The €31bn Dutch asset manager TKP Investments has confirmed that it intends to reorganise its back and middle office.

However, a spokeswoman for the company – a subsidiary of insurer Aegon, and the fiduciary manager of Aegon Asset Management – declined to confirm whether the change would affect the division’s 31 staff.

She said that the reorganisation had been put to TKPI’s works council (OR) for advice, adding that it was too early to talk about redundancies.

In a written statement, Aegon AM said the reorganisation would focus on “an evaluation of processes and systems, which have to be sufficiently scaleable for TKPI’s growth target”.

In 2017, Aegon AM indicated that it would reorganise through the merger of the corporate parts of Aegon AM, TKP Investments and UK-based Kames Capital under a single board.

At the time, a spokesman said that supporting services in particar would face forced redundancies, adding that the investment teams and the majority of staff at the commercial client teams would be safe.

Aegon AM and TKPI merged as of 1 January 2019, enabling the new combination to centralise many support services, according to TKPI.

However, it highlighted that the new structure would also require strategic choices to ensure future growth.

The spokeswoman said the name and brand of TKP Investments would not be axed.

TKPI’s profit for 2018 almost doubled to €5m compared to 2017, mainly as a result of higher turnover, which rose to €33m.

It attributed the increase of assets under management and under advice – from €29bn to €30.6bn – to returns from existing portfolios, new clients and increased service provision for its existing clients.

It said it expected a further increase of turnover in 2019, in part driven by a growing number of pension funds joining Stap, Aegon’s general pension fund (APF), which has hired TKPI as its fiduciary manager.

However, last January, TKPI lost the pension fund PostNL as a fiduciary client. The scheme hired Kempen Capital Management for strategic investment advice, monitoring of asset managers and reporting.

PostNL appoints custodian and administrator

Dutch postal company PostNL has appointed BNP Paribas Securities Services as its custodian and administrator for its €8.6bn pension scheme.

The mandate will be effective from 1 January 2020.

René van de Kieft, chairman of Pensioenfonds PostNL, said the scheme selected BNP Paribas for its “solid infrastructure” as well as its ability to adapt to the fund’s specific requirements.

He added: “The transition process that will take place in the coming months is of course exciting, but as a board we will be close to the process, ensuring that everything runs as smoothly as possible.”