Danish pensions colossus PFA has finally completed a DKK40bn (€5.4bn) pension profiles revamp, and revealed the timing of the exercise – aimed at boosting equities exposure – meant it was able to cash in on cheap share prices amid worries about US trade tariffs.
The DKK828bn pensions group announced last week it has now finished the restructuring of more than DKK40bn of savings from its four original lifecycle investment profiles, labelled A, B, C and D, to a system of three new profiles – entitled Low, Medium and High.
The new profiles feature a higher proportion of equities, and the phase-out towards retirement is being adjusted too, to maintain a higher return potential for longer, according to PFA.
The investment reshuffle involved the savings of 700,000 customers, PFA said, adding that it was the most extensive such restructuring it had done since launching the market rate product PFA Plus 17 years ago.
Kasper Lorenzen, PFA’s group chief investment officer, said: “The new profiles, which generally have more shares, are designed to strengthen customers’ returns in the long term, and it is fantastic to see that we have come a long way with the restructuring – both technically and in terms of returns.”
However the restructuring, which began in April, took place at a turbulent time for stock markets, the pension fund stated.
“The timing could hardly have been more challenging,” the CIO said, adding that the exercise kicked off just when US president Donald Trump’s tariff war was putting pressure on equities.
“It made for sweaty palms, because even though pensions are about long-term investments, you want to get off to a good start,” Lorenzen said.
“However, Trump quickly withdrew the worst threats, the markets turned around, and the stock plunge meant that we could buy up cheaper,” he added.
All in all, he said, the market development had been good for PFA’s customers, who have benefited greatly from the strong stocks comeback from April onwards.
More generally, PFA said it had managed both its currency and equity risks well over the course of 2025, and reported a 10% return for the first 11 months for customers with a medium-risk profile and 15 years to retirement.
Lorenzen said PFA had been good at adapting its equity risk to the major fluctuations that had occurred in the stock markets.
“At the same time, we have handled the currency risk well and protected customers against the weakening of the dollar,” he said, adding that the provider had also held onto its investments in the large US technology companies, which had once again contributed significantly to the return.
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