169,375
4.5
3.2
Zambia
1,531,055
–
1,531,055
3.2
3.6
Morocco
1,056,608
–
1,056,608
2.2
1.5
Mauritius
1,000,980
–
1,000,980
2.1
1.9
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 21
Concentration risk by country
Equities
Stock market index futures
Total exposure
In % of net assets
In % of net
assets
31/12/2015
31/12/2015
31/12/2015
31/12/2015 31/12/2014
Tunisia
504,106
–
504,106
1.1
0.5
Senegal
266,786
–
266,786
0.5
0.0
United Arab Emirates
140,317
–
140,317
0.3
0.0
America
Canada
1,438,879
–
1,438,879
3.0
2.2
Europe
The Netherlands
650,080
–
650,080
1.4
0.0
United Kingdom
267,731
–
267,731
0.6
1.2
Portugal
111,121
–
111,121
0.2
0.6
Ireland
22,844
–
22,844
0.0
0.1
Switzerland
21,261
–
21,261
0.0
0.0
Guernsey
2,766
–
2,766
0.0
0.0
Australia
Australia
330,621
–
330,621
0.7
0.8
Total
47,979,311
0
47,979,311
99.5
99.5
The sector concentrations are shown below.
Sector allocation
In % 31/12/2015
31/12/2014
Financials
47.2
45.6
Consumer discretionary
16.7
17.2
Materials
10.3
10.2
Consumer staples
8.9
7.4
Telecom services
8.8
11.0
Industrials
2.8
2.8
Energy
1.9
2.7
Information technology
1.2
0.8
Utilities
1.1
1.1
Pharmaceutical and health care
0.6
0.7
Other assets and liabilities
0.5
0.5
Total
100.0
100.0
Leverage risk
The fund may make use of derivative instruments, techniques or structures. They may be used for hedging risks, and for
achieving investment objectives and ensuring efficient portfolio management. These instruments may be leveraged,
which will increase the fund’s sensitivity to market fluctuations. The risk of derivative instruments, techniques or
structures will always be limited within the conditions of the fund's integral risk management. The degree of leveraged
financing in the fund, measured using the gross method (where 0% exposure indicates no leveraged financing) over
the year, as well as on the balance sheet date, is shown in the table below. The gross method means that the absolute
underlying value of the long positions and the short positions in derivatives are added up and represented as a
percentage of the assets.
Leverage risk
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 22
Lowest exposure during the
reporting period
Highest exposure during the
reporting period
Average exposure during the reporting
period
Exposure per 31/12/2015
0%
5%
1% 0%
Counterparty risk
Counterparty risk is a circumstantial form of risk that is a consequence of the implemented investment policy. It occurs
when a counterparty of the fund fails to fulfill its financial obligations arising from financial transactions with the fund.
This risk is limited as much as possible by taking every possible care in the selection of counterparties. In selecting
counterparties the assessments of independent rating bureaus are taken into account, as are other relevant indicators.
Wherever it is customary in the market, the fund will demand and obtain collateral in order to mitigate counterparty
risk. In the table below a figure that best represents the maximum credit risk is indicated.
Counterparty risk
31/12/2015
31/12/2014
EUR x thousand
In % of net assets
EUR x thousand
In % of net assets
Accounts receivable
330
0.7
799
1.3
Cash and cash equivalents
65
0.1
824
1.4
Total
395
0.8
1,623
2.7
Any collateral received has not been taken into account in the calculation of the total credit risk. Counterparty risk is
contained by applying limits to the exposure per counterparty as a percentage of the fund assets. As of the balance
sheet date there were no counterparties with an exposure of more than 5% of the fund's total assets.
Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is an incidental form of risk that is a consequence of the investment policy pursued. Liquidity risk occurs
when financial instruments cannot be sold in a timely fashion unless additional costs are incurred. Liquidity risk can be
divided into two categories: exit risks and the liquidity risk of financial instruments.
Exit risk
Exit risks occur when the fund's value is negatively affected by the exit of one or more clients, with negative
consequences for existing clients. The extent to which the value of the fund can be negatively affected depends on the
liquidity of the financial instruments in the portfolio, and on the concentration of clients. To prevent an exit negatively
affecting the fund, the fund charges the client a surcharge to cover any exit costs.
Liquidity risk of financial instruments
The actual buying and selling prices of financial instruments in which the fund invests partly depend upon the liquidity
of the financial instruments in question. It is possible that a position taken on behalf of the fund cannot be quickly
liquidated at a reasonable price due to a lack of liquidity in the market in terms of supply and demand. The fund
minimizes this risk by mainly investing in financial instruments that are tradeable on a daily basis. Moreover liquidity
risks of financial instruments are contained using limits on the non-liquid portion of the securities portfolio.
Manager
Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (RIAM) manages the fund. In this capacity RIAM handles asset
management, administration, marketing and distribution of the fund. With effect from 22 July 2014, RIAM has a
license from the AIFMD as defined by Section 2:65 of the Wft. In addition, RIAM is licensed as a manager of UCITS
(2:69b Wft), which includes managing individual assets and giving advice on financial instruments. RIAM is subject to
supervision by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (the “AFM”). RIAM has listed the fund with AFM.
