GSAM v Vervoer Battle Over

(June 6, 2014) — The pension fund for Dutch transport workers and Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) have agreed to settle a two year legal battle out of court, the parties have announced.

Pensioenfonds Vervoer took the bank-backed asset manager to court in 2012 over a fiduciary management contract that broke down in 2010.

The pension fund claimed GSAM had breached its contract multiple times and it sought damages of €250 million.

The asset manager refuted all the claims throughout.

Upon announcing the settlement, the parties issued a joint statement: “In July 2012 Pensioenfonds Vervoer issued a legal claim in the High Court in London against their fiduciary asset manager, Goldman Sachs Asset Management International, over a dispute about investments in a portable alpha structure and the implementation of an increased investment in global high yield. The parties have now reached an agreement through which the dispute has been settled to the satisfaction of both parties.”

The statement added that the terms and conditions of the settlement were confidential and neither party would comment on them any further.

Patrick Groenendijk, who was CIO of the pension until last month, told aiCIO that the fund did not dislike fiduciary management as an approach—it appointed Robeco to the position GSAM had vacated in 2011—but disagreed with the tactics GSAM employed.

Separately, IPE.com reported today that Pensioenfonds Vervoer has appointed Marjolein Sol to replace Groenendijk as CIO. Sol has an established track record in institutional investment and was most recently director of the Mercurius pension fund.

Pensioenfonds Vervoer had not responded to a request for confirmation at the time of going to press.

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