WTW Pensionsfonds to manage €500m in Traton pension assets

WTW has taken on responsibility for investing €500m in pension assets linked to the obligations of Traton, the commercial vehicle manufacturer and subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, via its Pensionsfonds, the firm announced today.

The assets are already held within WTW Pensionsfonds, the consultancy’s €4bn funding vehicle.

WTW initially took over pension liabilities and security assets from MAN Pensionsfonds in 2020, assuming responsibility for a significant portion of Traton’s pension obligations. Traton oversees the MAN brand, one of Volkswagen’s three commercial vehicle brands.

At the time, WTW received around €619m in assets to cover the pensions of approximately 22,000 former employees, according to the firm.

As of the end of 2024, defined benefit obligations on Traton’s balance sheet stood at €1.85bn, with plan assets (Planvermögen) amounting to €3.62bn, according to the company’s financial statement.

Volkswagen continues to hold the highest level of defined benefit obligations among DAX-listed companies, with total liabilities of €45.5bn in 2024, according to WTW’s latest DAX pension study.

Carolin Apfel, senior investment expert at WTW, said the transfer allows Traton to focus entirely on its core business.

“Many years of experience of our colleagues and our global network enable us to offer customised solutions for complex pension investments,” added Thomas Jasper, head of European retirement business at WTW, who has served Traton for many years as client manager.

Jasper said more firms are turning to external providers to manage pension assets amid a challenging investment environment and increasingly complex regulation.

“All this makes outsourcing the investment of pension assets an efficient solution,” he said.

Traton’s decision to delegate investment responsibilities also coincides with the upcoming retirement of Horst Grögler, who led the firm’s pension investment activities for two decades.

“Above all, the expertise in managing regulated pension assets convinced us to outsource the investment to WTW,” Grögler said.

His successor, Andreas Gärtner, said: “With WTW, we have a partner who has the necessary resources and experience to master the complex requirements of capital investment.”

German companies continue to offload pension liabilities and asset management responsibilities through Pensionsfonds and, increasingly, via pension corporations (Rentnergesellschaften), typically used in full pension buyouts.

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