A legal challenge in Sweden has held up the implementation of the Fund Selection Agency’s (FTN) largest procurement. The FTN, tasked in 2022 with reforming the platform for private funds offered within the premium pension system by procuring quality-assured investment options, has now rebutted the arguments from Indecap Fonder that it was wrong to reject the manager’s bid.
All parties involved are now awaiting a decision from the Administrative Court in Stockholm on whether a judicial review of the procurement will be launched, and in the meantime, the €18bn set to be reallocated to the 14 global equity funds the agency selected at the end of February remains invested in the old set of funds - including in Indecap Fonder’s offering.
Elsewhere in Stockholm, occupational pensions giant Alecta has its own troubles, having been fined SEK50m (€4.5m) by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in mid-March for failings over its loss-making investment in residential property firm Heimstaden Bostad.
There is more at stake for Alecta than the fine itself, since the ITP Committee – which governs the ITP occupational pension scheme for privately-employed salaried employees in Sweden – is now considering the watchdog’s decision, and although it seems unlikely, the panel could potentially remove Alecta altogether as an ITP provider.
Most of Alecta’s business comes from the ITP scheme, for which it is the default provider for traditional insurance.
In Denmark, two of the country’s labour-market pensions heavyweights are making changes to their top management teams.
Sampension’s chief executive officer for the past 16 years, Hasse Jørgensen, has left the DKK300bn (€40bn) pension fund, to be replaced at the top by the provider’s chief operating officer Mads Smith Hansen. Sampension’s board decided - in agreement with Jørgensen - that the “time is now right to initiate a generational change and part ways,” according to a statement.
Meanwhile at PKA, after a long career, chief investment officer Michael Nellemann Pedersen is handing over to Mads Skaaning, as he retires after 25 years as CIO and 35 years at PKA overall. Skaaning, is a “very well-liked leader”, PKA says, with “good credentials and a large network”.
Items to note:
- AkademikerPension in Denmark has undertaken some major changes to the way it invests in equities, and in an interview with IPE, CIO Anders Schelde gave the lowdown on the rationale for the shift.
- IPE Iceland, a one-day forum event in Reykjavik dedicated to senior Icelandic pension fund investors, will be held again this year - on 14 October 2026.
Rachel Fixsen
Nordic Correspondent
This news briefing was published earlier in the week. If you would like to receive it regularly, on your IPE profile, go to My Newsletters and select any from the list.
