AP4 received three awards and four nominations at the IPE Awards 2021, which were presented in December, at an award ceremony in Barcelona.
The First, Second, Third and Fourth AP funds will jointly conduct a strategic review of the Council on Ethics, as ESG and responsible investment practices are increasingly integrated into the AP Funds' asset management strategies and objectives. In connection to this, John Howchin, Secretary General of the Council on Ethics since 2009, announces that he is leaving his role.
At the IPE Real Estate Awards 2021 AP4 won two fine awards in the categories "Global Estate Investor of the Year" and "Investment in Europe".
The Impact Taskforce, created under the UK's G7 presidency, presented at the July meeting who its members are. Marcus Svedberg, investment strategist at AP4 is the only Swedish representative.
At the IPE Real Assets & Infrastructure Global Investor Awards that were held in May 2021, AP4 won an award in the “Indirect Strategy” category
The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s (AP4) return for the first half of 2021 was 10.0 before costs, and 9.9% after costs. AP4’s total fund capital as per 30 June 2021 was SEK 489.8 billion, compared with SEK 449.4 billion at the start of the year. The result for the first half of 2021 was SEK 44.5 billion. During the same period, net payments from AP4 to the pension system totalled SEK 4.2 billion. The portfolio’s active return during the first half of the year was higher than the return for AP4’s benchmark portfolio, by 0.8 percentage points. Currency exposure at the end of the period was 21.0% of fund capital, which was unchanged since the beginning of the year.
We are very happy and proud that Mats Andersson, the former CEO of AP4, has been awarded the French Legion of Honour at a ceremony at the French Embassy in Stockholm.
4 to 1 Investments KB, a company owned jointly by the Swedish National Pension (AP) Funds (AP1, AP2, AP3, AP4), is investing USD 400 million in Northvolt by participating in $2.75 billion private placement.
The Council on Ethics sees clear results from collaborating on impact processes. In 2020, the privacy issues of tech companies and impact on climate transition were high on the agenda. It is clear that collaboration is crucial for having an impact on important issues requiring development and change.
A group of institutions including AP4, IMAS Foundation, Industriens Pension and KLP have formed an investment alliance partnership with Arjun Infrastructure Partners to invest in low-risk European infrastructure.
After a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and exceptional market movements, AP4’s return for 2020 ended at 9.6% after costs. Successful asset management contributed 2.4 percentage points to the return. The net result for the year was SEK 39.3 billion, and during the year the fund capital increased to SEK 449.4 billion after a total of SEK 7.9 billion was paid out to the pension system. Total costs amounted to 0.09% of assets under management. AP4 has cut the carbon footprint of its investments in the listed equities portfolio in half since 2010 and has now concretised new, ambitious climate targets aiming to once again halve the carbon footprint by 2030 with a view to have net-zero emissions by 2040 at the latest.