De Nederlandsche Bank reviews EUR 276 billion in private asset holdings by Dutch insurers and pension funds, sees limited systemic risk but calls for closer monitoring

De Nederlandsche Bank has published research on private asset exposures at large Dutch insurers and pension funds, finding that their combined holdings reached EUR 276 billion in 2025. The review concludes that current systemic risks from these investments are limited and do not point to immediate concerns, but says the rapid expansion of private markets requires closer monitoring, better information and strong risk management. The analysis shows that private asset allocations have increased at both sectors, with the sharpest growth among insurers. For large insurers, private assets rose to 22% of investment portfolios in 2025 from 14% in 2021, equivalent to about EUR 47 billion excluding real estate loans and mortgages. Large pension funds increased their allocation more modestly, to 23% from 21%, but hold the larger stock overall at EUR 229 billion. Pension funds are more exposed to private equity, while insurers are more exposed to private credit. Private credit growth has been most pronounced at insurers, where exposure rose to EUR 17.5 billion from EUR 12.8 billion between 2021 and 2025, or about 8.3% of invested assets, while pension fund exposure was broadly unchanged at EUR 13.1 billion, or 1.3% of invested assets. DNB highlights illiquidity, the absence of current market prices and lower transparency and higher complexity as the main risks in private markets, including the difficulty of identifying interconnections and concentration. It says further work is needed to map those linkages, with international coordination essential given the cross-border nature of the market. The central bank is therefore working internationally to improve data quality and availability and is exploring whether scenario analysis or stress tests for private markets can be carried out.