NETHERLANDS - Erik Goris, a veteran of investment banking at ING and an independent pension consultant, has joined PGGM, the former investment arm of healthcare scheme PFZW.

Goris recently started in his new role as head of the company's board advisory service, which will see him oversee asset liability management, actuarial services, a pension policy team and a relationship management team that negotiates between employee and employer representatives.

He said one aspect of his role would involve quality control for the services provided to PGGM's clients.

"The other role I have is to promote our board advisory services both internally and externally, as part of the institutional business team," he said, adding that he saw himself as an ambassador of sorts for this area of PGGM's services.

Goris said his decision to leave his own consultancy, which he set up five years ago, was a wish to be part of a larger professional environment.

Of his work at Goris & Partners, he said: "Needless to say, as a result of the recent financial downturn and the current regulatory uncertainty for Dutch pension funds, the more innovative part of our business proved hard to roll out."

He said he wanted to develop his expertise further in the area of policy and execution, the life cycle of which he had spent much time examining during his independent consultancy days.

Goris began his career more than a decade ago at Allen & Overy, in the law firm's corporate practice, focusing on aspects of corporate restructuring, from mergers and acquisitions to public offerings.

After five years as a lawyer, he moved to ING, where he focused on investment banking and then seized the opportunity to launch his own consultancy.

Goris said he hoped PGGM would soon be able to offer its services to more pension funds.

It currently works with five other pension funds in the Netherlands. 

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