NETHERLANDS - The investment branch of TKP Pensioen, the pension administration firm set up by the Dutch posts and telecoms pension funds, is planning to offer cross-border pooling to European pension funds.

TKP Investments, which handles the investment management for the pension fund of telecoms firm KPN and postal fund TNT and is now part of Aegon, plans to launch the new activity during 2008.

Roelie van Wijk, chief investment officer of the firm, told IPE today TKP Investments, together with Aegon Asset Management, Aegon Pension Network and Citigroup, intends to offer its funds via a UCITS licence to pension funds in Europe.

"We have around €10bn in assets under management, most of which are under fiduciary management," she said, adding the rest has been fully outsourced via a multimanager concept.

It is understood the multimanager proposition will be branded as an Aegon, rather than a TKP, service.

Assets have been invested in mutual funds for joint accounts (FGRs), which until recently were only open to Dutch pension funds.

"We have a pooling solution for pension funds and other fiscal entities to internationally invest in pool via our platform in a fiscally transparent way," said Van Wijk.

Aegon and TKP are together one of the first Dutch providers to begin competing with the more established asset pooling markets in Luxembourg and Dublin.

Van Wijk said the new operation will firstly target pension funds in a number of European countries.

Two pension funds have already shown interest in TKP's new solution, she added.

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