Denmark’s AkademikerPension has achieved strong returns for its members in the first half of 2024, citing strong economic indicators and the prospect of interest rate cuts and falling inflation as the main drivers.

As a result, the global stock market saw large increases in the first half of the year, leading to strong returns. For AkademikerPension members opting for Alfa medium risk with +15 years to retirement, the result was 9.3 per cent. More than nine out of 10 members with Alfa have chosen medium risk.

"As a pension company designed to create good returns for our members, we can only be very pleased with this year's half-year return. With inflation still high, war and geopolitical turmoil, and a US presidential election on the horizon, it was by no means a given that the stock market would behave this way," AkademikerPension investment director, Anders Schelde, said.

The pension fund also highlighted the strong performance of the Danish stock market, which increased by 8.9 per cent.

"We have seen both a good performance in stable equities, with Novo Nordisk in the lead, but also great returns from certain cyclical equities, whose price development has been favoured by an economy that has been stronger than expected," Schelde said.

However, Schelde does not want to predict returns for the whole year. Mostly for reasons of principle, but also because the markets are still very unpredictable according to him.

"The war in Ukraine, the situation in Gaza and many other geopolitical tensions make it extremely difficult to predict anything. And added to the US presidential election, we are still facing a high degree of uncertainty in both the fixed income and equity markets. That's why I'm extremely pleased with the current half-year return," he concluded.

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