SWEDEN – AP6, one of the national buffer funds in Sweden, is planning to transfer its shares in technology start-ups Vertical Wind and Electric Generation to the companies' other shareholders.

The companies had needed additional funding from their owners; AP6 said it would agree to invest only if other shareholders followed suit, which did not occur.

A spokesman at AP6 said the companies had the necessary skills to succeed and good future prospects, but required more time and research to develop.

The scheme's initial investments in the companies – SEK36.2m (€4.2m) in Vertical Wind and SEK850,000 in Electric Generation – were made during the previous management, before the current investment strategy was put in place.

In other news, the Swedish national defined contribution system (PPM) is to receive another SEK33bn, invested in a range of funds within the system, by mid-December.

Some 5.5m Swedes have contributed these new assets into the system, with the average amount per person put in reaching SEK6,000.

As of the end of October, there was SEK430bn invested in more than 800 funds on behalf of 6.4m Swedes.

Statistics from this period show that the top 10 biggest funds, in terms of assets under management and popularity, are all Swedish providers, including the government default option AP7 as well as Swedbank and AMF.

The top 10 performers over five years were mainly international providers, although AMF, Carnegie and Ålandsbanken's bond funds were also included.

The top performer was F&C's Emerging Markets Bond fund, which returned 10.5% on average over five years.

Nine out of the 10 top funds were bond funds, the exception being UBS's Luxemburg registered Biotech fund, which came in third, returning 10% over the period.

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