Sweden’s largest pension fund Alecta posted a 9.6% return on its key market-rate pension product for 2025, increasing its five-year return to 7.3%, beating that of its nearest rival in occupational pensions provision by nearly two percentage points.
AMF, which provides Sweden’s blue-collar SAF-LO collectively-agreed pension – while the Alecta provides the white-collar ITP workplace pension – reported in February its main product made a 6.2% return for 2025 and 5.5% over the latest five-year period.
These returns are for the default portfolio for Alecta Optimal Pension, which is a unit-link product, and at AMF, its traditional pension product, run on a with-profits basis with an element of smoothing of returns from year to year.
Alecta, whose total assets increased to SEK1.4trn (€130bn) by the end of 2025 from SEK1.3trn a year before, said its equity portfolio generated a 14.1% return last year, with fixed income assets producing a 2.4% gain, and alternatives returning 4.5%.
AMF, meanwhile, said equities returned 13.1% compared to a 3% gain for fixed income investments, and a return of just under 4% for property and alternatives.
Alecta’s chief executive officer, Peder Hasslev, who was brought in mid-2023 to deal with a reputational crisis at the institution following big losses on controversial investments, said: “We have implemented many improvements and have a clear strategy going forward.
“Today, Alecta is safer for our customers and we are well equipped to face a continued turbulent environment and deliver the best occupational pension.”
The figures from Alecta reveal a shift in asset weightings in its overall portfolio – the bulk of which underpins its defined benefit scheme rather than the defined contribution Alecta Optimal Pension product — away from alternatives and towards equities and fixed income.
Equities increased to SEK508bn during 2025 from SEK463bn, Alecta reported, fixed income assets grew to SEK646bn from SEK596bn, while alternatives decreased slightly to SEK251bn from SEK255bn.
Asked about the significance of these weighting changes, a spokesman for Alecta told IPE it did not reflect a change of strategy or the pension fund’s long-term goals for the asset allocation.
“Instead, it is in large part an effect of the returns from real estate being lower than the returns from equities,” he said.
Regarding its problematic investment in Swedish residential real estate company Heimstaden Bostad, Alecta said that it had increased in value by 3.8% during the year to SEK42.2bn, including the 15% valuation discount it applied to the holding at the end of 2024.
The value remains well below the SEK50bn Alecta invested in Heimstaden Bostad, however.
Alecta confirmed the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority’s investigation into its investment in the residential firm – now in its third year – was still ongoing.
