Workplace pension provider Alecta hit the Swedish headlines for all the wrong reasons recently – first due to a sell-off in US equities. Then came a governance issue; then a write down in local property holdings. As Alecta seeks to repair the reputational damage, commercial providers like Skandia are calling for a more commercially friendly open fund platform in this part of the workplace pension system, place of the current single provider scheme. Yet Sweden has spent the best part of a number of years rolling back and simplifying its Premium Pension system (part of the state pension), where an open platform led to unsuitable fund listings and over complexity. Meanwhile a reform of the main Swedish buffer funds could see the number reduced from five to three.
Danish schemes embrace defence – as long as ESG criteria and international conventions are adhered to
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As at 30.9.3.23, *30.16.23, **15.11.23, ***10.6.22
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Nordic Region
Right now, Alecta cuts a strange figure – one of Europe’s biggest pensions institutions wounded after gaping investment losses, and sustaining still worse injuries from the monopolistic hubris it leaves in its wake.
AP7 disagrees with proposal to slim AP fund boards down to seven members
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