By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
Zeist, Netherlands-based Achmea Investment Management, in partnership with Neuberger Berman Private Markets, has launched a private equity impact fund, with a strategy centered on advancing sustainable agriculture and food systems. With a target size of €250 million (US$275 million), the fund will invest in companies that contribute positively to solving global challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, healthy nutrition and good health. Achmea IM is taking a two-pronged approach, targeting positive social and environmental impacts coupled with market rate investment returns.
The collaboration combines Neuberger Berman’s private equity impact expertise with Achmea IM’s deep relationships across the Dutch institutional investor community as well as its sustainable investing history. Anchored by Dutch pension fund commitments, the fund is positioned to channel capital toward some of the most pressing challenges facing global agriculture.
The vehicle, called the “Achmea IM PE Partnership Fund – Healthy People & Planet 2025,” emphasizes themes such as climate resilience, biodiversity preservation and healthy nutrition, all of which dovetail into more resilient agricultural practices. Through a co-investment approach in both buyout and growth phases, the fund will back companies demonstrating measurable positive impacts. Structured as a 10- to 12-year closed-end fund, it expects to make its first investments by late 2025.
Achmea IM Chair of the Board Maureen Schlejen stated, “There is enormous interest in impact investing among our clients and we’re proud to have set up this impact fund with them. Collaboration is key as far as we’re concerned: it accelerates impact and increases scale. This fund offers pension funds and other institutional investors the opportunity to contribute to the goal of healthy people in a healthy society at a return that is in keeping with market rates.”
Designed primarily for Dutch institutional investors, the fund has so far secured €225 million (US$248 million) in capital commitments from leading pension funds, reflecting strong demand for strategies that connect private equity with impact themes. Achmea IM continues to seek additional participants ahead of its final close.
For the broader global ag investing market, the launch signals how mainstream private equity capital can accelerate systemic change in food and farming. By prioritizing healthy nutrition, climate-resilient farming and biodiversity gains, the fund is aligned with trends shaping the sector , from regenerative agriculture and carbon-smart practices to nutrition-focused supply chains. In doing so, it showcases how institutional investors are increasingly linking long-term returns with the sustainability of global food systems.
Achmea wields significant influence in global agriculture, blending its insurance roots with impact investments across Europe, Oceania and Africa. Formed from Dutch farmers’ cooperatives in 1811, it leads in the Netherlands with specialized farm insurance, safeguarding European agri-businesses against risks and fueling stability. This expertise stretches to Australia, where Achmea Farm Insurance delivers customized coverage for a wide range of operations, from family farms to large-scale enterprises in Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales. Farmers benefit from hands-on support, tackling floods and equipment woes with a cooperative approach.
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