Dutch civil service scheme ABP has sold its shares in Alphabet and Meta in the third quarter of 2025, according to an overview on the pension fund’s website.
The sale is part of €533bn ABP’s reshuffling of its developed markets equity portfolio, which involved a reduction of the number of companies it invests in from 2000 to 1,100 and was completed last October.
ABP sold its shares in Tesla, Google’s parent company Alphabet and Meta because the three companies no longer meet ABP’s requirements on ‘good governance’.
On 30 June 2024, ABP had invested €633m in Tesla, €424m in Meta and €1.49bn in Alphabet.
Good governance is one of four criteria ABP has used to re-assess its developed market equities portfolio, the other three being climate, labour rights and human rights.
The $56bn bonus awarded to Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk played a role in ABP’s decision to divest from the company, as ABP voted against Musk’s remuneration package at Tesla’s 2024 annual general meeting.
The pension scheme declined to elaborate on the exact reasons for the sale of Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, and Alphabet.
Trump supporters
The CEOs of all three companies recently came out in support of US president Donald Trump, donating large amounts of money to his presidential campaign or inauguration ceremony.
But speaking to Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad, ABP president Harmen van Wijnen denied the sale of the three companies had any political background.
“It is not based on an ideology or some woke point of view,” he said.
According to van Wijnen, ABP’s allocation to the so-called Magnificent Seven remains unchanged, as the fund has upped its exposure to Apple, Amazon, Nvidia and Microsoft.
ABP is still invested in corporate bonds of Meta and Alphabet. The fund is yet to review its investment strategy for this asset class.
“Step by step, ABP will also introduce new criteria for other asset classes. These criteria are still under development,” an ABP spokesperson commented.
Read the digital edition of IPE’s latest magazine
Tjibbe is IPE's Netherlands correspondent.
He splits his time between IPE and its Dutch-language sister publication Pensioen Pro.
Before joining IPE following a move back to Amsterdam, Tjibbe worked in London for several years writing about fund selection and portfolio construction trends.View full Profile
No comments yet