Europe’s Largest Pension Fund Buys Mortgages Worth $2.8 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- Europe’s largest pension fund, Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, acquired a €2.7 billion ($2.8 billion) portfolio of Dutch mortgages as it expands its investment in the asset class.

ABP took over the mortgages from an investor on NIBC Bank’s platform, it said in a statement on Monday. NIBC will continue to manage them.

The deal expands the Dutch pension fund’s mortgage portfolio in the Netherlands to more than €7.3 billion. ABP, which manages the pensions of three million government and education sector employees, has about €530 billion in assets under management worldwide.

“ABP would like to invest in the Dutch mortgage market, and with an investment of this size we take a big step forward,” Chairman Harmen van Wijnen said in the statement. “By investing in mortgages, ABP can also contribute to the financing possibilities of Dutch home buyers.”