Read: A day as an investor by Diederick Plasman

Diederick Plasmans (34) has been with PGGM Investments for five years. He has obtained a MSc in Finance from Maastricht University and has completed all levels of the CFA program. Diederick works as a Senior Investment Manager in the Private Equity team, which has €15.6 bln under management. The team consists of 24 FTE and invests circa €21.8 bln per year in private equity funds, co-investments and secondaries on a global basis.iedericks’ activities

As a Senior Investment Manager, Diederick Plasmans is involved in the screening, evaluation and execution of new investments, monitoring of the existing portfolio and managing relationships with GPs. Diederick says: ‘A typical day would consist of reviewing marketing and due diligence materials, having internal discussions with the (deal) team, preparing investment memos and having calls and/or meetings with GPs.

Return expectations

Over the last ten years, the PFZW PE portfolio has generated returns of approximately 15% p.a.’ We would expect this return trajectory to continue and aim to direct this by continuing to be highly selective and look for repeatable and resilient investment strategies.’

Risks

How do our colleagues navigate through the most crucial risks in private equity? 
Diederick says: 'In my view, the most important risks in the current market environment relate to the fast investment pace of private equity funds and the high and even increasing valuations in the market. We anticipate on this by managing our ticket size and incorporating appropriate restrictions on investment pacing in the legal agreements with GPs. Also, we carefully assess valuations as part of our fund and co-investment due diligence. We look for investment opportunities where strong returns can be achieved through multiple value creation levers when accounting for valuation multiples to revert to their long term average. Following the fast investment pace, many fund managers are currently coming back to market at the same time which forces us to make difficult choices. And with demand for PE still outstripping supply, negotiation dynamics are not always in our favour.’