Dutch multi-sector scheme PNO Media has given Achmea Investment Management a €150m mandate to invest in impact funds. The investment will be centred on two themes: climate change and biodiversity.

PNO Media has €7.9bn under management, so the new impact mandate will cover about 2% of the fund’s assets.

The fund’s decision follows the results of a member survey conducted more than two years ago, which showed broad support for impact investing. At the time, some 65% of respondents displayed a willingness to risk a lower pension if investments contributed to a better world.

“While we make no concessions to the return expectations per investment category, we take into account where most impact can be achieved,” commented Erik Hulshof, a trustee at the fund responsible for investments.

PNO Media chose Achmea IM partly because of “their experience in advising pension funds on sustainability”, the fund said in a press release it sent out last week.

Erik hulshof pno media

Erik Hulshof at PNO Media

Last year, the pension fund of supermarket chain Ahold Delhaize appointed Achmea IM as the manager of a similar impact mandate.

Climate and biodiversity

Achmea IM will not manage the €150m mandate in house, but plans to distribute the allotted funds across six to eight separate impact funds.

“That could be private equity, but also private debt, infrastructure or agriculture and forestry,” said Hulshof, who wants “a good mix” of the various private investment categories, without committing to any particular allocation.

PNO Media aims for 50% climate-related investments and 50% in the area of biodiversity. But responsible investment manager Mario Hooghiemstra said these weightings are “soft targets”.

In general, it is indeed easier to find investments that fight or mitigate climate change, than investments that contribute to biodiversity.

“Even though there are also investments that have an impact on both,” he said, adding: “Forestry, for example, can contribute to fighting climate change through CO2 storage, but can also contribute to biodiversity if the forest is managed responsibly.”

More risk

PNO Media plans to make its transition to the new Dutch pension system in 2027. This will then provide room to allocate a larger part of the portfolio to impact investments.

“Possibly it will make us increase our allocation then, because we are likely to take more risk in the new system,” said Hulshof.

“We do need to, however, maintain liquidity in the portfolio which may restrict the size of additional allocations,” he added.

The pension fund also will consult members first, through a new participant survey to be conducted this year, before any future changes to the asset allocation are considered.

This article was first published on Pensioen Pro, IPE’s Dutch sister publication.