Ruulke Bagijn, CIO for private markets, PGGM. (Art by Chris Buzelli)Dutch healthcare sector pension
PFZW netted a $56 million profit in two months as it exited hedge funds last
year.
PGGM— which manages assets on behalf of PFZW—completed the majority of the liquidation in November and December. PFZW announced last week that it had closed its allocation to the asset class, citing complexity, costs, and sustainability issues.
Ruulke Bagijn, CIO for private markets at PGGM, said her company had raised $2.44 billion from the sale of the hedge fund holdings.
“The successful liquidation process of PFZW’s capital was driven by skilful use of the unique operational infrastructure PGGM has in place, as well as accommodating market circumstances,” she said.
PGGM implemented a dedicated “institutional managed account platform” for its hedge fund investments in 2010, following a post-financial crisis review.
“This platform… allowed PGGM to control all operational aspects of direct investments in hedge funds,” Bagijn said. This included ensuring hedge fund managers adhered to PFZW’s exclusion criteria.
Bagijn added that the platform had also “facilitated a seamless liquidation of the assets for PFZW” following the pension’s decision. She also claimed PGGM’s hedge fund team had battled against traditionally high fees to bring down costs “substantially” for clients.
“PGGM will continue to offer hedge fund investments via its external manager service if clients demand this.” —Ruulke Bagijn, PGGM“While still high compared to traditional asset classes, at PGGM it is arguably among the lowest of any hedge fund investor in the world,” she said.
PFZW’s hedge fund holdings performed in line with expectations and “contributed to diversification of the portfolio”, Bagijn said, but the pension had “a less strong belief in the positive contribution of hedge funds” in the future.
However, Bagijn emphasised that the decision was made by PFZW and would not affect PGGM’s other clients. This is despite Jan Soerensen, PGGM’s head of hedge funds, leaving the group last year.
“PGGM will continue to offer hedge fund investments via its external manager service if clients demand this,” she said.
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