NETHERLANDS - Global financial heavyweights operating in the Dutch fiduciary market are no threat to local pension providers, asset manager Mn Services has argued.

Dutch Mn Services, fiduciary manager of the PME pension fund, told IPE it is unfazed by competition from large international players such as Goldman Sachs and F&C, which recently launched its fiduciary business in the Netherlands.

Mn Services is in the middle of preparations to take its fiduciary offerings beyond Dutch borders, possibly to Germany and the UK, but is more or less ready to show these players its teeth, according to Roland van den Brink, former investment director at PME pension who joined Mn Services' board of management earlier this year.

However, Van den Brink also stressed "F&C and Goldman Sachs are enormous promoters of the product that I will sell, because they also advertise the fiduciary management".

He expects the market to grow rapidly in the coming years as he said: "It is my view that the market is unfolding and everyone can have a piece of the cake."

Van den Brink told IPE several pension funds across the globe, including some Australian funds, have approached him with an interest in fiduciary management.

"Mn Services is seriously looking abroad, but you never know who will make the first move; there are numerous elements to consider such as, for instance, culture differences," said Van den Brink.

Reluctant to divulge which steps Mn Services is currently taking, he added: "I am pragmatic, hence I say we should look at business close to home first."

Nonetheless, Van den Brink, who likes to compare the Dutch fiduciary market to a shipping company, argues the Dutch approach could be taken abroad.

Next month, Van den Brink will deliver a speech on fiduciary management and asset allocation of Dutch fund at a German Investment Fokus 2008 conference in Frankfurt.

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