Finnish earnings-related pension provider Elo returned €2.7bn (8 per cent) for the first three quarters of 2026, up from €1.4bn (4.5 per cent) in the same period last year, according to its interim results.

Elo’s total result for the first three quarters of 2026 was €1.1bn, while the market value of investments was €36.7bn, up from €34.4bn at the end of 2025.

The 10-year average return on investments was 6.3 per cent, corresponding to a real return of 4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the solvency ratio stood at 126.4 per cent and the solvency capital was 1.5 times the solvency limit.

These are improvements on the end of 2025 when the solvency ratio was 123.8 per cent and the solvency capital was 1.4 times the solvency limit.

Commenting on the results, Elo CEO, Carl Pettersson, said: “Good investment performance and solvency, as well as the positive development of the insurance business, strengthen our ability to take care of our customers' pension cover. At the same time, we can build the conditions for Finnish growth in the long term.”

Adding to this, Elo chief investment officer, Jonna Ryhänen, said: “The total return on investments was very strong, and the return trend continued to be positive in the third quarter.

“Equities, and especially listed shares, act as a key driver of return. The Finnish equity market, which focuses on export companies, performed slightly better than the broad global equity markets during the review period.”

Elo also reported that the Finnish pension reform strengthened the solvency position and created the conditions for a controlled increase in investment risk.

The provider explained that increasing the equity weight improves long-term return expectations and supports the financing of pension provision, but at the same time increases the fluctuation in the value of investments.

“We have increased the weight of equities by more than 10 percentage points in a controlled manner. At the end of September, the share of equity investments in investment assets rose to 68 per cent," Ryhänen commented.

This year has also seen the Finnish economy enter a stronger growth phase, supported by exports, investments and gradually recovering consumption. This recovery is expected to strengthen business operating conditions and the operating environment for occupational pension insurance.

In line with this development, Elo invested almost €50m in 2026 in companies listing on the stock exchange as an anchor investor and made new growth investments totalling €154m.

The provider’s investments in Finnish growth companies total €1bn, which corresponds to approximately 3 per cent of its investment portfolio.

In addition to this, the results showed that all sales indicators for both Self-Employed Persons' Pensions Act (YEL) and Employees' Pensions Act (TyEL) insurance were positive.

At the end of September, Elo managed 45,300 TyEL insurance policies and 83,500 YEL insurance policies, with insured employees and self-employed persons totalling 473,100.

"We have strengthened both customer acquisition and customer retention in the active transmission market. In addition to smooth transactions, our customers receive practical and data-based services for anticipating and managing work ability risks," Pettersson concluded.

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