Goldman Sachs AM expected to make decision on Vervoer claim next month

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EUROPE - Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) is likely to make a decision on whether to contest a claim filed against it by the €11bn pension fund for the Dutch transport industry by the end of next month, according to a lawyer familiar with the case.

Christian Toms, a lawyer from Brown Rudnick - which represents Vervoer - said GSAM was currently reviewing the claims filed in July regarding the company's investment in a 'cash-management' fund and its execution of the pension fund's global high-yield bond strategy.

Toms said he expected GSAM to send its response to the claimant some time towards the end of September.

If GSAM does decide to dispute the claim, both parties would then negotiate a timetable to go to trial.

Toms said Vervoer was "confident" about its lawsuit against GSAM over the asset manager's fiduciary management performance, but he added that the pension fund would be willing to hold talks with the company if it decided to settle the claim.

He also said that, should the case go to trial, it could take more than two years to reach a verdict due to the complexity of the claims.

Vervoer, which is seeking up to €250m in damages, filed the claim with the High Court in London last month.

The lawsuit focused on the scheme's assets and their "disappointing" performance in the years leading up to and during the financial crisis.

In a previous interview with IPE's sister publication IPNederland, Walter Brand, director at the scheme, said: "We left Goldman for good reason, and eventually we concluded that we should file suit."

Vervoer has made two claims against GSAM.