SWEDEN – Claes de Neergaard has been appointed as the new chairman of the third Swedish national pension fund, Tredje AP-fonden or AP3.

De Neergard is also chairman of the Nordic Investment Bank and adviser to venture capital firm, CapMan. He was previously vice president of the European Investment Bank, and executive director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

He replaces Johan Bjorkman who was fired by the Swedish government in September. Bjorkman had refused to temporarily step down from the role while an investigation into his involvement in “insider trading” and “tax crimes” was underway.

While his involvement is still uncertain, and the allegations did not relate to AP3, there were concerns that public confidence in the fund would be affected. The investigation is continuing.

Vice-chairman Rolf Andersson has been acting as chairman in the interim. AP3 is one of Europe’s largest pension funds with 130 billion Swedish crowns (14.52 billion euros) under management.

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