Four of the largest Dutch pension funds want to get rid of their investments in Russian bonds and shares. The problem is that there are no buyers.
The PFZW healthcare pension fund and metal technology PME are saying goodbye to their Russian investments, it was announced today. Earlier this week, the civil servants’ pension fund ABP and Bpf Bouw, the pension fund for the construction sector, already decided to take this step.
Four of the five largest pension funds have thus indicated that they are divesting their Russian investments. PMT, the pension fund for small metals, will decide on a possible sale on Tuesday. It is expected that this fund will also decide to sell.
The pension funds can no longer explain that they are investing in Russian government bonds or shares while the country is waging war in Ukraine.
Amount of pensions
Pension funds do not involve large amounts. PFZW has 1.2 billion euros in Russian shares and bonds. “That is 0.4 percent of the invested capital,” said a spokesperson. ABP still has 520 million euros in Russian securities, 0.1 percent of the invested capital. The other funds are several tens of millions of dollars.
Selling will lead to a loss, it is expected, prices for Russian bonds and stocks have collapsed. But it concerns such small amounts of the total investment portfolio that it does not affect pensions.
There is only one problem for the funds: they cannot get rid of their investments at all. The sanctions have caused the trade in Russian government bonds to collapse. There is simply no buyer who dares to burn his fingers on Russian securities. And selling shares in Russia is also not possible. The Russians have banned foreign investors from selling their shares in Russian companies. In addition, the stock exchange in Moscow is closed all week.
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