In 2019, the Dutch investment fund Hoofbosch, formerly a family fund, selected CACEIS Netherlands as its custodian bank. Since then, a fruitful relationship has developed, thanks in particular to CACEIS’ expertise in tax-related services. Robbert-Jan Engels, co-founder and manager at Hoofbosch, and Sander Luijendijk, manager at Hoofbosch talk about the relationship, how it has developed and the benefits for their business.
Could you tell us about your business?
Robbert-Jan Engels: “Hoofbosch, founded in 2006 by Martien van Winden and myself, is an independent investment fund with a unique philosophy. The fund emphasises personal relationships and a long-term vision, both with the companies in which it invests and with its clients. With an average return of 8% per year, Hoofbosch invests in companies in Switzerland, the United States and the Netherlands. Hoofbosch considers that these countries are the only three economies in the world that combine a high level of trust with a high level of knowledge. Preference is given to family-owned companies with consistent upward returns and CEOs with a long track record in the business. Hoofbosch’s aim is not to spread risk, but to avoid it. A high value is placed by the company on dividend growth, the economic history of the companies it invests in, and personal visits. In 2024, Hoofbosch was again awarded five stars and a Gold rating by fund rating agency Morningstar, the highest rating for a mutual fund.”
Can you tell us about your choice of CACEIS as custodian bank in 2019?
Sander Luijendijk: “In 2019, we were looking for a partner capable of offering much more than traditional custody services. We needed a partner with the capacity to handle withholding tax, a service not offered by our previous provider. CACEIS appeared to be the best choice, given its expertise in tax matters. The CACEIS tax team has in-depth knowledge of the tax structures and regulations in force, which enabled us to hand over the administrative burden of our tax obligations so that we could concentrate fully on our core business: investing for our customers.”
How did CACEIS rise to the challenge?
Robbert-Jan Engels: “CACEIS's tax department has taken over very specific tasks requiring specialised expertise, while preventing dividend ‘leakage’. In fact, it enables clients to take full advantage of international tax treaties between the Netherlands and the countries in which they invest. In the case of Hoofbosch, these are the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States and, to a lesser extent, France. CACEIS ensures that clients benefit from these agreements. This to achieve a higher dividend yield, while avoiding excessive withholding tax. In the past, Hoofbosch was ‘tax transparent’. This tax regime requires verification of the investor's identity, including the tax identity, and the extent to which he or she can invoke tax treaties. For the tax authorities, who they were, what their tax identity was and the extent to which they could invoke tax treaties were checked for each investor. For each investor, CACEIS ensured that the regulations were optimal in order to obtain the best possible return for the fund. This process involved a great deal of administrative work. In 2023, Hoofbosch changed its tax structure and became a Fiscal Investment Institution (FII). CACEIS has since set up tax services at fund level, which considerably reduces the administrative burden. This expertise is a real added value.”
What do you consider to be the main advantage of your partnership with CACEIS?
Robbert-Jan Engels: “One of the great advantages of working with CACEIS is that we can benefit from a complete range of services under one roof. In our case, CACEIS looks after the custody of our assets and the processing of our tax obligations, but we also use their Market Solutions offering for order execution and foreign exchange as part of our ‘buy and hold’ investment strategy. This fully-integrated process enables us to manage our transactions efficiently. With CACEIS, we have the peace of mind to focus on what really matters: offering our clients solid, high-performance investment opportunities. The level of satisfaction has been excellent, and we are considering whether our fund should opt for the full front-office to back-office solution. Finally, CACEIS' expertise, the close relationship we have built and the tailor-made approach make all the difference on a day-to-day basis.”