RIAM is a 100% subsidiary of Robeco Group N.V. (via Robeco Europe Holding B.V.). Robeco Group N.V. is part of ORIX
Corporation. ORIX Corporation owns 90.01% of the shares in Robeco Group N.V. and Rabobank Group owns 9.99% of
the shares. Affiliated parties
The fund and the manager may utilize the services of and carry out transactions with parties affiliated to the fund as
defined in the BGfo, such as RIAM, Robeco Nederland B.V and ORIX Corporation. The services entail the execution of
tasks that have been outsourced to these parties such as (1) securities lending, (2) hiring temporary staff and (3)
issuance and repurchase of the fund’s shares. Transactions that can be carried out with affiliated parties include the
following: treasury management, derivatives transactions, custody of financial instruments, lending of financial
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 23
instruments, credit extension, purchase and sale of financial instruments on regulated markets or through multilateral
trading facilities. All these services and transactions are executed at market rates.
Accounting principles General
The financial statements are produced according to the continuity assumption. Unless stated otherwise, items shown in
the annual financial statements are included at nominal value and expressed in thousands of euros.
Tradability
The fund is an open-end investment company, meaning that, barring exceptional circumstances, it issues and
repurchases its shares on a daily basis at prices approximating net asset value, augmented or reduced by a limited
surcharge or discount. The only purpose of this surcharge or discount is to cover the costs made by the fund related to
the entry and exit of investors. The maximum current surcharge or discount is 1.00%. Surcharges and discounts will be
offset directly against the fund assets.
Financial investments
Financial investments are classified as trading portfolio and are valued at fair value, unless stated otherwise. The fair
value of stocks is determined on the basis of market prices and other market quotations at closing date. Transaction
costs incurred in the purchase and sale of investments are included in the purchase or sale price as appropriate and are
accounted for as part of the value changes in the profit and loss account. The transaction date of an investment
determines its inclusion in the balance sheet.
Foreign currencies
Transactions in currencies other than the euro are converted into euros at the exchange rates valid at the time. Assets
and liabilities expressed in other currencies are converted into euros at the exchange rate prevailing at balance-sheet
date. Any exchange-rate differences arising are accounted for in the profit and loss account.
Principles for determining the result General
Investment results are determined by investment income, rises or declines in stock prices, rises or declines in foreign
exchange rates and results of transactions in currencies, including forward transactions and other derivatives. Results
are allocated to the period to which they relate and are accounted for in the profit and loss account.
Investment income
Net cash dividends declared during the year under review, the nominal value of stock dividends declared and interest
received and paid. Accrued interest at balance-sheet date is taken into account.
Changes in value
Realized and unrealized capital gains and losses on securities and currencies are presented under this heading.
Realization of capital gains takes place on selling as the difference between the realizable sales value and the average
historical cost price. Unrealized capital gains relate to value changes in the portfolio between the beginning of the
financial year and the balance sheet date, corrected by the realized gains when positions are sold or settlement takes
place.
Allocation to share classes The fund is managed in such a way that the allocation of results to the different share classes occurs proportionately on
a daily basis. Issue and repurchase of own shares are registered per share class.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 24
Notes to the balance sheet
1 Equities
Movements in the stock portfolio
EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Book value (fair value) at opening date
59,986
57,892
Purchases
8,831
11,528
Sales
–10,260
–10,704
Unrealized gains
–13,482
849
Realized gains
2,904
421
Book value (fair value) at closing date
47,979
59,986
A breakdown of this portfolio is given under List of securities, in the Notes section. A sub-division into regions and
sectors is provided under the information on concentration risk under the information on risks relating to financial
instruments.
Transaction costs
Brokerage costs and exchange fees relating to investment transactions are discounted in the cost price or the sales
value of the investment transactions. These costs and fees are charged to the result ensuing from changes in value. The
quantifiable transaction costs are shown below.
Transaction costs
EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Transaction type
Equities
33
53
Robeco wants to be certain that the selection of counterparties for order execution (brokers) occurs using procedures
and criteria that ensure the best results for the fund.
The costs charged by brokers are not necessarily just for the order they have executed, but may also relate to research
supplied by the brokers. Robeco only pays for research if this leads to an improvement in the investment decisions
made at Robeco. The costs for research can be paid for by the fund through full service fees or commission sharing
agreements (CSA).
The breakdown of the transaction costs over the reporting period is as follows.
Breakdown of equity transaction costs
EUR x thousand
2015 2014
Type of transaction
Order execution
11 23
Exchange fees
14 26
Research paid for via full service
8 4
Research paid for via CSA
– –
Total transaction costs
33
53
2 Dividends receivable These are receivables arising from net dividends declared but not yet received.
3 Other receivables This concerns:
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 25
Other receivables
EUR x thousand 31/12/2015
31/12/2014
Dividend tax to be reclaimed 117
262
Bank transactions to be classified 32 –
Other –
12
Subtotal (investment activities) 149
274
Receivables from issuance of new shares 20
37
Subtotal (financing activities) 20
37
Total 169
311
4 Cash and cash equivalents This concerns:
Cash and cash equivalents
EUR x thousand 31/12/2015
31/12/2014
Freely available cash
65
824
Total
65
824
5 Payable to credit institutions This concerns temporary debit balances on bank accounts caused by investment transactions.
