21/08/2012
By Adam Cadle
The largest earnings-related pension insurer and investor in Finland, Varma, has seen its investments generate a 3.4 per cent return in the first half of the year and also a strengthening in the company’s solvency according to its latest interim report.
The company, which is responsible for the statutory earnings-related pension cover of around 870,000 people, revealed that its highest returns were generated by private-equity investments at 10 per cent and unlisted equities at 7.6 per cent.
Within Varma’s investment portfolio itself, fixed-income investments weighting was 40 per cent, equity investments made up 31 per cent, real estate investments at 13 per cent and other investments made up 16 per cent of the portfolio.
Varma deputy CEO Hannu Tarvonen said: “The problems in the economy and uncertainty in the financial markets have continued beyond the reporting period. The Finnish earnings-related pension system is, however, reliable and financially sound. Varma’s main objective is to safeguard the company’s strong solvency, since it provides a good buffer against volatility in the markets.”
