Jeroen van Wijngaarden

Jeroen van Wijngaarden, Director General of DUFAS, thank you for speaking with us in the lead up to the Leaders in Finance Wealth Management Event 2026 on April 9th. Could you briefly introduce yourself and explain your role at DUFAS, the Dutch Fund and Asset Management Association?
I serve as Director General of DUFAS, which means I lead the trade association for the Dutch fund and asset management industry. It is a real pleasure and honour to do so, and I have now been in the role for over two years.
Before this, I was, in a sense, on the other side of the table. I was active in national politics for the VVD, a party that was in government, as many people will know. My background is in law, and during my political career I worked on issues relating to justice, and later also defence and European affairs.
At DUFAS, we represent the asset management industry in the Netherlands and we serve as a natural point of contact for the government. For asset managers, there is clear value in coming together to speak with one voice rather than many. For the government, it is equally useful to have a trade association to engage with. There is also an important role for an organisation like ours between the corporate world and regulators and supervisors. The dialogue between an individual asset manager or bank and a supervisor is, of course, different from the dialogue that takes place through a trade association. Our task is to ensure that this exchange is as effective and efficient as possible.

There is a great deal happening in the world right now. From your vantage point at DUFAS, Jeroen, what do you see as the most important shifts in how Europe is currently positioning itself, both economically and financially?
I think a real paradigm shift is happening at the moment. Political leaders, but business leaders as well, increasingly understand that we are living in a different world from the one we knew a few years ago. It is hardly a revolutionary point to say that the world is becoming less open and that protectionism is on the rise. That is worrying, because it is not always in investors’ best interests when markets start putting up barriers to entry.
We are already seeing protectionism grow in the United States, and the question for Europe now is whether it should respond to protectionism with protectionism. If everyone starts looking after their own interests alone, who ultimately stands to benefit?

Against that backdrop, there is growing discussion about the need for Europe to strengthen its own long term capital base to support its ambitions, rather than remain overly dependent on the United States. With that in mind, how important are institutional and private investment in shaping Europe’s future?
That is a very good question, because if you look at the brighter side of things, the second term of President Trump has been a real wake up call for Europe. Europe is now clearly awake. Finally, the European Commission, along with political leaders more broadly, understands the importance of mobilising savings into investment. But that cannot be done without significant policy change.
What we are seeing now is that governments are looking at ways to make investing more attractive. What is striking is that there is already a huge amount of money sitting in savings accounts across Europe, including in the Netherlands. So capital is not the problem. Access to capital is. At the same time, companies in Europe, especially scale ups, are struggling to get the funding they need. That is the gap we need to bridge.
And the solution is definitely not more complex regulation. Europe is very good at creating regulation, for instance on AI, but less good at building successful AI companies, partly because those companies often have easier access to capital in the United States than they do in Europe.

In your view, what makes an investment environment genuinely attractive, both from a fiscal standpoint and from the perspective of the investor or end user?
What is very important is that the rules in place are simple and predictable. Investors need legal certainty so that they know where they stand.
There is still a great deal that can be done in that respect, and the current Dutch government is also looking into it. However, the path it has chosen is too complicated and, in our view, does not meet what is needed, according to both the European Commission, investors and DUFAS. We believe investing should be simple and remain attractive. Taxing unrealised gains does not make it more attractive Instead, let’s avoid reinventing the wheel and look at international best practices.

Do you have hope that, in this new political climate, there will be an understanding that the initial ideas may not be the right ones?
I do. Meanwhile I think it is important that all of us engage in these conversations, especially trade associations, but also individual investors. As Americans would say, call your congressman. I think we should adopt the same attitude.
We should not hide under a rock and wait to see what happens. Thankfully, we live in a democracy, and in the current climate it is important, and in a way our duty, to reach out to policymakers and help them understand the consequences of certain policy choices. A system that taxes unrealised gains would run counter to the ambition of both the European Commission and the current Dutch government to mobilise savings into investments.
So the conversation should not be about how much tax we want to pay, because of course no one enjoys paying tax. What matters is that the system is simple, fair and predictable. That is why this issue matters so much.
It is quite unusual for a new government to want to alter legislation that was adopted so recently. We will see what happens, but it is important that all of us take part in this conversation.

Your speech at the event on the 9th  of April is titled Europe’s Renaissance, and it speaks directly to what we have just been discussing, including the role of investors in shaping policy, perhaps fiscal policy as well. We are very much looking forward to having you there.
What are you most looking forward to when you think about the event?
I hope that together we can help create momentum and energy that encourages the incoming Dutch government to pursue a policy that truly mobilises savings into investments, rather than moving in the opposite direction. I believe it is our duty to have tried. We all know that capital is fluid. But if we want what is best for Dutch society and for Europe, then it is essential that we speak up now and work constructively with the government on what will work and what will not.

We look forward to continuing that conversation with you on 9 April during the Leaders in Finance Wealth Management Event 2026. Thank you so much for your time today, and we will see you there.