Asset management firm Robeco has launched a new flexible multi-asset strategy, Flexible Allocation.

The asset allocation will be based on Robeco’s five-year outlook ‘Expected Returns’, which offers research on asset class projections for the next five years.

Robeco described the outlook as a key input for the mix and weightings, with a risk range of 6-12 per cent volatility for the strategy.

The investment decisions for the strategy will not be anchored by a traditional benchmark, instead opting for an ‘outcome-focused’ approach by targeting cash plus 4 per cent annually.

Robeco said returns from the strategy sought to outpace inflation, therefore protecting the real value of investments, aiming to offer a stable investment journey.

It added that the dynamic asset allocation approach considered how conditions vary across the market cycle, seeking to exploit market inefficiencies and managing downside risk, while not being restricted by the parameters of a traditional benchmark.

The strategy focuses on retail or wholesale investors with a mid-range risk appetite and a standard five-year investment horizon for returns.

This is the fourth strategy in Robeco’s multi-asset range, which was reorganised earlier in 2024 as: Sustainable Income Allocation, Sustainable Diversified Allocation, and Sustainable Dynamic Allocation.

Flexible Allocation has free reign to pick securities from across the asset spectrum managed by other Robeco equity and fixed income teams, meaning it will not necessarily follow the typical 60/40 asset mix.

“Many investment strategies are focused on a benchmark,” commented Robeco head of multi-asset strategies, Colin Graham.

“At Robeco we believe our clients don’t start their investment journey with a benchmark, but with an investment goal.

“Therefore, the central focus of this is achieving an annual return of cash plus 4 per cent return at a medium risk level.

“However, we’re turning this around by using some of the best underlying security selection from across Robeco, whether that’s from the equity side or credit selection.”

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