SWEDEN- Sweden’s AP3 fund still has up to Sek6bn (e653m) to commit to private equity investments over the next three to four years. Last Summer it announced it was investing up to 5% of the Sek133bn fund in private equity but so far it has only committed Sek729m and invested Sek20m.

A spokeswoman for the fund said the private equity programme will last between three to four years and that further commitments will be made over this period. The announcement came during publication of the fund’s 2001 financial results which showed it outperforming the benchmark by 0.2% despite its assets losing 4.4% in 2001.

At the same meeting, AP3 announced for the first time that it was considering allocating up to 5% of the Sek133bn portfolio to hedge funds. Pressed on the issues the Chief executive Tomas Nicolas confirmed that they plan to make the investment although he refused to specify precisely when or how, only that it is likely to be via fund of funds

The tentative decision comes in the wake of an ALM study by the fund and consultant Watson Wyatt which suggested a 5% allocation to hedge funds might be appropriate for the fund in the long run. AP3 is considering the move at the moment but the board is undecided. “Next year we will be more concrete on the hedge fund strategy,” said the spokeswoman.

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