Sweden’s two remaining Stockholm-based national pensions buffer funds said the asset transfer from the now-defunct third fund is complete, with their side of the AP funds reform expected to start saving the system money from next year.
AP3 and AP4 announced a total of around SEK510bn (€47.6bn) of listed and unlisted assets, corresponding to just over 98% of AP1’s total assets at the end of the year, were transferred in equal parts to them.
Based on their stated asset totals at the end of June, the windfall has increased the two funds’ portfolios to over SEK800bn apiece.
Staffan Hansén and Niklas Ekvall, chief executive officers of AP3 and AP4, respectively, said: “The intensive and extensive consolidation work that was prepared in 2025 and has now been carried out by the three AP Funds has been challenging but very successful.”
“We are very proud that, in cooperation with the special investigator appointed by the government, we have managed to carry out the consolidation so successfully and in such a short time,” they said.
The whole exercise was carried out alongside keeping focus on the funds’ core business of managing the fund capital for the greatest benefit of the pension system, the funds said.
“In addition, the consolidation has been carried out in a cost-effective manner for the pension system, which means that savings are expected to amount to SEK150-200m annually from 2027 onwards,” they said.
The AP funds reform, which has been under discussion for at least two years, also includes the merger of the two Gothenburg buffer funds, AP6 into AP2. It has been primarily aimed at reducing costs in the buffer fund system.
According to a 2024 government white paper on the reform, AP1 — which has now been liquidated — had total internal costs of SEK247m in 2023, including SEK146m of staff costs.
In yesterday’s statement, the two remaining Stockholm funds said that less than 2% of AP1’s capital was not transferred and remains in AP1, adding that this would be managed by AP4 separately, and in time transferred in equal parts to AP3 and AP4.
Most of those segregated assets consisted of unlisted funds, where it was deemed not cost-effective or beneficial to transfer them, they said, and it includes certain shares of very limited value which cannot be transferred because they are under sanction or delisted.
