The €5.8bn Bosch Pensionsfonds (BPF) caters for 210,000 members. Despite a 9.6% loss on its investment portfolio in 2022, this followed a 14% gain in 2021 and the pension fund has performed well over the long term, generating an average annual return of 5.3% over the past decade.

BPF has steadily increased its stake in alternatives since 2008, with a portfolio now spanning private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate. Last year, rigorous manager selection and a proactive approach led to a 9.9% return from its alternative investment allocation, offsetting the losses incurred on listed assets. In 2022, the pension fund added 11 more assets to its alternatives portfolio, with the allocation valued at €2.4bn at the end of the year. Almost all BPF’s assets in this area outperformed expectations, a testament to the pension fund’s strong manager selection process.

BPF has developed a pioneering reporting and monitoring system for its alternatives portfolio to counteract the lack of publicly available data on this asset class. The bespoke reporting system covers seven ‘dimensions’ and 30 underlying qualitative and quantitative review criteria to identify potential areas for improvement. This system is also designed to improve dialogues with asset managers and create a benchmark for future assessments and negotiations with other stakeholders. The fund anticipates further growth and innovation, including the integration of ESG considerations. It plans to hire new staff to support these efforts.