[5] PFZW's predecessor, PGGM, was founded in June 1969 through the merger of several smaller Dutch pension funds in the healthcare industry.
At the end of 2006, the governing board of what was then known as PGGM adopted a separation between its policy (structuring of pensions) and implementation (managing of assets and payment) functions.
This separation, which took effect in January 2008 and was taken in response to new legislation passed in the Netherlands that would limit PGGM’s ability to offer related financial services.
In 2006, PGGM and Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, another large Dutch pension fund, considered a spin-off of their asset management businesses.
PGGM announced that it was making the decision because the Chinese operator is involved in human rights violations in the Darfur region of Sudan.