Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP

Infobox_Company
company_name = Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (National Civil Pension Fund)
company_type = Foundation
foundation = 1922
location = | industry = Pension Fund
products = Pension, Financial Services
assets = €215 billion ($300+ billion)

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 year ended December 31, 2007, ABP had 2.7 million active participants and assets under management of €216 billion ($313 billion), making it the largest pension fund in the Netherlands and among the three largest pension funds in the world [Based on assets this designation changes frequently based on currency fluctuations] .

ABP’s predecessor, the Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds ("Dutch Civil Servants Pension Fund"), was established in 1922 following the adoption of the superannuation act, which regulated the pensions of civil servants. Originally, the pension fund was a government controlled entity that fell under the authority of the minister of home affairs in The Hague. In January 1996, ABP was privatized although its primary function remains unchanged.

Since 1 March 2008 ABP's subsidiary APG administers the ABP pension scheme.

ABP is headquartered in Heerlen, Netherlands. The current Executive Board President is Dick Sluimers, who assumed the role following the sudden death of his predecessor John Neervens in November 2006.

Pensions

The pensions supplement statutory benefits such as the old age pension AOW, surviving dependants pension and incapacity benefits. If the participant stops working between the ages of 60 and 70, he/she will receive the ABP Multi-OptionPension. If the participant dies, his/her partner and children may receive an ABP Survivor’sPension. If the participant becomes unfit for work, the government will pay incapacity benefits under the Work and Income (Ability to Work) Act (WIA); ABP can supplement these benefits with an incapacity pension.

Since 1 January 2004, ABP pensions are based on average salaries during the course of the pensioners’ careers. This is known as an average-salary scheme. As a transition measure, benefits accrued before 2004 are based on the salary on 1 January 2004. Only members of the armed forces now have pensions based on their final salaries [http://www.abp.nl/abp/abp/images/24.0015.08_tcm108-49085.pdf]

Both contributions and accrual of benefits are based on the salary minus a threshold (2008: € 10100 per year). The reason for the threshold is the fact that the pension is a supplement to the AOW, etc.

Investments

ABP manages the bulk of its investments in-house through its captive investment unit APG Investments, a privately owned investment manager. APG operates as a subsidiary of Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP and was formerly known as ABP Investments.

In 2006, ABP and PGGM, another large Dutch pension fund, considered a spinoff of their investment management businesses.

US Investment Activities

In the United States, as in Europe, ABP is a major investor in financial markets including public equity, fixed income, real estate, commodities, hedge funds and private equity.

According to information published by ABP,Fact|date=May 2008 its largest US investments include ExxonMobil, JPMorgan Chase, General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Boston Properties, Public Storage, Microsoft and Cisco Systems.

ee also

*AlpInvest Partners

References

* [http://www.financialnews-us.com/index.cfm?page=ushome&contentid=2448805902&uid=3308-9804-702819-715301#2348808134 Europe's largest pension funds by assets] (DowJones Financial News, 2007)
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503EFDC1F3CF936A15751C1A96E958260&scp=1&sq=abp+dutch&st=nyt INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS; 2 Dutch Pension Funds Are Branching Out] (New York Times, 1998)
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEED71539F931A35757C0A96F958260&scp=4&sq=abp+dutch&st=nyt Dutch Pension Funds Offer to Buy Lender] (New York Times, 1999)
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE1D8153FF932A25756C0A96F958260&scp=6&sq=abp+dutch&st=nyt $2.2 Billion Dutch Deal For an Investment Bank] (New York Times, 1999)
* [http://www.altassets.com/news/arc/2007/nz12071.php Dutch pension fund ABP in negotiations to team up with Cordares]

Further reading

* [http://www.abp.nl/ "ABP Website"]
* [http://www.abp.nl/abp/abp/vb/vermogensbeheer/ "ABP Vermogensbeheer"]