Investments of both funds already amounted to less than 0.1 percent of total invested assets
ABP and bpfBouw, APG’s largest clients, have decided to sell all their Russian investments. This makes them the first Dutch pension funds to do so in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both funds expect the selling of the investments to take some time due to the complicated market conditions in Russia.
In total, ABP still invests about 520 million euros in Russia, and bpfBouw about 58 million euros. This amounts to less than 0.1 percent of the total invested capital. As of recent, both funds have been rapidly reducing their investments in Russia. For example, no investments have been made in Russian government bonds that are on our exclusion list due to a binding EU weapons embargo.
Shocked
“ABP is shocked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the violence it has brought about. Our sympathies go out to all the people in Ukraine. ABP has closely been following developments, which has now resulted in selling all our remaining investments in Russian companies,” the fund stated on its website. bpfBouw calls its decision one ‘made on principles’.
Stock exchange remains closed
It is no easy task to act swiftly and sell all investments immediately, as the Moscow stock exchange is still closed. Also, Russia does not accept sell orders from foreign investors. Both funds announce that APG will sell their investments as soon as this is deemed responsible. They also emphasise that they are closely monitoring developments. This includes keeping an eye on the consequences of the sanctions package imposed on Russia.
First in the Netherlands
As previously stated, the two funds are the first in the Netherlands to sell their investments in response to the Russian invasion. Other countries, including Denmark, Switzerland and Belgium, preceded the Netherlands with similar actions.