ABP

ABP stands for Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds (General Civil Pension Fund), the pension fund for civil servants and teachers. The fund was established in The Hague in 1922. The fund was tightly controlled by the Dutch government, who used it as a financial tool, forcing it to buy enormous amounts of Dutch government bonds and grant loans to the government in times of large budget deficits. ABP moved to Heerlen in 1969, as part of a government effort to spread its agencies across the country.

From 1983, ABP was touched by a whiff of scandal, in particular through investments in real estate. Though nobody was convicted, it became clear that ABP was, as a newspaper put it: "an uncontrollable colossus, where arbitrariness, mismanagement and money-wasting were the order of the day". The fund was made "independent" of the government in 1996, though its only client was still the government and pension contribution always were a very important element in government wage cost. On independence, some ƒ33 billion went missing and could not be retrieved. Since 2008, ABP has outsourced management of its investments and non-core activities to APG, a 100% daughter operating on a commercial basis. ABP is the largest European pension fund and one of the largest pension funds globally.

Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds
	Filename	HAB1
	Side 1	ABP and STICHTING KANTINE•••
	Side 2	ABP and STICHTING KANTINE•••
	Manufacture	Copper-nickel
	Size (mm)	22.5
	Weight (grams)	4.7
	Notes
	Source	Figleaf