NETHERLANDS - The €400m pension fund of the Dutch trade union federation FNV wants to join the €88bn Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), previously known as the PGGM pension fund.

A spokesman for PFZW this morning confirmed the two parties are in talks, though FNV's board still needs to make a definite decision.

The pension fund of the federation and a number of other unions, such as FNV Sport, which are part of FNV, is one of the first pension funds to join PFZW.

A spokesman for FNV told IPE today it has decided to look at merging its relatively small fund with a larger pension fund vehicle because of its limited indexation capacities, PFZW's relatively higher cover ratio, and the reduction of costs a merger would deliver.

"Joining the PFZW fund means the FNV scheme will be part of a fund with more participants, more assets under management, and more investment possibilities," FNV said.

The spokesman told IPE the pension scheme of AbvaKabo FNV, the Dutch health care union, had also has been with the giant Dutch pension fund for a number of years.

If you have any comments you would like to add to this or any other story, contact Carolyn Bandel on +44 (0)20 7261 4622 or email carolyn.bandel@ipe.com

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