NETHERLANDS - The €26bn scheme for the Dutch building industry BPF Bouw booked a total investment return of 5.1% last year.

"Despite difficult circumstances on the financial markets in the second half of 2007, BPF Bouw's investment result for 2007 is satisfactory," officials state on the fund's website.
 
BPF Bouw says its real estate investments, which returned 9%, and emerging markets equity (ex Japan), returning just over 30%, in particular contributed to its the positive yield.

"As a result of covering the most important currency exposures, BPF Bouw did not experience any direct negative influence of the strong value drop of the dollar against the euro," commented the fund.

Despite being positive, the European and American equity market results were very "modest", because of a weak second half of 2007.

The result of interest rate swaps, in which the fund invests to reduce the inters risk of the fund, was not included in the 5.1% return, remarked BPF Bouw.

The fund opted for full indexation last November last year and the cover ratio at the end of 2007 was 141%, compared with 134% at the end of the year before.

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