Pension funds in the Nordics - statistics & facts

Denmark became the first country on the Nordic mainland to legislate that large groups should receive financial assistance in old age. From the late 1800s onward, this initiative spread to what is now a diverse and noteworthy pension market. This has been reflected in the individual value of financial pension assets of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Iceland. As a result, the Nordic countries have held a collective position of importance in the European pension market and the global pension landscape. No uniform structure exists across the region, whereas a hybrid system has provided varying pension types such as old-age, obligatory and early retirement. Government initiatives have come in the form of public pension funds and sovereign wealth funds to support these pension types. Private market players, however, have come in the form of individual employers and firms.

Asset allocation

Irrespective of pension fund structure or size, many follow similar portfolio management practices implementing comparable asset allocation approaches across portfolios. Pension funds have typically split assets among equity, fixed-income, and commercial real estate. Norway Government Pension Global, a public fund comprising two separate sovereign wealth funds, one of which is listed on a global scale, has held the majority of its fixed-income securities in the form of bonds. Bonds have formed the second-largest asset group with equities being the largest. This has been a similar portfolio composition to Finnish-based Keva, an independent pension fund corporation operational on a smaller scale. The largest asset class in both fund portfolios has been equities. Popular equity investments are made in the form of shares or ETFs.

Portfolio management

In comparison to other large institutional investors, pension funds have typically been risk-averse by nature. Pension funds may choose to be more aggressive earlier in the investment lifecycle, investing in illiquidity securities with the aim of achieving higher gains and having the time to recoup any losses endured. This risk is not comparable to that of hedge funds, for example, that have engaged in activities such as security leveraging to gain high returns. While portfolio risk is lower in the pension fund market, other external factors such as inflation may cause funds to alter the portfolio composition. Inflation has had adverse effects throughout the investment market. Both small and large pension funds in the Nordics and across the globe have been impacted, the annual returns of NBIM, for example, can vary by asset class year-on-year. Internal factors have also impacted portfolio management. Policyholders nearing retirement may cause fund managers to allocate a higher level of the portfolio to liquid assets, mitigating risk and allowing for smoother payouts to policyholders.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Apr 24, 2024

Key insights

Leading public pension fund worldwide by AUM
GPIF
Leading public pension fund worldwide by GSR score
CDPQ
Leading sovereign wealth fund worldwide by AUM
NBIM
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Leading State Owned Investors (SOIs) worldwide in 2024, by assets under management (in billion U.S. dollars)

Investment Funds

Leading SOIs globally 2024, by AUM

Leading state-owned investors (SOIs) worldwide by fresh capital deployed from in 2023 (in billion U.S dollars)

Investment Funds

Leading state-owned investors (SOIs) worldwide by fresh capital deployed from 2023

Leading sovereign-wealth funds (SWFs) worldwide in 2023, by governance, sustainability and resilience (GSR) score

Financial Instruments & Investments

Leading SWFs worldwide 2023, by GSR score

Related topics

Recommended

6

Recommended statistics

Population

5

Population

Demographic trends

3

Demographic trends

Value of pension assets per country

5

Value of pension assets per country

NBIM assets

3

NBIM assets

Assets of leading Nordic funds

5

Assets of leading Nordic funds

NBIM portfolio composition

4

NBIM portfolio composition

Portfolio composition of leading Nordic funds

4

Portfolio composition of leading Nordic funds

NBIM fund performance

5

NBIM fund performance

Return metrics of leading Nordic funds

8

Return metrics of leading Nordic funds

Further reportsGet the best reports to understand your industry

Retirement saving in the United States
Retirement saving in the United States
Pension funds in the Netherlands
Pension funds in the Netherlands
Retirement assets worldwide
Retirement assets worldwide
Investment funds
Investment funds
UK pension fund market
UK pension fund market

Contact

Get in touch with us. We are happy to help.
Statista Locations
Contact Meredith Alda
Meredith Alda
Sales Manager– Contact (United States)
Email
support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Contact Yolanda Mega
Yolanda Mega
Operations Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
asia.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm (SGT)

Contact Kisara Mizuno
Kisara Mizuno
Senior Business Development Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
asia.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 10:00am - 6:00pm (JST)

Contact Lodovica Biagi
Lodovica Biagi
Director of Operations– Contact (Europe)
Email
eu.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9:30am - 5pm (GMT)

Contact Carolina Dulin
Carolina Dulin
Group Director - LATAM– Contact (Latin America)
Email
latam@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Menu