NETHERLANDS – ABP Investments, the asset management arm of Europe’s largest pension fund, has rotated the responsibilities of its board of directors – with equities chief Jan Straatman also gaining responsibility for fixed income.

“As of September 1, there has been a change of responsibilities within the Board of Directors of ABP Investments,” ABP said in a release. ABP Investments is part of the 156.9 billion-euro Dutch civil service scheme Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP.

Jan Straatman, chief investment officer of equities, will also assume the CIO role for fixed income – taking over from Paul Spijkers, who becomes CIO of alternative investments. Straatman becomes CIO Capital Markets, according to ABP’s website.

“As CIO Capital Markets Jan Straatman will have the operational and strategic responsibility for the equity platform as well as the strategic responsibility for fixed income,” ABP’s web site says. Arnold Shapiro will be co-CIO for fixed income and “continue to be responsible for the investment process of the fixed income platform”.

Current alternatives chief Jelle Mensonides will become chief executive of ABP Investments US Inc. in New York.

“Over the last five years Paul Spijkers and the US colleagues successfully built up a US-office of which we are very proud,” ABP’s site says. “We plan to continue the growth of professionalism and in-house management in the coming years.”

The rotation was prompted by Spijkers’ five-year US term coming to an end next year. ABP set up a US office in 1998.

ABP’s board decided to set a schedule for rotating directors’ jobs in October 2003, the site says. The moves will become effective as of January 1 2005.

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