6 Payable to affiliated parties This concerns the following payables to RIAM:
Payable to affiliated parties
EUR x thousand 31/12/2015
31/12/2014
Liabilities on management fee
47
56
Liabilities on service fee
5
6
Total 52 62
7 Other liabilities This concerns:
Other liabilities
EUR x thousand 31/12/2015
31/12/2014
Costs payable 10
28
Other –
8
Subtotal (investment activities) 10
36
Liabilities from acquisition of own shares 34
372
Subtotal (financing activities) 34
372
Total 44
408
8 Shareholders’ equity
Composition of and movements in shareholders’ equity
EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Issued capital Robeco Afrika Fonds
Situation on opening date
117
335
Received on shares issued
57
67
Paid for shares repurchased
–34
–285
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 26
Composition of and movements in shareholders’ equity
EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Situation on closing date
140
117
Issued Capital Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G
Situation on opening date
411
147
Received on shares issued
49
379
Paid for shares repurchased
–84
–115
Situation on closing date
376
411
Share-premium reserve Robeco Afrika Fonds
Situation on opening date
15,466
39,187
Received on shares issued
7,021
8,758
Paid for shares repurchased
–4,502
–34,530
Correction to share-premium reserve as a result of switch
–
2,051
Situation on closing date
17,985
15,466
Share-premium reserve Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G
Situation on opening date
37,436
14,069
Received on shares issued
5,308
39,773
Paid for shares repurchased
–8,951
–14,355
Correction to share-premium reserve as a result of switch
–
–2,051
Situation on closing date
33,793
37,436
Other reserves
Situation on opening date
3,993
418
Addition to result previous financial year
1,247
3,575
Situation on closing date
5,240
3,993
Undistributed earnings
Situation on opening date
2,845
4,352
Dividend payment Robeco Afrika Fonds
–436
–228
Dividend payment Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G
–1,162
–549
Addition to other reserves
–1,247
–3,575
Undistributed result financial year
–9,315
2,845
Situation on closing date
–9,315
2,845
Shareholders’ equity
48,219
60,268
The company’s authorized share capital is EUR 1,500,000 million, divided into 1,499,990 ordinary shares with a
nominal value of EUR 1 each and 10 priority shares with a nominal value of EUR 1 each. The priority shares have
already been issued. The ordinary shares are divided into 749,990 Robeco Afrika Fonds shares and 750,000 Robeco
Afrika Fonds - EUR G shares. Fees are not included in the share premium reserve.
Survey of movements in net assets
EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Assets at opening date
60,268
58,508
Company shares issued
12,435
48,977
Company shares repurchased
–13,571
–49,285
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 27
Survey of movements in net assets
EUR x thousand
2015
2014
Situation on closing date
59,132
58,200
Investment income
2,202
2,439
Management costs
–638
–704
Service fee
–69
–74
Custody costs
–74
–78
Other costs
–25
–41
1,396
1,542
Changes in value
–10,711
1,303
Net result
–9,315
2,845
Dividend payments
–1,598
–777
Assets at closing date
48,219
60,268
9 Assets, shares outstanding and net asset value per share
Assets, shares outstanding and net asset value per share
Afrika Fonds Afrika Fonds - EUR G
31/12/2015
31/12/2014
31/12/2013
31/12/2015
31/12/2014
31/12/2013
Assets in EUR x thousand
14,960
15,554
43,073
33,259
44,714
15,435
Status of number of shares issued as at the beginning of the financial year
117,243
334,837
451,416
410,547
147,312
–
Shares issued in financial year
56,726
67,253
155,715
48,947
379,009
152,343
Shares repurchased in financial year
–33,841
–284,847
–272,294
–84,254
–115,774
–5,031
Number of shares outstanding
140,128
117,243
334,837
375,240
410,547
147,312
Net asset value per share in EUR x 1
106.76
132.67
128.64
88.63
108.91
104.78
Dividend paid per share during financial year
4.00
1.60
2.20
3.00
1.40
–
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 28
Notes to the profit and loss account
Income
10 Investment income
This concerns:
Investment income
EUR x thousand 2015
2014
Dividend received* 2,195 2,408
Interest
7 –7
Other income – 38
Total 2,202 2,439
This concerns net dividends received. Factored into this amount as withholding tax reclaimable from the country that withheld the tax plus withholding tax that is subject to a remittance reduction from the Dutch tax authorities. The remittance reduction is offset against the dividend tax payable on dividends distributed by the fund.
Costs
11 Management costs and service fee
The management fee and service fee are charged by the manager. Management costs only relate to management
fees. The fees are calculated daily on the basis of the fund assets.
Management costs and service fee specified in the prospectus
In %
Robeco Afrika Fonds Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G
Management costs
1.75
0.88
Service fee 1
0.12
0.12
1 For the share classes, the service fee is 0.12% per year on assets up to EUR 1 billion, 0.10% on assets above EUR 1 billion,and 0.08% on assets above EUR
5 billion.
The management costs cover all current costs resulting from the management and marketing of the fund. If the
manager outsources operations to third parties, any costs associated with this will also be paid from the management
fee. The management costs for the Robeco Afrika Fonds asset class also include the costs related to registering
participants in this asset class.
The service fee paid to RIAM covers the administration costs, the costs of the external auditor, other external advisers,
regulators, costs relating to reports required by law, such as the annual and semiannual reports, and the costs relating
to the meetings of shareholders. Costs for the external auditor are not included in the fund's results. The fee that RIAM
pays to the external auditor is for audit-related costs only.
12 Performance fee
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. is not subject to a performance fee.
13 Other costs This includes:
Other costs
EUR x thousand 2015
2014
Custody fee 74 78
Bank charges 7 18
Costs for fund agent 7 11
Other costs relating to own shares 11 12
Total 99 119
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 29
14 Ongoing charges
Ongoing charges Robeco Afrika Fonds Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G
In %
2015
2014
2015
2014
Cost item
Management costs
1.75
1.75
0.88
0.88
Service fee
0.12
0.12
0.12
0.12
Other costs
0.17
0.15
0.17
0.16
Net result
2.04
2.02
1.17
1.16
The percentage of ongoing charges is based on the average assets per share class. The average assets are calculated on
a daily basis. The ongoing charges include all costs charged to the share classes in the reporting period, excluding the
costs of transactions in financial instruments and interest charges. Not included in the ongoing charges are also any
payment of entry or exit costs charged by distributors.
