NETHERLANDS- Official publication of WM Company’s performance figures for Dutch pension funds show an average return of –2.8% in 2001. Individually the funds reported yields ranging from –8.6% to 4.5% with many of the country’s larger schemes at the lower end of the spectrum.

PGGM, the country’s second largest fund at e49bn, dropped 6% last year but remains ones of the best long term performers with a five year average of 10.9%. It will make an official announcement on both its performance and Z score next Tuesday.

ABP, the e147bn Heerlen-based fund for civil servants dropped 0.7% in 2001 but has averaged 7.3% in the five years to 2001. The e260m Holland Casino fund was the worst performer of the 200 funds surveyed with a return of –8.6% in 2001.

Other larger and better known funds had a tough year as well. The e9.9bn Spoorweg fund for railway workers fell 6.1%, Philips’ e14.7bn fund fell 5.7%, Rabobank’s e4.5bn scheme fell 5.5% and Shell’s e12.2bn equivalent, 4.9%. However, each of the four funds above has returned an average of at least 8.5% since 1997.

The figures, published by the WM Company and the association for industry wide schemes, the VB, show more encouraging long term results. In the past five years, Dutch funds have yielded an average 8.6% and 10.1% in the last decade. Since 1991, equities yielded an average 13.7% per annum, way above the 2001 figure of –14.7%.

Full results are available at www.vvb.nl


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