Overview

PGGM is a Netherlands-based asset manager for pension funds that makes investments in food, health, water, and climate to make progress toward achieving SDGs 2, 3, 6, 7, and 12. PGGM has a history of ESG investing. In 2015, PGGM launched Investing in Solutions, an impact investing program that actively identifies and invests in companies and funds that generate tangible positive social and environmental impact. In 2017, PGGM mapped the impact themes for Investing in Solutions to the SDGs, developing Sustainable Development Investment (SDI) taxonomies to determine whether an investment will contribute to the goals. The mandate of the Investing in Solutions portfolio is to invest at least EUR 20 billion in impact investments by 2020. As of year-end 2017, the strategy had EUR 13.7 billion in AUM, of which EUR 3.3 billion represented new investments made in 2017.

Structure

PGGM manages the assets of several pension funds, including PFZW, which is the second-largest in the Netherlands. PGGM makes impact investments through its Investing in Solutions portfolio, which holds listed equities, bonds, private equity, structured credit, real estate, and infrastructure. While the goal for the Investing in Solutions program is to invest EUR 20 billion by the end of 2020, there is no fixed allocation to asset class or impact theme. PGGM’s priority as a fiduciary is to pursue market-rate returns rather than manage to a set allocation.