15 Maximum costs
For some cost items, the fund prospectus specifies a maximum percentage of average assets. The table below
compares these maximum percentages with the costs actually charged.
Maximum costs
2015 in EUR x
thousand 2015 in % of
net assets
Maximum as specified in the
prospectus 1
Management costs Robeco Afrika Fonds share class
266
1.76
1.75
Service fee Robeco Afrika Fonds share class 18 0.12
0.12
Management costs Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G share class
372
0.88
0.88
Service fee Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G share class 51 0.12
0.12
Custody charge and bank costs 81 0.14
0.20
Costs for fund agent
7
0.01
0.02
1 The prospectus also specifies a maximum percentage of the total cost. This amounts to 4.59% for the Robeco Afrika Fonds share class and 3.72% for the Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G share class.
16 Turnover ratio The turnover ratio for the reporting period was 0% (for the previous reporting period it was –10%). This ratio shows the
rate at which the fund's portfolio is turned over and is a measure of the incurred transaction costs resulting from the
portfolio policy pursued and the ensuing investment transactions. The turnover ratio is determined by expressing the
amount of the turnover as a percentage of the average fund assets. The average assets of the fund are calculated on a
daily basis. The amount of the turnover is determined by the sum of the purchases and sales of investments less the
sum of issuance and repurchase of own shares. Cash and money-market investments with an original life to maturity of
less than one month are not taken into account in the calculation. Starting this year, the sum of issues and repurchases
of own shares will be determined as the balance of all issues and repurchases of the fund in contrast to the sum of the
gross issues and repurchases in the previous year. The new methodology fits in better with the manner in which
surcharges and discounts are determined on issuing or purchasing shares. The comparative figure has been adjusted
for use with the new methodology.
17 Transactions with affiliated parties No transactions with affiliated parties were executed in the reporting period other than charged management costs
and service fee. During the reporting period the fund paid RIAM the following amounts in management costs and
service fees:
Management costs and service fee paid
EUR x thousand Counterparty
2015
2014
Management costs RIAM
638
704
Service fee RIAM
69
74
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 30
18 Remuneration policy
The fund itself does not employ any personnel. RIAM has offices at different locations around the world, with
employees whose work primarily involves client-related activities for the fund. In the Netherlands, persons performing
duties for the fund at management-board level and portfolio managers are employed by Robeco Nederland B.V. The
remuneration for these persons comes out of the management fee. RIAM's remuneration policy, which applies to all
employees working under RIAM's responsibility, complies with the applicable requirements laid down in the European
framework documents of the AIFMD and MiFID, as well as the applicable Dutch laws such as the Remuneration Act for
Financial Undertakings (Wet beloningsbeleid financiële ondernemingen, or Wbfo). The financial remuneration of fund
managers is made up of fixed pay and, if applicable, variable pay. RIAM assesses the remuneration policy and its
implementation on a regular basis using the services of various external advisers. Remuneration levels are also
compared on an annual basis with external benchmark data.
Variable remuneration
In accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, the available budget for variable remuneration is approved by
the Supervisory Board of Robeco Groep N.V. based on a proposal made by the remuneration committee. The
remuneration policy is evaluated on an annual basis. The variable remuneration component for the fund managers
depends on the multi-year performance of the fund. The system is linked to outperformance with regard to risk-
adjusted pre-defined annual targets. The calculated outperformance over a one-year, three-year and five-year period is
taken into account when determining the variable remuneration. Both the extent to which team and individual
qualitative objectives have been achieved and the extent to which Robeco corporate values are observed are also
important in this determination. The fund manager’s contribution to the organization’s targets is also taken into
consideration. If this performance-related variable remuneration (partly) exceeds the fixed threshold amount, 40% of
the payment will be deferred for a period of at least three years. The deferred parts will be converted into hypothetical
‘Robeco Group’ shares, the value of which moves with the company's future results.
In addition, RIAM has implemented supplementary risk-management measures applicable to variable remuneration.
For the determination of total variable remuneration, ex-ante measures will be implemented to adjust the total
variable remuneration for risks that may occur in the year concerned and furthermore for multiple-year risks that may
affect the risk profile of RIAM. Also, ex-ante measures can be taken by the Supervisory Board to adjust the total
available variable remuneration for the Management Board and day-to-day management to meet the standards of
reasonableness and fairness. RIAM also has the possibility to claw back the allocated variable remuneration should
there be evidence in later years that this variable remuneration was based on incorrect assumptions.
Identified Staff
RIAM has a specific and more stringent remuneration policy for employees who may have a material impact on the risk
profile of the fund. These employees are designated to be 'Identified Staff'. For 2015, RIAM identified 74 other
employees to be Identified Staff on a total group level, including all senior portfolio managers. Among other things the
performance targets of these employees that are used to determine the award of variable pay are subject to additional
risk analyses, both prior to the performance year and at the end when the results are evaluated. In addition, in all cases
at least 70% of the payment of variable remuneration granted to these employees will be deferred for a period of four
years, whereby 50% will be converted into hypothetical 'Robeco Group' shares whose value will follow the company's
future results. Before the actual payment of the deferred variable remuneration components, an additional assessment
is performed to check whether new information would result in decreasing the previously granted remuneration
components (the so-called ‘malus arrangement’).
