Dutch pension funds delivered an average return of -2.9% in 2025 as positive equity returns failed to compensate for losses made on bond portfolios, according to calculations made by two pension consultants. Most schemes were, however, still able to increase pension entitlements due to a decline in liabilities. Returns ranged from 14% for Pensioenfonds HAL to -14% for Pensioenfonds Zuivel, the fund for the dairy industry.
APG, the Netherlands’ largest pension investor, also published its 2025 returns. The performance of APG’s actively managed equity portfolio – totalling €33bn – which it manages on behalf of the country’s largest pension fund ABP, was especially disappointing. The portfolio’s value fell by 1.6%, about 6.9% below the benchmark return.
Separately, APG also paid a €1m severance fee to Ronald Wuijster, despite the outgoing asset management CEO presiding over several years of underperformance. At the same time, the firm announced it was moderating its remuneration policy for executive board members, limiting future exit fees to six months of salary. APG is yet to name a permanent successor to Wuijster.
Investments in private equity by the largest five Dutch pension funds also came out below average. ABP and PFZW, the two largest schemes, achieved a negative return of 4.2% and 4.9%, respectively, in 2025.
The pension fund of ING, a bank, reported the lowest return on the asset class among the 10 biggest funds, at -11.6%. Several funds point out that private equity has been suffering from reduced appetite for acquisitions and mergers and a drought of IPOs.
In other news, several pension funds decided to hedge their funding ratios ahead of their transition to new defined contribution (DC) arrangements, amid rising geopolitical uncertainty over the Iran War.
The €1.8bn Foodservice scheme, the pension fund for food wholesalers, and the fund of postal company DHL bought at-the-money put options in February to protect their listed equities portfolio against broad market declines.
The company pension scheme of energy distribution company Gasunie adopted a different approach, focusing on protection that would effectively secure a minimum funding ratio of 123% by 1 January 2027, when defined benefit (DB) accruals are due to convert into DC capital. For this purpose, the fund chose a combination of out-of-the-money put options and swaptions to protect against large falls in equity markets and interest rates.
Items to note:
- APG’s Eva Cheng and Robert-Jan Foortse will be speaking at the IPE Real Estate Global Conference & Awards 2026, which will take place on 21 May in Rome.
Tjibbe Hoekstra
IPE Netherlands Correspondent
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