Press releases and news

  • Press release

    Strong return in continued turbulent market

    With a return of 13.0% after costs, total fund capital increased to SEK 391.4 billion at the end of the first half of 2019. The portfolio’s active return during the first half of the year exceeded AP4’s benchmark portfolio by 1.7 percentage points. The half-year result amounted to SEK 45.2 billion. A net total of SEK 3.0 billion was paid out to the pension system during the first half of the year. Adjusted to a full-year basis, total costs amounted to 0.10% of average assets under management.

  • Press release

    New issues in focus during 2008 for The Council on Ethics

    For more than 10 years, the AP Funds’ Council on Ethics has exercised influence on the AP Funds’ global portfolio of listed companies to improve their environmental, human rights and corporate governance work through engagement and dialogue. During 2018, the engagement and efforts of the Council on Ethics have been directed at problem areas such as Facebook and human rights; the use of pesticides threatening the survival of bees; and the legalisation of cannabis in Canada and the emergence of listed cannabis companies. Other focus areas have been oil companies’ long-term climate work, deforestation in South America, and tailings dams in Brazil.

  • News

    Niklas Ekvall on Fiduciary Investors Symposium

    Niklas Ekvall participated in a panel discussion on this year Fiduciary Investors Symposium. The panel discussion was about Climate change integration and Niklas was accompanied by Salwa Boussoukaya-Nasr, CIO at Fonds de réserve pour les retraites.

  • News

    The Council on Ethics conducts a review of the standard for mine tailing dams

    The Church of England Pensions Board and the Council of Ethics of the Swedish National Pension Funds (the Council on Ethics) will represent investors through the industry organisation PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) in a joint initiative with ICMM (International Council on Mining & Metals) and the UN (UN Environment Program) with the aim of creating an international standard for mine tailing dams.

  • Press release

    A turbulent year, but active management delivered

    The return for the year was -0.1% before costs and -0.2% after costs. Active management contributed +2.3 percentage points to the return – a significant and important contribution during a year with weak market returns.

  • Press release

    The Council on Ethics of the Swedish National Pension Funds (AP Funds) recommends exclusion of Vale S A

    The Brazilian mining company Vale S.A has within a short timeframe been involved in two major accidents where tailings dams in Minas Gerais in Brazil has collapsed, with multiple fatalities and extensive environmental devastation. The Council, together with other investors, has conducted an extensive dialogue with Vale after the first accident at Mariana in late 2015. The focus has primarily been on ensuring that the company took responsibility for that accident but also that the company carried out a review regarding the safety of its other tailings dams in their operations.

  • Press release

    AP4 increases sustainability ambitions – divests from nuclear weapons and oil sand

    AP4 has long experience in integrating sustainability in its asset management operations. AP4 is at the forefront internationally and was recently ranked as the leading pension fund internationally when it comes to addressing climate change in asset management. AP4 is of the view that by taking responsibility as owner and by lowering the climate risk in the portfolio, AP4 can contribute to higher long-term sustainable returns.