Dutch households investing more than ever; ASML overtakes Shell as main investment

The total amount of Dutch households’ investments topped €200 billion for the first time in the third quarter of 2025, the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) reported on Wednesday. The growth is primarily due to rising stock prices, particularly tech stocks, resulting in ASML overtaking Shell as the largest investment by Dutch households.

At the end of the third quarter of 2025, Dutch households held a total of €204.7 billion in investments, an increase of €9 billion compared to the previous quarter. “Households benefited primarily from rising stock prices,” DNB said. “The impact of net purchases (+€433 million) and exchange rates (-€157 million) was limited.”

One of the share price increases from which Dutch households benefited was ASML. The value of the chip machine maker’s shares increased by 22 percent in the third quarter. Households held €4.4 billion worth of ASML shares at the end of September.

ASML is now the stock in which Dutch households invest the most, overtaking Shell, which has been at the top of the list for years. The value of investments in the fossil fuel giant has been declining for some time, partly because households have sold approximately €1.6 billion worth of Shell shares in the past three years. And while Shell’s share price rose in this period, it did so by less than the AEX average.

Other tech companies’ stock price increases also benefited Dutch households in the past quarter. Investments in the Dutch technology investment company Prosus and American big tech companies Apple, NVIDIA, Alphabet, and Tesla also grew in value by approximately 16 percent.