IPE's Netherlands Coverage
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NewsMN to support Follow This resolution at Shell AGM
MN’s main explanation for its voting intention is that Shell’s 20-30% liquefied natural gas growth doesn’t align with the Paris Climate Agreement
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NewsDutch ‘early birds’ postpone DC transition
Only 10 pension funds are now still scheduled to make the transition to a new DC arrangement by 1 January 2025
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NewsRising equity markets spike Dutch funding ratios
ABP and PFZW suffered losses on their government bond portfolios, however, as Dutch and German yields rose
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NewsDutch pension funds cannot reduce risk without limits, says regulator
Many Dutch schemes plan to dial down investment risk to protect their funding ratios in the run-up to the pension transition
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NewsDutch pension funds made 9.5% return on average in 2023
Smaller funds did comparatively better than large funds
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NewsPGGM loses sustainability heavyweight to Dutch think tank
Brenda Kramer has left PGGM and will take the helm at Sustainable Finance Lab
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NewsAPG to cut asset management jobs as clients move to passive
Costs are a ‘recurring element’ in conversations with pension funds, says CEO Ronald Wuijster
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Country ReportNetherlands Country Report 2024: The pension transition dilemma
Dutch pension funds must tread a fine line between protecting funding levels and ensuring sufficient returns as they move to defined contribution
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Country ReportDutch pension reform opponents running out of time
Political parties struggle to reach agreement on what an alternative pensions system could look like
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Country ReportPFZW moves beyond oil and gas divestment
In a podcast recorded for IPE’s Dutch sister publication Pensioen Pro, Ravien Sewtahal of PFZW and Colin Tissen of the pension fund’s asset manager PGGM reflect on the Dutch healthcare scheme’s engagement programme with fossil fuel firms and PFZW’s next steps in climate engagement
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Country ReportCan DC participants trust the competence of Dutch pension funds?
The authors of a recent paper find that pension boards in the Netherlands have failed to reduce asset-liability risk and advocate for greater accountability of boards, advisers and investment staff
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Opinion PiecesCould Dutch pension reforms still be reversed?
1 January 2025: that’s the day the first Dutch pension funds will move to a defined contribution (DC) system according to the new Pension Act. So the clock is ticking for politicians who still hope to reverse the pension changes, or give members a say on the mandatory conversion of defined benefit (DB) accruals to DC capital, the most controversial part of the pension reform.
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InterviewsAhold Delhaize pension fund on climate transition and system change
Eric Huizing, chief investment officer at Ahold Delhaize Pensioen, explains to Tjibbe Hoekstra how the pension fund is progressing not only with its climate-focused investments but also the change in the Dutch pension system
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NewsPME sells 112 companies for ESG reasons
The €54.6bn pension fund for the Dutch technology industry sold over €800m in shares as it adopted a new ESG screening policy
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NewsBlue Sky Group to sell asset management arm
The €25bn Dutch pension provider wants to focus exclusively on pension administration as it deems itself too small to remain a frontrunner in asset management
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NewsDutch pension funds’ bond sales push down prices, study shows
The extra price drops are only visible for short-duration bonds that pension funds use most to meet margin calls for their interest rate hedges
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Opinion PiecesABP pledges €30bn for new impact investments
Some €5bn will be invested in affordable housing projects in the Netherlands
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NewsDutch hospitality industry fund ups interest rate hedge in run-up to DC switch
Pensioenfonds Horeca & Catering will be one of the first pension funds to switch to a DC arrangement on 1 January 2025
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NewsDutch defence minister locks horns with pension sector over defence investments
Pension funds bear responsibility for weapons and ammunition shortages in the Netherlands because they are investing too little, says Kajsa Ollongren
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NewsAPG pension fund scales back investment risk in run-up to DC switch
The fund is the first Dutch pension scheme to publish detailed plans about its investment strategy in the new DC system
