ABP pulls more US bonds, largest share of fund now in Europe

The Netherlands’ largest pension fund ABP has withdrawn another €25 billion of capital from the US in the last six months, according to its latest breakdown of investments.

The fund, which invests on behalf of civil servants and workers in education, has also cut its holdings in US government bonds from €19 billion to €4.6 billion since last November and from €29 billion 18 months ago.

Shareholdings in US-based companies were also cut by 10% to a total of €101.8 billion, after the fund sold shares in Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple. The latest figures reflect the position at the end of the first quarter of 2026.

The three companies’ share prices have fallen in the last six months but not by as much as the reduction in ABP’s holding – it currently has €4.6 billion in Nvidia shares, compared to €9 billion six months ago.

ABP confirmed to NOS that it held fewer US-based bonds and shares than six months ago, without going into details of individual transactions.

The fund now has 37.2% of its capital (€198 billion) invested in Europe, compared to 32.2% (€171 billion) in the US and 8.7% in Asia. Altogether ABP’s investments are worth €531 billion.

A spokesman said it was more attractive to hold government bonds in euros than foreign currencies, partly because of the rules around the new Dutch pension structure.

Its figures for November showed that most of the €10 billion it sold in US government bonds had been reinvested in Germany, accounting for €6 billion, and the Netherlands.

That trend has continued, with ABP currently holding €40 billion in German bonds, €23.9 billion in France, €13.8 billion in the Netherlands and €9 billion in Belgium. UK bonds amount to just €3.5 billion.