Dutch pension fund PME has used its latest annual report to defend its ESG investment approach, which has come under criticism from some politicians, by highlighting the outperformance generated by its sustainability filters since 2019.
The €59bn pension fund for the electronics and technology sector said its customised equity index, which excludes companies with weak scores on climate risk, human rights and corporate governance, has consistently outperformed the benchmark universe since its introduction.
However, PME’s overall equity portfolio has underperformed the MSCI World Index by 0.3 percentage points over the same period. According to the fund, this was largely due to portfolio construction measures designed to limit concentration risk, resulting in an underweight position in large US technology stocks such as Nvidia, Microsoft and Alphabet.
Meanwhile, Bpf Bouw, the Netherlands’ fourth-largest pension fund, has doubled the US dollar hedge on its equity portfolio from 25% to 50%.
The €66bn construction industry scheme described the move as a temporary risk-mitigation measure, citing uncertainty around the policies of the Donald Trump administration and broader geopolitical developments. Bpf Bouw had reduced its dollar hedge from 40% to 25% in 2022, viewing the US currency as a safe-haven asset. It said recent developments had changed that assessment.
SpaceX prompts ESG questions
One of the most closely watched developments this month has been the record-breaking IPO of SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace company.
Dutch pension funds have so far largely avoided taking a position on the company, neither investing in it nor explicitly excluding it. One exception is the pension fund of insurer Achmea, which has placed SpaceX on its exclusion list because of its ESG rating.
The listing could force other pension funds to consider their position on the company if major index providers such as FTSE Russell and MSCI decide to include SpaceX in their benchmarks.
Items to note:
- The IPE Real Assets Seminar Series 2026 kicks off on Thursday 2 July at the Koninklijke IGC in Amsterdam.
Tjibbe Hoekstra
Netherlands Correspondent
This newsletter was emailed to readers earlier in the week. If you would like to receive it regularly, on your IPE profile, go to My Newsletters and select any from the list
