Elo and Varma, two of the main Finnish occupational pension providers, today reported investment returns of 1.5% and 1.7% for the first half of this year, with the former revealing it had been preparing to protect its solvency amid the high levels of market volatility seen in the period.
With the two institutions publishing interim reports today for January to June, Varma said its total assets had risen to €64.9bn by the end of June from €64.4bn six months earlier, and Elo declared the market value of its investments had increased to €32.6bn from €32.4bn.
Varma president and chief executive officer Risto Murto said: “The investment markets have been restless due to geopolitical crises and uncertainty related to tariffs, but the reactions have nevertheless been limited,” adding that the weak US dollar in particular had affected investment returns.
Markus Aho, Varma’s deputy CEO and chief investment officer, said investment markets had rebounded quickly after their sharp drop at the beginning of the second quarter in reaction to the US import tariffs announcement.
“Nasdaq Helsinki’s performance was a bright spot in the first half of 2025, and Finnish equities also boosted our returns,” he said.
While Varma’s equity investments returned 1.0% overall in the first half, Finnish equities alone generated 15.2% in the period, the firm reported.
Behind the overall return figure for equities, Varma revealed that listed shares have returned 3.6% in the reporting period, and private equity had ended June with a 4.1% loss.
At Elo, meanwhile, the overall return for equities came in at 2.7%, with listed equities having produced a 4.7% gain, and private equities making a 0.9% loss.
Varma reported its solvency ratio – pension assets in relation to technical provisions – had dipped at the end of June to 134.0 from 134.6 at the beginning of the year, and said the Helsinki-based provider had been “well-prepared to face volatility in the equity market, thanks to the company’s near record-strong solvency, which has not significantly weakened”.
By contrast, Espoo-based Elo, which has been been comprehensively overhauled in the last few years following a crisis triggered by solvency problems, reported its solvency ratio had slipped to 122.1 by the end of June from 123.0 at the end of last year, although it said the solvency position – solvency capital in relation to the solvency limit — had remained stable in the six-month period.
Carl Pettersson, Elo’s CEO, described the institution’s investment return as good in a turbulent market.
“Exchange rate fluctuations in the stock market were high due to US trade tariffs, and we made preparations to protect our solvency if the situation continues,” he said, adding that the weakening dollar had reduced investment returns for euro-based investors.
Yesterday, Finland’s largest pension fund Keva, and Ilmarinen, Varma’s closest peer, reported first-half investment returns of -0.2% and 2.1%, respectively.
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