The Netherlands’ biggest pension funds are considering moving away from listed company investments in order to avoid the turbulence on the financial markets, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Monday.

PGGM (health service) and Mn Services (asset management) have both admitted they are considering altering their investment strategy to cope with the downturn, the paper states.
In addition, it points out, Dick Sluimers, head of the giant APG civil service fund told a recent congress: ‘We can ask ourselves is it not better to put more money into non-listed companies, such as private equity?’.
Liquidity
APG’s investments in less liquid stocks such as property had risen by six percentage points in the second quarter of this year and now account for 20% of total investments, the paper says.
This summer pension funds were hit by further sharp drops on the stock markets, not long after they had managed to restore essential coverage ratios following the 2008 crisis.
Coverage ratios show whether funds have enough assets to meet their pension obligations. The central bank wants pension funds to have a ratio of at least 105%.
‘Infrastructure, property and private equity reacts more slowly to developments on the financial markets. You see that back in the coverage ratio,’ Guus Boender, of pension advisory group Ortec, told the paper.