Dutch firms, institutions, and households collectively held nearly €3,500 billion worth of securities at the end of 2024, according to new figures from the Dutch central bank, DNB.

Most of the assets were invested in debt securities, or bonds, which account for more than €1,383 billion of the total. Approximately €1,123 billion was invested in investment funds, while nearly €980 billion was invested in listed equities. The total is equivalent to 308% of Dutch gross domestic product.

The bank says this is a relatively high percentage compared to many other euro-area countries and is due in part to the size of Dutch pension funds.

Institutional investors—investment funds, insurers, and pension funds—hold the majority of securities, accounting for over 68% of the total. Banks (more than 9%) and other financial institutions (just below 11%) also have sizeable investments.

Of the €3,487 billion, 38% was invested in securities issued by institutions based in the Netherlands. Around €800 billion (23%) was invested in securities issued in other euro-area countries, while €1,349 billion (39%) was invested in securities issued outside the euro area.

The picture for listed shares looks remarkably different, the central bank said.  Almost three-quarters (74%) are held in non-euro-area firms. Most of these investments are in US firms, including big tech companies such as NVIDIA, Apple, and Microsoft.

Meanwhile, the Financieele Dagblad reports that investors are reacting more unpredictably to corporate results this season, with swings of up to 7% when companies report their 2024 earnings, compared with 3.4% to 5.3% between 2019 and 2023.

The swings indicate that investors are concerned about US president Donald Trump and his impact on global markets, the paper said in an analysis on Monday.

Marc Zwartsenburg, head of equity research at ING, told the paper that company outlooks became increasingly cautious as the earnings season progressed.
“In the beginning, companies and investors thought that the impact of the tariffs might not be as severe as initially expected,” he said. “But now it turns out to be a slightly different story.”