Households investing in the stock market benefited from buoyant oil shares in volatile first quarter
New figures from DNB show that Dutch households saw the value of their portfolio investments in oil companies rise sharply in the past quarter. In contrast, capital gains on other investments recorded in the first two months of 2026 evaporated because of the war in the Middle East and the turmoil on the stock markets. Despite a volatile quarter on the stock markets, the total value of household investments increased.
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Households benefited in the first quarter from share price rises at six major listed oil companies (Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, TotalEnergies, BP and Eni, also known as ‘Big Oil’ or ‘supermajors’). Due to rising oil prices and the subsequent share price gains of these multinational corporations, the value of the shareholdings in these supermajors stood at €5.3 billionat the end of the quarter, an increase of € 686 million compared with three months earlier.
Their total value could have been considerably higher had households not also sold, on balance, €677 million worth of Big Oil shares. They may have done this to capitalise on some of the price gains.
Incidentally, over 90% of the shares held by Dutch households in this group of major oil companies are Shell shares. Accordingly, fluctuations in Shell’s share price have a significant impact on their overall value.
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 total value of household investments rose in the first quarter, mainly due to purchases
The total value of Dutch households’ portfolio investments rose by €3.8 billion to € 207.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, mainly on the back of substantial purchases and exchange rate gains. Although the stock market performed well in the first two months of 2026 – with the AEX breaking through the 1,000-point mark for the first time in mid-January – gains were wiped out later in the quarter following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
On the other hand, households made significant additional investments: a net total of €4.0 billion. In particular, bonds gained in popularity, both through direct bond purchases and through bond-fund shares. For example, the value of direct bond holdings rose by 22% to €6.2 billion, whereas previously there had been a downward trend. Households mainly bought sovereign bonds, which are considered less risky. Furthermore, the rise in the dollar exchange rate led to a €775 million increase in the value of securities holdings.
The substantial purchases of portfolio investments in the first quarter reflect a trend that has been underway for several years. Households tend to invest heavily in January in particular; in 2026, this amounted to €3.0 billion, against €2.7 billion in 2025.
Household portfolio investments viewed in perspective
The total securities holdings of Dutch households consisted of listed shares, investment fund shares and bonds totalling €207.6 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026. By comparison, Dutch households keep far more funds in savings accounts with Dutch banks (€540.6 billion) than in investment portfolios. They also hold €107.2 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 (2.2 million) invest, according to the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
More information
- Table 4.6: Investments by Dutch households in securities
- Dashboard: Securities holdings of Dutch households