Ronald Wuijster (CEO of APG Asset Management) is a guest on the Leaders in Finance podcast. In this long-running series, interviewer Jeroen Broekema speaks with current and future leaders about their motivations, careers, and personal lives.
Wuijster discusses the characteristics he believes make a good investor and the uneasy feeling he experienced after his first investment. However, he quickly overcame this. "The large sums that initially sound very intimidating become normal. The risks you take gradually become a part of your life. At some point, you no longer lose sleep when the markets rise or fall sharply. It's important to stay calm under pressure, gather different perspectives, and either stay the course or dare to be contrarian."
Proud
APG currently manages around 600 billion euros in invested assets for its pension fund clients, which is approximately 1 percent of the global pension assets. "1 percent sounds small, but those 600 billion euros mean a lot to many people. It's something to be proud of that we can invest this amount and thus contribute to a good pension for the participants of the pension fund clients for whom APG manages the assets."
In this sense, the pension system contributes to what BlackRock CEO Larry Fink calls "the democratization of investing." Wuijster: "Due to the scale at which Dutch pension funds invest, they offer their participants access to expertise and investment forms that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. That's a great advantage of our pension system." However, it wouldn't hurt to encourage Dutch people to invest a bit more. While Dutch pension funds invest around 2000 billion euros, Dutch individuals invest about 200 billion euros. "Dutch people have a lot of savings. You could also partially invest that for future prosperity. Compared to Asia and especially the United States, we in Europe are still very averse to risks."
Seafaring father
Wuijster further explains how his youth as the son of a seafaring father and his studies in London, among other places, have shaped him. As an avid reader, he also gives a book recommendation. Furthermore, he reveals the unique way his taste in music developed, reflects on a decision from the past he would like to reverse, and gives a tip for newcomers to the job market.
Listen to the entire (Dutch) podcast on the Leaders in Finance-site, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Published on:
8 May 2025