Danish fund Sampension is diversifying and will drop its weighty bond allocation for more flexible investments, writes Caroline Liinanki

After a lacklustre year, the Icelandic General Pension Fund is convinced private equity is the way to go, writes Caroline Liinanki

Taking different risks to avoid its weakness in times of high inflation, Danish ATP stands firm while keeping one eye on the US, writes Spencer Anderson.

While the 7 per cent alternatives limit has scuppered OPF’s plans, the fund still has ambitious targets, including private equity and hedge funds, writes Caroline Liinanki.

In a break from the traditionally conservative Swedish pension funds, Kåpan Pensioner – the fund for government employees – has ditched a large proportion of its bond holdings in favour of ‘quirky’ alternative allocations, including some outside of the established markets. Caroline Liinanki reports.

VR pension fund managed to post a solid performance in fairly difficult conditions. Its conservative outlook was also justified this year when its alternatives allocation failed to beat equities, writes Reeta Cevik.

Responsibility and sensibility have always been the watch words of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global. But with a dramatic increase in the fund’s equity allocation planned and a Shanghai office in the pipeline, it may be time to get more adventurous. Caroline Liinanki reports.

Danish fund Industriens Pension is enjoying the fruits of its labour, as good returns have enabled the fund to allocate more money into risky asset classes like alternatives. Caroline Liinanki finds out how it approached the asset class.

A low-yielding environment, combined with changing demographic patterns for the largely female workforce it insures, has forced Denmark’s PKA to work harder to match its liabilities. Reeta Cevik reports on how the firm is reassessing its investment portfolio to deliver positive returns.

Danica Traditional’s 2006 performance was disappointing after a buoyant 2005, but the fund’s chief investment officer says its problems are over. Reeta Cevik finds out how the firm’s risk management, diversification and foreign expansion have helped.

All but one of the Nordic region’s biggest pension funds saw returns fall last year, and worst-hit Denmark is blaming poor bond performance and reliance on derivatives. Reeta Cevik hears how investors are planning to dig themselves out of the unexpected downturn.

The restrictive investment guidelines in place at Etera when new CIO Mika Pesonen arrived did not suit his vision for the fund. He is now in the process of changing the guidelines to allow the scheme to take a more tactical approach and to keep up with its competitors. Chris Newlands reports.

The Danish Early Childhood Teachers pension fund is doing well thanks to limited immediate liabilities and the low average age of its members. Thomas Escritt finds out how it is enticing them over from a defined benefit to defined contribution system.

Veritas is looking to get the best of both worlds by preparing for long-term goals while keeping one eye on short-term opportunities. However, one of the fund’s guiding principles is to stick to what it knows and get the best out of the sectors it has mastered. Reeta Cevik reports.

Peter Norman, executive president of Sweden’s seventh AP fund, is an advocate of pure alpha, urging investment managers to create products that do not allow them to hide behind beta performance. Hugo Greenhalgh spoke to him about the fund’s alpha-beta split, the functioning of the PPM system and the fund’s future investment plans.

Bank Pension’s 2005 performance was impressive, but recent market turbulence has meant that they have struggled in the first half of this year. However, this well-diversified yet conservative fund has no intention of initiating any radical shake-ups. Reeta Cevik reports.

With the consolidation of Iceland’s second-pillar pension funds, LSJ Nordurlands expects to merge with other schemes in the near future, but it is determined to dominate post-merger. Iain Morse speaks to the country’s sixth largest pension fund on this and its investment strategy going forward.

Like many, Norske Shells Pensjonskasse has struggled with the cooling of the global markets. However, its desire to diversify into alternatives and equity investments has been hampered by a strict Norwegian regulatory environment. Reeta Cevik reports.

Finland’s largest mutual pension insurance company logged an impressive year-on-year return growth with a shift towards equities. And with recommendations being accepted to raise the equity component of the fund by 10 per cent, this could well be repeated again. Reeta Cevik reports

Reeta Cevik speaks to Tom Rathke, CFO of Vital, on the pension company’s four principles of investment, which include risk taking and a stringent monitoring of managers’ SRI activities