NETHERLANDS – ABP, Europe’s largest pension fund, has named PGGM’s Roderick Munsters to succeed Jean Frijns as chairman of ABP Investments.

“The board of governors of Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP has appointed Roderick Munsters (41) as a member of ABP's board of directors and chairman of ABP Investments,” the 150 billion-euro civil service scheme said in a release.

Munsters, PGGM’s chief investment officer, will take over from Frijns in early 2005, it added.

“We are delighted that we have found a fitting successor to Jean Frijns in Roderick Munsters,” said Elco Brinkman, chairman of ABP's board of governors. “He is a prominent figure in the world of institutional asset management and is widely respected for his investment savvy.”

PGGM spokesman Alfred Kool said Munsters only informed the board yesterday, so the news was still “very fresh”. “Yes, it was a surprise. We see it as a compliment. They looked for the best man, so it says something about our investment policy. What Roderick leaves is a very professional team."

Kool said ABP is not a competitor for PGGM and that the two schemes cooperate in many areas. “We have to begin to think about his succession,” Kool added, saying it was too early to say whether the appointment would be internal or from outside.

Munsters has been CIO at healthcare fund PGGM since 1997 and was previously at Interpolis. He graduated in Business Economics at the University of Tilburg and took his master's degree in Finance at TIAS Business School.

He also chairs the Dutch pension governance foundation SCGOP and sits on the executive committee of the International Corporate Governance Network.

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