Pension funds are open to investing in startups
A fund-of-funds from Invest-NL aims to raise more than €600 million, mainly thanks to contributions from pension funds.
Published on October 3, 2025
Participants at the pension fund dinner in Eindhoven, © Bram Saeys
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Billions will be needed in the coming years to enable startups to continue to grow. This week marks exactly one year since Invest-NL announced a fund-of-funds that will enable pension funds to invest in innovative companies. The results were presented during the annual pension fund dinner this week. The fund is expected to be launched in the second quarter of 2026.
The pension fund dinner was the finale of LEVEL UP. This event is the international meeting place for start-ups and scale-ups, investors, and ecosystem partners, with the mission of helping start-ups and scale-ups grow. The Pension Fund Dinner is an initiative of the pension fund PME, Invest-NL, and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM), aiming to mobilize more growth capital for innovative deep-tech companies. The regional development companies in the Netherlands expect that approximately €8 billion (half of which for North Brabant) will be needed for early-stage financing in the coming years and will commit themselves to their role in the capital chain.
The pension funds present at the dinner represented approximately three-quarters of the total Dutch pension capital of € 1.8 trillion. Currently, pension funds primarily invest in American funds, which, in turn, invest in the American economy. One of the aims of this fund-of-funds is to keep this money in the Netherlands. A fund of funds is an investment fund that invests in several other funds, rather than directly in companies. This increases diversification and makes it easier to access specialized funds.
Solid foundation
Rinke Zonneveld, CEO of Invest-NL, announced that the initiative announced last year will be launched in the second quarter, as currently planned. “We have had extensive discussions with pension funds over the past period. These constructive talks have laid a solid foundation and garnered broad support. In the coming months, we will be working with partners on the further launch in the second quarter of 2026,” said Zonneveld.
Brigit van Dijk-Van de Reijt, CEO of BOM, endorses this interest. “We are seeing pension funds becoming increasingly active. As co-investors, they are playing an increasingly active role in both direct and fund-of-funds investments. It is good that this new structure of Invest-NL also opens the door for smaller pension funds to benefit from the growth potential of innovative companies.”
Invest-NL's fund-of-funds has a target of mobilizing more than €600 million. This money should be used to help scale-ups grow into fully-fledged companies in the coming years. Invest-NL also wants to make a significant contribution to the fund.
According to Eric Uijen, chairman of PME, the initiative is in line with the desire to encourage pension funds to invest more in innovative Dutch scale-ups with high potential. “PME has been investing in innovative start-ups and scale-ups for years. In doing so, we not only contribute to the returns for our participants, but also to employment, technological progress, and a strong economy in the Netherlands. We have a wealth of knowledge and are happy to share it with others.”