A typical Sampension customer with 15 years to retirement and moderate investment risk made a return of 11 per cent in 2025, compared to 9.2 per cent for a similar customer across other pension companies, a new report by analysis firm Nikolaj Holdt Mikkelsen has found.

Sampension deputy investment director, Jesper Nørgaard, described last year as “wild and turbulent” partly due to President Trump’s return to the White House.

"Even though the new American administration has brought increased global uncertainty, trade wars and, at times, severe turmoil in the financial markets, Danes can rejoice in the handsome returns on their pension savings last year,” he said.

He pointed out that this follows double-digit returns for many pension savers in both 2023 and 2024.

Nørgaard said a good year of returns was not predicted back in April when markets saw significant declines in the wake of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’.

"However, as has so often been the case before, the markets quickly recovered, and since then we have seen several stock markets reach new heights. This impressive comeback, particularly for US equities, has been a major contributor to this year's positive returns,” he said.

This, he noted, shows why it is important for pension savers to “keep a cool head” and not change the risk level of their pension savings investments during periods of sharp market declines.

"One lesson that the financial markets learned in 2025, and which may well be needed again in 2026, is to look through all the noise from Trump and the US administration, because that is unlikely to be a closed chapter in the new year.

“Instead, investors need to focus more on the real economy and company data, where two factors in particular may influence market developments in 2026: Namely, the questions of whether the American economy is cooling down and possibly heading for recession, and whether the growing concerns about an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble are justified,” he concluded

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