December 2023

Danish pension fund to sell its Tesla shares over union dispute

PensionDanmark, one of Denmark's largest pension funds, said on Wednesday it had decided to sell its holdings in Tesla (TSLA.O) over the U.S. auto company's refusal to enter into agreements with labour unions. The decision is part of a growing Nordic movement to force Tesla to sign collective bargaining agreements with Swedish mechanics, who have been on strike since October. Labour unions in Norway and Denmark this week said they would start blocking transit shipments of Tesla cars meant for the Swedish market. Tesla has a policy of not...

April 2023

​Danish FSA develops national stress test for pension firms

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA, Finanstilsynet) has developed its own stress test for pension providers, saying it takes certain national conditions into account – unlike the European Supervisory Authority for Insurance and Occupational Pension Schemes (EIOPA) version. The Copenhagen-based financial watchdog announced yesterday that the new stress tests to assess how insurance and pension companies would fare in a severe economic slump were part of its “strategy 2025” to ensure robustness. “EIOPA’s stress test ensures a high market coverage on...

February 2023

Denmark’s AkademikerPension takes on the banks financing fossil fuels

Denmark’s AkademikerPension, the member-owned pension fund for 150,000 academics, has just notched up another important milestone in its ambitious sustainability strategy. Pressure from the fund’s CIO and chief financial officer Anders Schelde on Denmark’s Dankse Bank contributed to the lender announcing plans to end new financing to oil and gas E&P companies that don’t have a credible transition plan in line with the Paris Agreement. Last year, Schelde stood up and challenged Dankse executives at the bank’s AGM, the only...

November 2022

Danish pension fund cuts China exposure

PFA, Denmark’s largest commercial pension fund, has exited two Chinese clothing manufacturers and is discussing how to handle its other China holdings amid an evolving risk environment, reports Bloomberg. The Copenhagen-based fund, which manages about $100 billion in assets, has sold out of Anta Sports and Li Ning, Rasmus Bessing, chief operating officer at PFA Asset Management, said in an interview. The holdings were worth around $4.2 million, he said. “We see China and the political development and believe that there...

Poor returns show why more pensions knowledge needed, says Denmark’s IPD

Danish industry association IPD said average market-rate pension savings in the Nordic country have fallen 14% so far this year, and such poor performance showed why people need more pensions knowledge. Kent Damsgaard, chief executive officer of Insurance & Pension Denmark (IPD), said: “The crisis and the poor returns in 2022 emphasise why it is so important that Danes know more about their pension schemes.” After many years of good returns, he said, people’s savings as well as their pension payouts...

February 2022

Danish pension scheme halts Russian investments

Danish pension fund AkademikerPension will immediately halt new investments in Russian assets after President Vladimir Putin recognised Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine as independent, it said on Tuesday. The $23 billion fund said it would stop new investments in Russian government bonds and companies where the Russian state owns stakes of more than 50%. "Putin's formal recognition of the two separatist republics is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, which is a violation of international law. And it is also a...

Danish pension fund ditches Wizz Air over labour rights

Danish pension fund AkademikerPension said on Monday it was selling its stake in budget airline Wizz Air (WIZZ.L) over alleged "human and labour rights abuses" towards its workers. The $23 billion fund was one of 14 investors that called on Wizz in December to allow employees to form and join trade unions, saying their research suggested it was discouraging the practice in breach of staff rights. AkademikerPension said on Monday that, after meeting management, it saw no sign the airline's practices...

October 2021

Denmark. Pension major ATP aims for $31 billion of green investments by 2030

Denmark's ATP, one of Europe's largest pension funds, aims to have 200 billion Danish crowns ($31 billion) worth of green investments by 2030 and half that in 2025, it said in a statement on Thursday. "Reaching 100 billion DKK in green investments in just three years is - even for an investor of ATP's size - an ambitious challenge," ATP's chief executive Bo Foged said in a statement. "We want to spend the money where the return is attractive and a...

September 2021

Danish pension sector adopts common climate reporting rules

Denmark’s pensions and insurance lobby announced today it has adopted a set of common climate reporting rules for the sector, as part of the ongoing work in the Nordic country to meet its 2030 emissions reduction goal. The new code – based on the comply-or-explain principle – covers CO2 emissions from investment assets, damage prevention, active ownership and the use of paper in everyday life, according to the announcement from Insurance & Pension Denmark (IPD). It has been devised as part...

July 2021

Danish pension firms censured for failure to ID money-laundering risks

Six Danish pension providers have been ordered to revise their risk assessments regarding money laundering, after the country’s financial watchdog followed through on a tightening of the regulations at the end of last year. AP Pension was given several official orders to correct procedures, while others, such as Danica Pension and PenSam, got away more lightly following a series of inspections conducted by the Danish FSA. The FSA said it had conducted an investigation into the risk assessments of life insurance...