Rising interest rates help Dutch pension fund assets grow in Q1

The five largest Dutch pension funds recorded investment losses in the first quarter of the year but saw their total assets increase due to rising interest rates.

The average coverage ratio of the five major funds — ABP (civil service), PFZW (healthcare), BpfBouw (construction), PME and PMT (both engineering) — rose from 113.7% to 117.3% in the first three months of the year, according to calculations by the Financieele Dagblad .

“The financial markets were under extreme pressure in the first quarter,” said ABP chairman Harmen van Wijnen. “And that was before the import tariff situation.”

ABP, one of the largest pension funds in the world, saw its assets fall from €542 billion to €520 billion between January and March, a decline of 4%. PFZW's assets dropped by 4.8%.

While the funds expressed concern about the impact of US “trade politics” on global markets, they said the risk to pensions has been mitigated through diversified investments in property, mortgages, government bonds, infrastructure and shares.

The funds also emphasize their long-term investment strategies. “We look at what is happening today, but also far into the future,” said PFZW chairwoman Joanne Kellermman.

Under the new pension system soon to be introduced in the Netherlands, pension benefits will move more in line with market performance — meaning they will be more responsive to both gains and losses on the financial markets.