Vopak Pensioenfonds, the Dutch pension fund for Royal Vopak, a logistics company, has made BlackRock its fiduciary manager.
Worth EUR500 million, MN Services previously held the mandate since December 2004. According to a spokesperson for Vopak Pensioenfonds: An evaluation of the relationship after three years had been planned at the start of the agreement.
In partnership with Tower Partners, 23 parties were evaluated for the mandate. The mandate win goes alongside recent successes with pension fund TNO and the pension fund of financial regulator DNB also joining BlackRock.
According to Vopak Pensioenfonds, BlackRocks risk management process was one of the key deciding factors.
BlackRock also has high hopes for fiduciary management in the UK. BlackRock believes that the value of UK pension fund assets run by fiduciary managers could reach GBP300 billion by 2012, up from GBP2 billion today,
The Netherlands have led the way in fiduciary management, with more than EUR100bn of the EUR600bn Dutch pensions market run by fiduciary managers, and with 60% of pension schemes either having a fiduciary manager or about to appoint one.
Fiduciary management is now being adopted in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia.