Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (known as PFZW, formerly PGGM, translation: "Pension Fund for Care and Well-Being") is the second largest pension fund in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. As of 31 December 2014, PFZW had total assets under management of €161.7 billion ($183 billion, 1EUR=1.13USD) and around $682.6 million revenue. PFZW's predecessor, PGGM, was founded in June 1969 through the combination of several smaller Dutch pension funds in the healthcare industry. In 1970, PGGM assumed responsibility for the pensions of employees throughout the

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...

and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

sectors in the Netherlands. In 1972, PGGM moved to its current headquarters in Zeist, Netherlands. PFZW is as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

foundation, controlled by

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s and employers from the healthcare and social work sectors. At the end of 2006, the governing board of what was then known as PGGM adopted a separation between its policy (structuring of pensions) and implementation (managing of assets and payment) functions. The pension fund (the foundation) continues to formulate pension policy, but was renamed Stichting Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), and a newly created

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

PGGM now manages the fund’s €161.7 billion of assets under management. This separation, which took effect in January 2008, was taken in response to new legislation passed in the Netherlands that would limit PGGM’s ability to offer related financial services.

Scope of the fund

At the end of 2009, PFZW had 22,000 affiliated employers (employees are enrolled automatically), more than 1.9 million participants. The fund has an investment portfolio of over €110.7 billion and total annualized return ( IRR) of 8.0% since 1970 (2007: 9.3%). Based on assets, PFZW is the second largest pension fund in the Netherlands, behind

Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP ("National Civil Pension Fund"), frequently referred to as ABP, is the pension fund for government and education employees in the Netherlands. For the quarter ended 31 December 2014, ABP had 2.8 million participants and ...

. More broadly, PFZW stands in the top 5 of European pension funds and in the top 15 globally, based on both number of plan participants and assets under management.

Investments

PGGM manages the bulk of its investments in-house on behalf of PFZW. In 2006, PGGM and

, another large Dutch pension fund, considered a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

of their asset management businesses. The two pension funds coordinate their activities in

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

through AlpInvest Partners, one of the largest investors globally in the private equity asset class. In January 2015, a unit of Legal & General collaborated with PGGM acquired the Bishopsgate Long-term Property Fund Unit Trust for a fee of £370 million.

United States

In the United States, as in Europe, PGGM is a major investor in financial markets including public equity, fixed income,

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

, commodities,

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as ...

s and

China

In 2008, PGGM announced that it would divest itself of its holding in the

NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...

-listed Chinese operator

PetroChina PetroChina Company Limited () is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. The company is currently Asia's largest oil and ga ...

(PTR). PGGM announced that it was making the decision because the Chinese operator is involved in human rights violations in the

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...

region of

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Russia

In response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

, PFZW announced its decision to liquidate a portfolio of Russian investments that had been worth 1.2 billion euros ($1.31 billion) as of mid-February.Toby Sterling (4 March 2022)
Second largest Dutch pension fund will sell all $1.3 bln in Russian assets
�''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

''.

References

Pensions muscle into hedge fund territory
(DowJones Financial News)
PGGM to offer full disclosure
(Dow Jones Financial News, 2008)
Europe's largest pension funds by assets
(DowJones Financial News, 2007)
Dutch PGGM's pension fund Q4 hit by credit crisis
(Reuters)
Major European investment in BlueOrchard’s Microfinance Scheme by PGGM
(Press Release)
Dutch Pension Fund PGGM may withdraw China investmentPetroChina Hit by Pension Fund Pressure
{{refend

External links

''PGGM Website''''PFZW Website''''PGGM&CO Website''
Public pension funds Investment management companies of the Netherlands Companies based in Utrecht (province) Zeist