Interview Ronald Wuijster with Management Scope
At APG we ensure that millions of Dutch people have a so called ‘income for later’. “We do this by obtaining a good return, that’s our main aim. Leading on from this we also have a second goal: to contribute as investors to a sustainable world.”, says Wuijster. “We consciously invest in leaders in the area of sustainability and in companies with the potential to become leaders in the future. If you just invest in companies that already have fantastic performances in terms of sustainability, you don’t improve the world.”
Attractive employer
This way of working makes APG an attractive employer for investors:
“Many employees find satisfaction in contributing to the pensions of millions of people and exerting influence on companies and governments to make them behave in a socially responsible manner. Our employees can work at these goals with substantial assets behind them, they can enter new markets and look for new investment possibilities with good returns worldwide.”
More comprehensive investment process
Regularly, people talk on the possible dilemma of returns versus sustainability. Wuijster says: ‘In practice we’re seldom faced with that dilemma, because we look at our investments from an overall point of view. The portfolio managers themselves take various perspectives into account in their considerations, including sustainability factors. If you look only at economic factors or cash flow, you get a good, but one-sided picture of company performance. Portfolio managers were quick to see that a broader perspective actually strengthened the investment decision. So it made our investment process more comprehensive.”
Long term
In the interview, Wuijster underlines the long term focus of APG to maximize pension value for pension funds and participants: “We still see too many shareholders and directors with a horizon of just three months. As long-term investors we believe you have to look much further ahead. We also see this too as part of our purpose: to contribute to shifting companies’ and governments’ short-term horizon.”
Wuijster concludes: “At APG we don’t invest on impulse. People sometimes think that our trading floor is powered by testosterone. In this I must disappoint them: it’s certainly not the case. We're in it for the long term.”
Read the full interview here (in Dutch)