Danish pension provider Velliv has delivered a profit of DKK 209m after tax in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025, its interim results have revealed, amid “massive” turmoil in the financial markets.

The provider said this profit was a “satisfactory” improvement compared to the same period last year when profit was DKK 100m.

Velliv said the results were positively affected by the fact that the overall insurance operation has improved.

The results also showed that the provider’s total payments were DKK 8.5bn in Q1 2025, up from DKK 8bn in Q1 2024, while payments increased by 6.5 per cent, due to a influx of new customers.

Velliv CEO, Kim Kehlet Johansen, said: "Velliv experienced a satisfactory progress in the first months of the year. A solid influx of new customers lifted total payments, while progress in insurance operations contributed to a doubling of profit for the period.

However, the results also highlighted a lower return on equity as a result of the turbulence in the capital markets that had a negative impact on the profit for the period.

“Political turmoil caused by divergent messages from the US hit global financial markets and negatively impacted customer returns over the quarter,” Johansen explained.

The provider said the political uncertainty, where both US tariffs and doubts about the Central Bank's independence have been on the agenda, created turmoil in global financial markets, especially from mid-March.

The results stated that the provider’s “good start” to the year was exchanged for negative returns for Q1. In Velliv, customers with savings in VækstPension Aktiv, Index and Aftryk received a return of between -2.2 and -2.7 per cent, which is at the good end of the market among commercial pension companies.

It said that the return also worsened in the first half of April following a “flare-up” of the tariff war but has since corrected so that its customers are now broadly in positive territory for the year.

Commenting on the turmoil, Velliv chief investment officer, Lea Vaisalo, said: “We entered 2025 with positive expectations for the market, but the political and financial turmoil intensified in Q1.

“However, investors' lack of confidence in the administration in the US, increased pressure on US interest rates and a weaker dollar have led to constructive measures from the White House. The temporary tariff pause between the US and China has created renewed confidence in the market in the short term, despite the fact that much remains uncertain.

“On the other hand, the uncertainty creates good investment opportunities that we expect to be able to take advantage of during 2025.”

Indeed, Velliv's new investment strategy and its “dynamic and data-driven” approach to the investment markets have meant that it has reduced the share of US equities in favour of European equities from the beginning of Q1.  

This resulted in a positive impact on customer returns, and using currency hedging against the US dollar has also benefited returns for all savings products.

Johansen said that despite the market turmoil, Velliv's customers have achieved a total positive return of DKK 22.1bn at the end of March 2025 over the past 15 months.

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