Aside from the credit crunch, it seems investors have one thing on their minds at the moment: emerging market equities.

PKA, the €16bn Danish pension fund company, is looking to add to its infrastructure portfolio and is planning to include infrastructure funds specifically focused on emerging markets.

Jussi Laitinen, chief investment officer at Finnish pension insurance company Ilmarinen, is to leave the firm in April to become chief executive officer at Aktia Savings Bank.

The Central Bank of Iceland has given no indication it will cut interest rates in the spring, despite industry calls for a reduction.

On February 14, the bank voted to keep interest rates at 13.75 per cent, one of the highest in Europe.

AP 4, the Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund, has once again turned in an unsatisfactory investment performance, with total returns of 1.8 per cent.

Iceland’s €300m Engineers’ Pension Fund has said it will increase its exposure to alternatives in an effort to fight recent market volatility.

Optimism for future world growth prospects has weakened significantly over the last six months.

Iceland’s €1bn Stapi pension fund has increased its exposure to fixed income and absolute return strategies, at the expense of its equity portfolio.

More than half of pension funds in Norway, Sweden and Denmark intend to increase their holdings in non-listed real estate over the next five years.

Finnish pension and insurance funds are reversing a 10-year non-domestic investment trend by increasing their allocations to the Finnish market. The surprise findings are part of a Tela report.

Mats Guldbrand, former head of equities at AMF Pension, has joined the investment committee of the Swedish pension fund for architects, Arkitekternas Pensionskassa.

Investors in Danish equities will be content. According to the latest figures from ABN Amro’s Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2008, Danish stocks returned a respectable 7 per cent in real terms over the course of last year.

Investors feel let down by the Finnish government’s decision to limit new property investment regulations to residential builds. Caroline Liinanki talked to several industry experts about their hopes for further consultation to bring about the inclusion of commercial real estate and infrastructure.

PPM, the Swedish premium pension authority, is having another go at reducing the number of funds listed on its platform. The firm now wants to introduce a limit of 25 funds for all managers. Currently, a parent company that owns more than one fund company can have up to 50 funds registered on the system.

With the country’s interest rates giving many global commentators vertigo and an ever-weakening Icelandic krona, there are tough decisions ahead for the Central Bank of Iceland as it faces increasing calls for change. But will any state interest rate reductions come too late to stablise the economy and how can Iceland ensure its financial leaders are not just papering over the cracks? Spencer Anderson reports.

The fallout from the US economic slowdown has truly hit home as this month’s survey reveals funds’ negative outlook on world buoyancy. Spencer Anderson investigates.

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.

Nrpn spoke to four non-domestic asset managers about their recent push into the area, and how they expect to succeed.

In response to the high level of investment in private equity assets by Danish pension funds, former prime minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, has spoken out against what he believes to be a risky proposition. Caroline Liinanki investigates one of Denmark’s hottest topics.

Danish pension and insurance funds cannot seem to get enough of private equity assets. But not everyone agrees that this is for the best. While demand for the sector has been strong, the asset class has come under fire for being too risky, not transparent enough, costly, and harmful to the job market.

As Nordic pension funds’ investment in emerging market equities continues to rocket, Chris Newlands finds out what is driving this demand and whether or not investors can expect sector returns to be as high in 2008 as they were in 2007.

While many EU countries are still seen as emerging markets, their vital statistics prove otherwise. Thomas Escritt investigates when a country stops emerging.

Specialist manager East Capital understands the intricacies of investing in emerging markets and tells Thomas Escritt of the dangers for an EM-hungry fund.

With markets in the Middle East steadily opening up their borders to foreign money, Spencer Anderson analyses the potential opportunities for European funds.

Mikael Angberg explains how to get the best results from a fixed income portfolio in a year that will surely see its fair share of ups and downs.