Pension fund group APG, which manages the massive Dutch civil service pension fund, is to actively get involved in the remuneration policy of companies in which it invests.

In particular, APG plans to tackle the short term emphasis at some companies and has drawn up remuneration guidelines which it will use in discussions with management.

‘APG encourages the management teams of its portfolio companies to maximise value creation over the long-term and not necessarily accounting profits over the short run,’ the asset manager said in a statement.

APG said it had taken the step of drawing up its guidelines on remuneration to ‘clarify its perspective as a shareholder that focuses on long-term value creation’. This, the company said, will make discussions on the subject of pay with the boards of these companies more effective.