Of the total amounts granted in remuneration1 to the groups Board of Directors, Identified Staff and Other Employees,
the following amounts are to be assigned to the fund:
Remuneration in EUR x 1
Staff category Fixed pay for 2015
Variable pay for 2015
Board (7 members)
1,041
1,689
Identified Staff (74) (ex board)
4,470
3,180
Other employees (695 employees)
18,824
7,773
1 Remunerations relate to activities performed for one or more entities within the Robeco Group.
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 31
The total amount in fixed and variable remuneration assigned to the fund is EUR 36,977. Imputation occurs according
to the following key:
Total remuneration (fixed and variable) x total fund assets
total assets under management (RIAM)
Said remuneration, which comes out of the management fee, is paid by RIAM and is therefore not charged to the fund
separately.
19 Proposed profit appropriation For the financial year 2015, dividend distribution will take place on the basis of the fiscal result in order to fulfill the
fiscal distribution obligation. Based on the number of shares outstanding on 31 December 2015 it is proposed to fix
the dividend per share for the financial year 2015 at:
– EUR 3.00 per share (last year: EUR 4.00) for the Robeco Afrika Fonds share class.
– EUR 3.40 per share (last year: EUR 3.00) for the Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G share class.
If legislation and regulations or changes to the outstanding shares necessitate this, an amended dividend proposal will
be submitted to the General Meeting of Shareholders. If this proposal is accepted, the dividend will be payable on 10
June 2016. The shares of Robeco Afrika Fonds and Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G will be quoted ex-dividend from 17May
2016.
Shareholders will be offered the opportunity to reinvest the dividend (less dividend tax) in Robeco Afrika Fonds and
Robeco Afrika Fonds - EUR G shares. The price used to calculate this is the transaction price of the shares on the stock
market of Euronext Amsterdam, Euronext Fund Service segment, on 6 June 2016. Costs which distributors charge to
their customers for this, will be borne by the shareholder. In some countries and with some distributors, reinvestment
will not be possible for technical reasons.
20 Events after balance sheet date As a result of the entry into force of the UCITS V Directive, Citibank Europe Plc., Netherlands Branch, has been
appointed custodian of the fund with effect from 18 March 2016.
21 Register of Companies
The fund has its registered office in Rotterdam and is entered in the Register of Companies of the Chamber of
Commerce in Rotterdam under number 24432814.
Currency table
Exchange rates
EUR 1 31/12/2015 31/12/2014
AUD 1.4931 1.4787
BWP 12.2194 11.5079
CAD 1.5090 1.4016
EGP 8.5058 8.6520
GBP 0.7371 0.7761
GHS 4.1388 3.8903
KES 111.1285 109.5701
MAD 10.7719 10.9667
MUR 38.9982 38.4191
NGN 216.2280 221.4392
TND 2.2126 2.2586
USD 1.0863 1.2101
XOF 655.9700 –
ZAR 16.8328 13.9988
ZMW 11.9493 7.7444
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 32
List of securities As of 31 December 2015
Market value
Market value
Africa
EUR
ZAR South Africa
–
4 African Bank Investments Ltd
220,944
3,719,100 AngloGold Ashanti Ltd
130,935
2,204,000 Astral Foods Ltd
82,746
1,392,840 AVI Ltd
895,068
15,066,450 Barclays Africa Group Ltd
144,361
2,430,000 Blue Label Telecoms Ltd
1,265,873
21,308,126 Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd
586,892
9,879,000 Clicks Group Ltd
91,785
1,545,000 DataTec Ltd
460,337
7,748,730 EOH Holdings Ltd
75,874
1,277,160 Exxaro Resources Ltd
524,567
8,829,908 FirstRand Ltd
114,634
1,929,600 Fortress Income Fund Ltd
299,358
5,039,013 Foschini Group Ltd/The
213,282
3,590,127 Growthpoint Properties Ltd
36,743
618,488 Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd
504,166
8,486,496 Imperial Holdings Ltd
428,512
7,213,028 Lewis Group Ltd
147,376
2,480,747 Life Healthcare Group Holdings Ltd
152,250
2,562,784 Mediclinic International Ltd
249,336
4,197,006 MMI Holdings Ltd/South Africa
282,942
4,762,685 Mondi Ltd
1,554,914
26,173,483 MTN Group Ltd
66,537
1,120,000 Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd
163,434
2,751,044 Nampak Ltd
4,642,328
78,143,200 Naspers Ltd
224,099
3,772,200 Nedbank Group Ltd
260,266
4,381,000 Raubex Group Ltd
1,075,077
18,096,498 Remgro Ltd
201,571
3,393,000 Rhodes Food Group Pty Ltd
625,801
10,533,960 Sanlam Ltd
517,860
8,717,000 Santam Ltd
229,225
3,858,480 Sasol Ltd
382,986
6,446,700 Shoprite Holdings Ltd
589,234
9,918,424 Spur Corp Ltd
1,078,964
18,161,930 Standard Bank Group Ltd
287,226
4,834,808 Super Group Ltd/South Africa
298,094
5,017,740 Telkom SA SOC Ltd
294,426
4,956,000 Transaction Capital Ltd
118,965
2,002,500 Trencor Ltd
287,535
