Peter Borgdorff, managing director of the Dutch fund, told epn that he would worry if the market was down and interest rates were lower, but as this was not the case the fund remained committed to its long-term strategy.

He said: “There are several items that worry us, and we also see opportunities, but there will be no change in allocation. We are long term and want to stick to our plan for at least one year.”

When asked about the fund’s forecast for the second half of 2008, Mr Borgdoff simply stated that nobody knows what will happen.

In Q2 2008, the scheme managed a small gain of 0.2 per cent, its first in three quarters. For the year, its investments are down 2.7 per cent. The scheme’s coverage ratio grew slightly in the second quarter to 143 per cent, but is down from 153 per cent in the Q3 2007.

The rise was pinned to solid returns on commodities (44.3 per cent), private equity (3.2 per cent) and structured credit (5.9 per cent).

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend