PFA, Denmark’s biggest commercial pension provider, has quantified the huge increase in its defence investments since the outbreak of the Russia/Ukraine war, saying the assets have ballooned to DKK7.7bn (€1bn) now from DKK793m before February 2022.
PFA’s director of responsible investments, Rasmus Bessing, said the development had been quite unusual, adding: “When the world develops, PFA does the same, and that’s why we’re now investing much more in defence than we have before.”
In a commentary published on Friday, the DKK700bn Copenhagen-based pension fund said the increase corresponded to 872%, with European defence investments having grown the fastest at 1,650% over the three and a half years.
While US companies previously made up three quarters of the defence portfolio, the distribution was now closer to 50/50 between European and US defence firms, PFA said.
The Danish pension fund said it had invested in European defence companies such as Airbus, Konsberg, Saab, Safran, Thales and Leonardo, PFA said, adding that one reason for the development was its adjustment of its exclusion criteria.
Back in May, PFA reversed blacklistings of big aerospace and defence stocks to broaden the range of such companies it could invest in.
Bessing said: ”There is a great political desire for European armament, and this is mainly why many of the big European companies have now entered our portfolio.
“The development is taking place against a sad background, but the geopolitical situation and the desire for armament make it necessary for us to assume social responsibility while ensuring financial security for our customers,” he said.
Between 1 January 2022 and 22 October 2025, PFA said, its defence investments returned 371%, compared to a 38% increase in the broad world index over the same period.
Bessing said: “We don’t think we will see equally high increases in the next few years, but on the other hand, the great focus on European armament is something that extends several years into the future.”
Read the digital edition of IPE’s latest magazine
No comments yet