Large Dutch pension funds have not been able to push their investment management fees to below the 0.5% threshold, even though their assets under management increased by 28% in the past five years.

Consultancy LCP looked at total management fees as a percentage of total assets for the seven largest occupational funds – ABP, PFZW, PMT, PME, BpfBouw, Vervoer and PGB – and three large company pension funds (Philips, Rabobank and Shell).

Together, these funds administer two thirds of all Dutch pension assets. The average management fees the funds paid in 2019 totalled 0.51%, excluding transaction costs.

This is only two basis points less than in 2015, though total assets under management of the 10 funds increased from €763bn to €973bn in 2019 (+28%). Including transaction costs of 0.09%, investment management fees totalled 0.6%, or €6.3bn.

This compares to 0.61% in 2015. Management fees totalled €4.9bn, an increase of 22% compared to 2015. This is because fees tend to be calculated as a percentage of total assets.

According to Johan van Soest, senior consultant at LCP, the main reason for the increase in fees was, however, an increase in performance fees. “We’ve noticed pension funds have been able to negotiate much better contract terms with their asset managers in recent years,” he said. “Still, these lower base fees do not compensate fully for an increase in performance fees.”

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