4,840,000 Tsogo Sun Holdings Ltd
47,100
792,820 Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon Ltd
359,303
6,048,059 Woolworths Holdings Ltd/South Africa
EUR
NGN Nigeria
Market value
Market value
665,007
143,793,140 Access Bank PLC
17,352
3,751,967 Africa Prudential Registrars PLC
540,517
116,875,000 Dangote Cement PLC
273,295
59,094,000 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC
335,945
72,640,686 Diamond Bank PLC
481,323
104,075,480 Ecobank Transnational Inc
475,629
102,844,362 FBN Holdings Plc
287,761
62,222,058 FCMB Group Plc
245,921
53,175,000 Fidelity Bank PLC
92,449
19,989,986 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC
940,119
203,280,000 Lafarge Africa PLC
117,448
25,395,459 Skye Bank PLC
356,984
77,190,000 UAC of Nigeria PLC
82,771
17,897,399 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC
388,642
84,035,250 United Bank for Africa PLC
27,387
5,921,790 United Capital PLC
14,630
3,163,336 Wapic Insurance PLC
908,002
196,335,403 Zenith Bank PLC
EUR
USD
82,606
89,735 Diamond Bank PLC GDR
671,979
729,971 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC GDR
EUR
KES Kenya
337,673
37,525,120 Barclays Bank of Kenya Ltd
562,565
62,517,000 East African Breweries Ltd
655,097
72,800,000 Equity Group Holdings Ltd/Kenya
259,159
28,800,000 KenolKobil Ltd Group
1,105,699
122,874,500 Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd
374,161
41,580,000 Kenya Power & Lighting Ltd
90,317
10,036,800 Mumias Sugar Co Ltd
1,100,078
122,250,000 Safaricom Ltd
EUR
EGP Egypt
204,593
1,740,215 Al Baraka Bank Egypt
48,266
410,536 Alexandria Mineral Oils Co
341,303
2,903,040 Cairo Poultry Co
52,670
448,000 Citadel Capital SAE
700,009
5,954,101 Credit Agricole Egypt SAE
122,511
1,042,047 Egyptian Financial Group-Hermes Holding
127,664
1,085,878 EL Ezz Aldekhela Steel Alexandria
189,190
1,609,200 Ezz Steel
408,684
3,476,160 National Co For Maize Products
153,721
1,307,510 Suez Cement Co SAE
640,192
5,445,314 Talaat Moustafa Group
EUR
USD
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 33
Market value
Market value
470,059
510,625 Commercial International Bank GDR
441,392
479,484 Global Telecom Holding SAE GDR
EUR
GHS Ghana
1,142,336
4,727,900 CAL Bank Ltd
133,191
551,250 FAN Milk Ltd
660,695
2,734,485 Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd
232,057
960,438 Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd
77,553
320,978 SIC Insurance Co Ltd
357,970
1,481,568 Societe Generale Ghana Ltd
257,284
1,064,846 Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Ltd
EUR
BWP Botswana
164,470
2,009,714 Botswana Insurance Holdings Ltd
1,935,200
23,646,890 Letshego Holdings Ltd
EUR
ZAR
69,705
1,173,331 Choppies Enterprises Ltd
EUR
ZMW Zambia
164,055
1,960,345 Copperbelt Energy Corp PLC
400,732
4,788,464 Lafarge Cement Zambia PLC
372,742
4,454,000 Real Estate Investments Zambia
73,226
875,000 Zambeef Products PLC
88,511
1,057,648 Zambia National Commercial Bank PLC
EUR
GBP
431,789
318,250 Zambeef Products PLC
EUR
MAD Morocco
19,031
205,000 Alliances Developpement Immobilizer SA
51,954
559,645 Banque Centrale Populaire
192,686
2,075,598 Lesieur Cristal
570,072
6,140,750 Maroc Telecom
222,865
2,400,685 TOTAL Maroc SA
EUR
MUR Mauritius
640,799
24,990,000 MCB Group Ltd
360,181
14,046,409 SBM Holdings Ltd
EUR
TND Tunisia
2
5 Banque de l'Habitat
87,860
194,400 Banque de l'Habitat
36,599
80,980 Banque de l'Habitat (interim share)
379,645
840,000 Banque Nationale Agricole
EUR
XOF Senegal
266,786
175,000,000 Sonatel
EUR
EGP United Arab Emirates
140,317
1,193,500 Orascom Construction Ltd
Market value
Market value
America
EUR
CAD Canada
39,962
60,300 Africa Oil Corp
91,988
138,805 Energizer Resources Inc
353,584
533,540 First Quantum Minerals Ltd
112,504
169,763 Ivanhoe Mines Ltd
496,536
749,250 Lucara Diamond Corp
285,795
431,250 Nevsun Resources Ltd
EUR
GBP
58,510
43,125 Aureus Mining Inc
Europe
EUR
EUR The Netherlands
650,080
650,080 Steinhoff International Holdings NV
EUR
GBP United Kingdom
65,939
48,600 Bellzone Mining PLC
6
4 Afren PLC
6
4 African Minerals Ltd
200,963
148,120 Centamin PLC
EUR
AUD
817
1,220 African Petroleum Corp Ltd
EUR
EUR Portugal
43,172
43,172 SDC - Investimentos SGPS SA
67,949
67,949 Teixeira Duarte SA
EUR
GBP Ireland
22,844
16,838 Circle Oil PLC
EUR
CAD Switzerland
21,261
32,082 Katanga Mining Ltd
EUR
GBP Guernsey
2,766
2,039 Chariot Oil & Gas Ltd
Australia (0.7%)
EUR
AUD Australia
106,745
159,375 Ausdrill Ltd
15,451
23,069 Bannerman Resources Ltd
12,744
19,027 Base Resources Ltd
26,653
39,794 Mineral Deposits Ltd
72,921
108,875 Perseus Mining Ltd
EUR
GBP
57,238
42,188 Aquarius Platinum Ltd
38,869
28,649 Coal of Africa Ltd
47,979,312
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 34
Rotterdam, 31 March 2016
The Management Board
Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.
