Central bank warns pension funds about US tech investments

Dutch pension funds, insurers, and investment funds now hold more than €200 billion in technology firm stocks, a significant portion of which is invested in major US tech giants, the Dutch central bank said in a new analysis.

The total invested is twice the amount recorded in 2020 and such large exposures make these institutions vulnerable to price swings, especially as warnings about high valuations of tech stocks are becoming more frequent, the central bank said.

In particular, Dutch financial institutions have nearly €95 billion invested in the seven largest US tech firms – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.

The central bank said Dutch pension funds in particular have substantial exposures to tech shares. By 31 July 2025, they had invested over €150 billion in technology stocks or almost 43% of their listed equity portfolio and 8% of their total assets.

This is an increase of nearly 50% on January 2020. The weight of the seven major US tech firms in their equity portfolios has grown even more sharply: from 7% in January 2020 to 19% in July 2025. Differences between individual pension funds, however, are significant.

However, the value of tech stocks depends heavily on uncertain future profits, and there are growing doubts about whether these will materialise, the bank pointed out. In addition, tech stocks are highly sensitive to factors such as geopolitical fragmentation, innovation, new regulation and antitrust cases.

“The large and growing weight of a limited number of tech stocks in the portfolios of financial institutions is exposing them to risks and they could incur major losses with a price fall,” the central bank said. “In addition, the high concentration in the seven largest US tech firms makes them vulnerable to price corrections in just a few firms.”

It is therefore “essential” that pension funds and other financial institutions make sure their exposure to tech stocks remains within the limits set in investment strategies, the bank said. “This is of crucial importance, despite the sharp prices for tech stocks.”