Value of Dutch households' investments falls slightly in first quarter of 2025, relatively high losses in tech stocks
In the first quarter of 2025, the value of Dutch households’ portfolio investments fell slightly, as revealed by the latest DNB figures. At the end of March, the value of investments stood at €188.9 billion, compared to €189.7 billion in the previous quarter (-0.4%, revised figures). Losses on tech stocks were relatively high.
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Source: DNB statistics
At De Nederlandsche Bank, we independently compile statistics on the Dutch financial sector and economy. This article is based on these statistics. More information on our statistics and all dashboards can be found on our Statistics homepage.
The decline in the value of household investments started before April, when global stock markets fluctuated wildly in response to the announced US import tariffs.
The value of investments in investment funds fell slightly, while investments in listed shares remained almost unchanged. By contrast, bond holdings rose by 17%, to €6.5 billion. This is almost entirely due to net purchases by households (96% of the increase).
Households suffer loss on tech stocks
Investments in listed shares remained roughly the same due to price gains on European investments, which partly offset the losses households suffered on their tech stocks.
DNB publishes quarterly figures on the listed shares in which households invest the most. Looking at the most popular companies in recent years, at the end of last quarter, Dutch households owned some €11.9 billion worth of equities in 13 major national and international tech companies. These include ASML and ASMI (both Dutch firms), but also big US tech companies like Microsoft and NVIDIA. Equity holdings in these 13 large companies account for almost two-thirds of the total equity holdings of Dutch households in the tech sector.
The amount of €11.9 billion is a decrease of 15% compared to the previous quarter, when the value of these investments stood at €13.9 billion.
This decrease was mainly due to falling stock prices (-€1.9 billion). For investments in the big US tech companies, currency effects also played a role (-€207 million), with the euro appreciating against the dollar.
Interestingly, Dutch households bought a net amount of tech shares worth €31 million during the same period, but this increase was clearly smaller than the negative price movements and exchange rate effects, which reduced the value of total tech stocks.
Household portfolio investments viewed in perspective
The total securities holdings of Dutch households consisted of listed shares, investment fund shares and bonds totalling €188.9 billion in the first quarter of 2025. By comparison, Dutch households keep far more funds in savings accounts with Dutch banks (€497.4 billion) than in investment portfolios. They also hold €111 billion in payment accounts with Dutch banks. Added to this are substantial assets kept with pension funds and insurers, business assets of self-employed persons and home equity, which fall outside direct securities holdings.
According to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), there are 8.4 million private households in the Netherlands. Of these, around a quarter (1.9 million) invest, according to research (in Dutch) conducted by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
More information
- Table 4.6: Investments by Dutch households in securities (also available through our API)
- Dashboard: Securities holdings of Dutch households