APG was awarded twice during the presentation of the Pensioen Pro Awards 2021. The pension provider took home the award for Long-Term Investor of the Year and that for Responsible Investment/ESG. The presentation was postponed to 2022 due to corona. Ronald Wuijster, CEO of APG Asset Management, and Claudia Kruse, head of Responsible Investment, received the golden theme awards.
The jury awarded the Responsible Investment/ESG prize to APG for the Sustainable Development Investments Asset Owner Platform, which it developed together with pension provider PGGM on behalf of the pension fund clients. This standard allows investors to rate companies on their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. An initiative with which APG 'excellently considers/integrates ESG factors and implements a clear ESG policy in strategy and investment practice'.
Hand in hand
APG owes the other award, the Long-Term Investor of the Year, to the Glaspoort project. Thanks to this joint venture that APG has set up with KPN on behalf of ABP, 750,000 households and 225,000 companies will be connected to fiber by 2026. According to the jury, this is a good example of 'how efficiency and sustainability can go hand in hand'.
No ‘spielerei’
According to Ronald Wuijster, CEO of APG Asset Management and member of the Executive Board, the awards underline the importance of APG's course. “Awarding each other prizes in a sector, in this case the pension sector, can come across as 'spielerei'. Yet it is very nice to receive recognition and appreciation for the work that you all do together. It confirms that you are doing the right thing. This is all the more true for the two golden theme awards in areas that together form the core of APG Asset Management's strategy: long-term investing and sustainability.”
Exceptional contribution
Other prizes were awarded to ex-Minister of Social Affairs and Employment Wouter Koolmees, among others. He received the Pension Pro Award for his 'exceptional contribution to the sector'. The jury praised him for his role in drawing up the pension agreement. Pension fund Provisum won the prize for Pension Fund of the Year for the second time in a row. “A rock-solid fund with a policy funding ratio of 146% (November 2021) and zero indexation backlog,” said the jury.