Leni M.T. Boeren
Hester W.D.G. Borrie
Hans A.A. Rademaker
Roland Toppen
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. 35
Other data
Profit appropriation
According to article 20 of the fund's Articles of Association, the profit less allocations to the reserves deemed desirable
by the management board shall be at the disposal of the General Meeting of Shareholders.
Special controlling rights in accordance with the Articles of Association
The ten priority shares in the company’s share capital are held by Robeco Group N.V. According to the company’s
Articles of Association, the rights and privileges of the priority shares include the appointment of managing directors
and the amendment to the Articles of Association. The Management Board of Robeco Group N.V. determines how the
voting rights are exercised:
David A. Steyn, chairman (from 1 November 2015)
Roderick M.S.M. Munsters, chairman (up to 1 November 2015)
Leni M.T. Boeren
Hester W.D.G. Borrie
Hans A.A. Rademaker
Jurgen B.J. Stegmann (up to 1 May 2015)
Roland Toppen (from 1 December 2015)
Directors’ interests On 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015, the directors had personal interests in the fund's investments.
KPMG Accountants N.V. is recorded in the Dutch Trade Register under number 33263683, and is part of the KPMG network of
independent companies affiliated to KPMG International Cooperative (KPMG International), a Swiss entity.
Statement of the independent auditor To: The General Meeting of Shareholders of Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V.
Report on the financial statements for 2015
Our opinion
In our opinion, the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. as at 31 December 2015, and of its result for the financial year ending on 31 December 2015 in accordance with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Netherlands Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek or BW) and the Netherlands Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht or Wft).
What we audited
We audited the 2015 financial statements of Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. (the company) in Rotterdam.
The financial statements comprise:
1 the balance sheet as at 31 December 2015;
2 the profit and loss account for 2015;
3 the explanatory notes that provide an overview of the principles of financial reporting applied, and other items of information.
The basis for our opinion
We conducted our audit pursuant to Dutch law, which also covers the Dutch auditing standards. Our responsibilities on this basis are described in the section "Our responsibilities
for auditing the financial statements".
As required by the Dutch regulations regarding the independence of accountants' audit assignments (Verordening inzake de onafhankelijkheid van accountants bij assurance-opdrachten or ViO) and other independence-related rules in the Netherlands relevant to this assignment, our status is that of an entity independent of Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. We further comply with the Dutch rules of professional conduct and practice for auditors (Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants or VGBA).
We find the audit evidence we have obtained sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
Audit approach
Materiality
Misstatements may result from fraud or error and are material if it can reasonably be expected that these, either individually or jointly, can have an effect on the economic decisions made by the users of these financial statements. Materiality affects the nature,
• Materiality of EUR 0.5 million
• 1% of shareholders’ equity
KPMG Accountants N.V. is recorded in the Dutch Trade Register under number 33263683, and is part of the KPMG network of
independent companies affiliated to KPMG International Cooperative (KPMG International), a Swiss entity.
timing and extent of our auditing activities and the evaluation of the effect of recognized misstatements on our opinion.
Based on our professional judgment, we have set total materiality for the financial statements at EUR 0.5 million (2014: EUR 0.6 million). Shareholders' equity is used as a benchmark to determine materiality, which was 1% thereof (2014: 1%). In light of the fact that investors are primarily interested in a fund's asset growth (returns), we consider the capital invested by shareholders to be the most suitable benchmark. As a result of value changes in investments, returns are volatile and thus form a less suitable benchmark for materiality. We also take into account actual and/or possible misstatements that in our opinion are material for the users of the financial statements for qualitative reasons.
We informed the Supervisory Board of any misstatements noted during our audit in excess of EUR 24,000 (2014: EUR 34,134) as well as smaller misstatements that in our opinion are relevant for qualitative reasons.
Key items for our audit
In the key items for our audit we define those issues that we professionally judge to be most significant in our audit of the financial statements. The key items for our audit were communicated to the Management Board, without being fully representative of all points discussed.
We determined our audit activities relating to these key items within the context of the full audit of the financial statements. Our findings relating to the individual key items must be seen in this context and not as separate opinions on such key items.
Valutation of investments
Description
The investments of Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. amount to more than 96% of the balance-sheet total. These investments are valued at their fair value, determined on the basis of market information and an estimate by management of the liquidity of the investments. As a result, the valuation of the investments determines the company's financial results to a substantial extent. Our estimation of a risk of material misstatement in the valuation of the investments is lower, partly because the investments are composed of liquid, listed securities for which there is an active market. Because of the volume of investments relative to the financial statements overall we consider the valuation of the listed investments to be a key item for our audit.
Our comments
Our auditing activities included establishing that the price used for the investments was obtained in accordance with the method identified for the asset class concerned. We established this i.a. by giving the investment valuations an integral check using our own independently determined valuation method based on prices and liquidity observed in the market. We enlisted the services of dedicated valuation specialists for this. In addition, we evaluated the adequacy of the information given on page 23.
Our findings
Our activities revealed that the valuation of investments performed by the Management Board resulted in an acceptable valuation of the investments in the financial statements.
Internal control of the relevant processes by the Management Board of the company
Description
Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. has no employees, and its portfolio management, risk management and financial and investment administration are therefore contracted out to Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. (RIAM). RIAM at the same time provides the Management Board of Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. Since Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. is therefore dependent on RIAM for generating financial information and drafting financial statements, we consider RIAM’s internal control systems to be one of the key items of our audit.
KPMG Accountants N.V. is recorded in the Dutch Trade Register under number 33263683, and is part of the KPMG network of
independent companies affiliated to KPMG International Cooperative (KPMG International), a Swiss entity.
Internal control of the relevant processes by the Management Board of the company
Our comments
For our audit of the financial statements of Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. we rely on the activities that an independent auditor performs for RIAM on the administrative organization relevant to Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. and RIAM's internal control measures, and the ISAE 3402 type II report drafted specifically for this purpose. Our audit activities consisted among other things in determining the relevant control measures and subsequently in evaluating the activities described in the controlling auditor's report to check the effective functioning of the internal control measures applied and the results achieved with them.
Our findings
Our activities revealed that the internal control measures within the processes applied by RIAM relevant to Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. were sufficiently effective to be used in performing our audit of Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V.’s financial statements.
Responsibilities of the Management Board for the financial statements
The Management Board is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements and for the preparation of the annual report, both in accordance with Part 9 of Book 2 of the BW and the Wft. Within this context, the Management Board is also responsible for such internal control as it deems necessary to enable the preparation of annual financial statements that are free from material misstatement due to errors or fraud.
When drafting the financial statements, the Management Board must assess whether the company is able to maintain continuity in its activities. Pursuant to the reporting systems referred to, the Management Board must draft the financial statements on the basis of its assumed continuity, unless it plans to liquidate the company or terminate its business activities, or if termination is the only realistic alternative. In the financial statements, the Management Board must disclose any events or circumstances that could elicit reasonable doubt about the company's ability to maintain continuity in its business activities.
The Management Board is responsible for supervising the process used by the company for its financial reporting.
Our responsibilities for auditing the financial statements
Our responsibility is to plan and perform an audit assignment in such a way that we obtain sufficient and suitable auditing information to give the required opinion.
Our audit is performed with a high but not absolute degree of assurance, so that it is possible that not all errors or instances of fraud will be detected during our audit.
We have performed this audit professionally and critically and, where relevant, applied our professional judgment in accordance with the Dutch auditing standards, ethical specifications and the requirements of independent auditing. Our audit included the following:
• Identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in the financial statements due to errors or fraud; determining and performing auditing activities in response to these risks; and obtaining audit information that is adequate and suitable to be used as a basis for our opinion. In the case of fraud, there is a greater risk of a material misstatement not being discovered than in the case of errors. Fraud could involve conspiracy, forgery, intentional non-reporting of transactions, intentional misrepresentation or violation of internal control systems.
• Obtaining insight into internal control systems that are relevant to the audit with the aim of selecting audit activities that fit the circumstances. The aim of these activities is not to judge the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control.
KPMG Accountants N.V. is recorded in the Dutch Trade Register under number 33263683, and is part of the KPMG network of
independent companies affiliated to KPMG International Cooperative (KPMG International), a Swiss entity.
• Evaluating the suitability of the principles used for financial reporting, and evaluating the fairness of estimates by the Management Board and the information provided on this in the financial statements.
• Establishing that the Management Board's continuity assumption is acceptable. In addition, using the audit information obtained to establish whether there are events or circumstances that could elicit reasonable doubt as to whether the company can maintain continuity in its business activities. If we conclude that there is material uncertainty, we are obliged in our audit statement to highlight the relevant associated information in the financial statements. If this offers insufficient explanation, we will be obliged to adjust our statement. Our conclusions are based on the audit information obtained up to the date of our audit statement. However, future events or circumstances can lead to a situation in which a company may no longer be able to maintain its continuity.
• Evaluating the presentation, structure and content of the financial statements and the information provided therein; and
• evaluating whether the financial statements provide an accurate picture of the underlying transactions and events.
We communicate with the Management Board i.a. about the planned scope and timing of the audit, and about significant findings emerging from our audit, including any significant shortcomings in internal control. We confirm to the Management Board that we have observed the relevant ethical standards for auditor independence. We also communicate to the Management Board about any relationships and other matters that could reasonably affect our independence and about any measures in this connection to guarantee our independence.
We determine the key items for our audit of the financial statements on the basis of any matters discussed with the Management Board. We describe these key items in our audit statements, unless statutory and regulatory requirements prohibit this or, in exceptionally rare cases, when non-reporting is in the interest of the public at large.
Statement regarding other statutory and regulatory requirements
Statement regarding the annual report and other data
On the basis of the statutory requirements pursuant to Part 9 Book 2 of the BW (relating to our responsibility to report on the annual report and other data) we declare that:
Our examination to establish whether the annual report was drafted in accordance with Part 9, Book 2 of the BW, and whether the other data as required by Part 9 Book 2 of the BW were added, has, to the extent of our competence, brought no shortcomings to light.
The annual report is, to the extent of our competence, in accordance with the financial statements.
Appointment
We were first appointed auditors to Robeco Afrika Fonds N.V. to perform auditing for the financial year 2014 on the basis of the resolution at the General Meeting of Shareholders of 16 May 2014 and have since acted as the company’s external auditors.
Amstelveen, 31 March 2016
KPMG Accountants N.V.
KPMG Accountants N.V. is recorded in the Dutch Trade Register under number 33263683, and is part of the KPMG network of
independent companies affiliated to KPMG International Cooperative (KPMG International), a Swiss entity.
W.L.L. Paulissen RA