- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Related

Finnish Pension Funds’ Hedge Fund Investments Top €25 Billion

Latest Report

- Advertisement -

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Finnish institutional investors achieved solid returns from their hedge fund portfolios in the first half of this year, with returns ranging from 3.7 percent to 7.7 percent. Two of these pension investors appear to have increased their hedge fund allocations by a combined half a billion euros. These allocation increases, along with solid performance gains, pushed the total hedge fund investments of the six largest earnings-related pension investors in Finland beyond €25 billion for the first time.

Data from the Finnish Pension Alliance TELA, which tracks the four pension insurance companies, Keva, and the State Pension Fund, shows hedge fund investments climbed to €25.05 billion at the end of June this year. This was up from €23.15 billion at the end of 2023 and under €20 billion in early 2021, reflecting both strong hedge fund performance and increased allocations. The increase in the first half of 2024 reflects strong returns with an asset-weighted average return of 6.2 percent and additional allocations by Elo and Varma.

Data from the Finnish Pension Alliance TELA

The hedge fund portfolio of Elo, the third-largest of the four pension insurance companies in Finland, led the performance with a 7.7 percent return in the first half of 2024. Elo’s hedge fund allocation grew to €3.0 billion in mid-2024, representing 9.6 percent of its €31.3 billion investment portfolio, up from 8.7 percent at the end of 2023. This increase likely resulted from a reallocation of hedge fund investments back to levels seen in mid-2023.

Varma, Finland’s largest hedge fund investor and the largest of the four pension insurance companies, posted a 6.1 percent return on its hedge fund portfolio for the first half of 2024. The portfolio stood at €10.4 billion or 16.8 percent of Varma’s total portfolio at the end of June, up from 16 percent at the end of 2023, reflecting both strong returns and an additional estimated €350 million in net investments during the first half of the year.

Finland’s largest pension fund, Keva, saw a 7.3 percent return on its hedge fund investments in the first half of 2024, growing its allocation from €4.54 billion at the end of 2023 to €4.84 billion by mid-2024. This allocation represents 7.1 percent of Keva’s €68.5 billion portfolio. The State Pension Fund of Finland also enjoyed strong returns from hedge fund investments, achieving a 5.9 percent gain on this segment of the portfolio, which totaled just under €1 billion at the end of June this year. The State Pension Fund’s team highlighted an “excellent” first half for hedge funds, with most investment styles performing well, especially quantitative and equity-focused funds. However, macro funds produced more modest returns, facing difficulties in navigating interest rate and commodity markets.

Ilmarinen, the second-largest of the four pension insurance companies with €60.5 billion in assets, achieved a 4.7 percent return on its hedge fund investments in the first half of 2024. Ilmarinen has €5.3 billion or 8.7 percent of its portfolio allocated to hedge funds at the mid-point of the year. Veritas, the smallest of the four pension insurers, reported a return of 3.7 percent return for the first two quarters of 2024. Veritas had 10.5 percent of its portfolio allocated to hedge funds at the end of June.

Subscribe to HedgeBrev, HedgeNordic’s weekly newsletter, and never miss the latest news!

Our newsletter is sent once a week, every Friday.

Eugeniu Guzun
Eugeniu Guzun
Eugeniu Guzun serves as a data analyst responsible for maintaining and gatekeeping the Nordic Hedge Index, and as a journalist covering the Nordic hedge fund industry for HedgeNordic. Eugeniu completed his Master’s degree at the Stockholm School of Economics in 2018. Write to Eugeniu Guzun at eugene@hedgenordic.com

Latest Articles

Origo’s Johansson Returns to Sohn Conference with High-Conviction Pick

Swedish stock-picking boutique Origo Fonder is gaining fresh recognition following a strategic transformation, strong performance, and growing assets. The firm’s evolution into an “Origo...

Commodities Lift CTAs Amid Turmoil

In June 2025, the NHX CTA Index was up as losses in stocks and bonds were outweighed by profits in commodities, but briefly erupting...

Finserve Global Security Fund Boosts Quant Edge with Martin Redgård

Under lead portfolio manager Joakim Agerback, the Finserve Global Security Fund has successfully capitalized on the global surge in defense, cybersecurity, and space investments...

Visio Allocator Storms Back After Difficult March

After posting the worst monthly performance in its 15-year history with a 13.7 percent decline in March, the team behind the multi-strategy Visio Allocator...

Sissener Expands Investment and Sales Teams with Senior Hires

Just months after bringing on Mads Andreassen as Investment Manager, Norwegian fund boutique Sissener AS continues to expand its team with two key additions....

Fenja Capital Deepens Bench as Analyst Moves to Full-Time Role

After earning his Master’s degree in Economics from Aalborg University, Anders Madsen has transitioned from a part-time role to a full-time analyst position at...

Allocator Interviews

In-Depth: High Yield

Voices

Request for Proposal

- Advertisement -
HedgeNordic
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.