Pensioenfonds Detailhandel, the Dutch pension fund for retail workers, is increasing its allocation to impact investing from €300m to €1.5bn.

This would increase the fund’s impact-investing exposure from approximately 1 per cent of the total portfolio to roughly 2–5 per cent of its approximately €30bn in assets under management.

The change in strategy is in response to a survey of its participants in 2024, which found that 41 per cent wanted the fund to use more of its assets for positive change.

Pensioenfonds Detailhandel board member, Ernst Hagen, said: "We promised in advance that we would follow the participants' choice. We are now going to deliver on that promise."

Hagen said the board is now considering what additional investments will be made.

“There are many possibilities: affordable housing, clean energy, more recycling and reuse, and much more. We will make that choice very carefully. So that we can achieve the best possible return for a good pension but also contribute to positive change.”

In addition to direct impact investments, Pensioenfonds Detailhandel also invests in green and social bonds. These are loans that enable the fund to have an indirect, rather than direct, positive impact on the climate and society.

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