Financial developments
The financial markets reacted strongly (negatively) to the (announcement of) import duties by the Trump government. As a result, stock markets fell worldwide. The markets were surprised by the size and scope of the duties. The Trump government then announced that it would partially postpone the import duties (with the exception of China) to allow for negotiations and stock markets rose again. All in all, there is a great deal of uncertainty: what will be the exact impact for which companies and sectors, how great will the impact be and what are the countermeasures and/or follow-up measures by other countries and the Trump government?
Consequences for the coverage ratio of the PDN Pension Fund
The decline in the stock markets had a negative impact on our funding level. The PDN Pension Fund's gold investment compensates for the loss on shares somewhat because the gold price rose by 11% during the course of this year. The slightly higher interest rate compared to the beginning of the year also has a positive effect on the funding level.
At the end of March 2025, the funding level was 126.9%. Due to all these effects, it fell to 123% as of April 4, 2025. Incidentally, the funding level of April 4 is above the level of the end of December, when the funding level was 122.3%. At the end of last year, the board reduced the risk profile of the investment portfolio somewhat, which limited the decline somewhat.