NETHERLANDS – The 49.7 billion-euro Dutch healthcare pension fund PGGM, which recently named a new chairman, has named new heads for equities and fixed income.

Marjolein Sol and Piet Roelandt will become director of equities and fixed income respectively from February 1 2004, the fund said in a statement.

Gerrit Russelman, 58, the current director of equities, will become advisor to the managing director of investments.

“He will continue to represent PGGM as a supervisory director of and advisor to various external bodies and will focus, in an advisory capacity, on various specific issues, including corporate governance and sustainable investment.”

The fund posted a 4.6% return on equities in the third quarter of 2003 which it said “played an important role in the overall return” of 2.5% in the period.

In the year to date PGGM’s 23.3 billion-euro equity portfolio has returned 12.1%. The 15.3 billion-euro fixed-income portfolio returned -0.1% in the third quarter and 4.5% in 2003 so far.

In September the fund named Karel Noordzij to succeed chairman Dick de Beus.

Sol, 40, has worked for PGGM since 1999 and is currently director of fixed income, treasury and commodities. Roelandt, 38, joined the fund in 2000 and is currently head of fixed income, FX and money markets.