Sweden’s SH Pension has outlined plans for a new "slightly more aggressive" investment strategy, after its latest update revealed that the group achieved a "good return" in 2024.

The update showed that SH Pension's traditional insurance achieved a return of 9.1 per cent in 2024.

According to the update, the bonus rate averaged 5.7 per cent in 2024 and, at present, the bonus rate is as much as 6 per cent, and has been since the spring.

Commenting on the results, SH Pension CEO, Annelie Helsing, said: "2024 was a turbulent year with war, elections in the United States, disinformation and deliberate attempts to spread unrest.

“Despite this, our traditional insurance has continued to show strength with a really good return. And that is exactly the point, traditional insurance should be a safe and stable choice over time.”

The report suggested that a “strong” contributing factor to the good returns was exposure to global equities. This is mainly due to declining inflation, but also to expectations of expansionary economic policy in the US, among other countries.

SH Pension said that its savers received a further boost through the currency strategy it chose for foreign equities, meaning that even those customers who have unit-linked insurance received a good return.

In addition to this, the update said that at the end of the year, SH Pension decided on a new investment strategy that it expects will provide even better returns for its traditional insurance.

The strategy involves slightly more aggressive investments, without compromising security and stability.

Helsing added that its goal was to create a higher return over time than the large mutual alternatives, with the most important change being that it will gradually reduce the proportion of directly owned properties.

She explained that this would allow SH Pension the opportunity to continue investing in alternative investments.

“Real estate has been a good investment historically, but we believe that alternative investments can provide a higher return going forward and at the same time have a stabilising effect,” she continued.

“The change, which is now being initiated, also means that we will be able to reduce our costs and further strengthen the sustainability of our asset management.”

---