Swedish pension company Skandia made a return of 3.1 per cent on its traditional life portfolio in the first half of 2023, its half-year report has revealed.

This marks a 7.9 percentage point increase from the -4.8 per cent return on the portfolio during the first half of last year.

Total managed capital in the traditional life portfolio amounted to SEK 576bn, up from SEK 564bn at the end of 2022.

Its five-year average return was 5.6 per cent, while its solvency ratio increased by 1 percentage point in H1 2023 to 213 per cent.

Commenting on the results, Skandia CEO, Frans Lindelöw, noted that, of the assets in the life portfolio, listed equities produced the best returns as the weaker Swedish krona meant that investments in mainly foreign equities developed well.

“The first half of 2023 has been characterised by rising interest rates and high inflation, which has affected both us as a company and our customers,” he continued.

“We have a long-term investment strategy and a good spread of risk in the life portfolio, and the return in the first half of the year has been stable.

“Through our investments, we also strive to create social benefits and contribute positively to climate change in line with the Paris Agreement.

“We continue to realise our climate roadmap, where we will reduce our fossil holdings by 75 per cent and double our green investments in the traditional life portfolio until 2025, compared to 2018.

“Furthermore, Skandia will invest SEK 40bn in climate investments by 2030, for example in green infrastructure.”

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