When it comes to custody, pension funds in the Netherlands like to spread their bets. As most fund markets in the world have moved to single providers for custody services, this makes the Dutch an anomaly.

This month, the €133bn Dutch pension fund manager PGGM Investments hired JP Morgan Securities Services as its third custodian, the first time it has employed more than two. This decision was largely a function of scale - and in particular, the point at which economies of scale stop working, according to Marc van den Berg, chief operating officer at PGGM.