EUROPE - Denmark’s PFA Pension produced an investment return for the first nine months of the year that was barely below last year’s figure, despite troubled financial markets.

PFA Pension, a major commercial provider of labour-market pensions, reported a 7.5% investment return for January to September, compared with 8% for the full 2010 year.

In its interim report, the pension fund said: “The result is due in particular to PFA’s spread of investments and suitable hedging against interest rate falls.”

Contributions for the nine months were down slightly at DKK13.6bn (€1.8bn) from DKK14.1bn in the year-earlier period, although the fund pointed out that the 2010 figure had included an extraordinary inflow of just under DKK2bn.

Pre-tax profit fell to DKK303m from DKK581m, and total assets rose to DKK306.5bn from DKK299.2bn at the end of 2010.

In other news, assets under management shrank by 10% at Skandia’s Nordic business at the end of the third quarter, but Q3 gross contributions were up by one-fifth year-on-year.

Skandia Norden - encompassing the group’s business in Norway, Denmark and Sweden - said total assets fell in the July to September period to SEK128.1bn (€14.1bn), down 10% on the same period a year ago.

The company blamed the fall on negative development in equities markets.

Gross contributions rose to SEK531m in the third quarter, up 20% from Q3 2010.

Skandia put the growth down to increased sales of corporate pensions in Denmark, as well as private pension sales in Sweden.

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