The CEO of the Third Swedish National Pension Fund (AP3), Kerstin Hessius, has announced her intention to step down at the end of 2022.

After 18 years in the position, her last day will be on 31 December 2022. AP3’s board of directors has begun the process of recruiting a new CEO.

“I have informed the board that this will be my last year with AP3. Today we have an extremely strong team and a robust strategy for managing our investment funds to generate maximum value for the Swedish pension system,” Hessius commented.

“At year-end I will have been CEO for over 18 years and have come to the conclusion that it is time to hand over the reins. It was not an easy decision. AP3 is a highly professional pension fund manager and it has been a privilege to work with such talented, responsible and dedicated colleagues.”

AP3 held fund capital of SEK 502bn at 31 December 2021. Last year the fund reported the best financial results in its 20-year history, recording a return of 20.7 per cent after expenses and a net result of SEK 86.8bn. In the past 10 years AP3 has generated an average annual return of 11.1 per cent.

Since 2009 the fund has paid in SEK 73bn to the state pension system and helped strengthen the system’s financial health. AP3 has delivered an average annual return of 7 per cent since inception in 2001. The income index, which governs pension contributions and indexing, has risen by 2.9 per cent per annum in that period.

AP3 chairman of the board, Christina Lindenius, said: “I and my fellow board members warmly thank Kerstin Hessius for her years of leadership at AP3. Kerstin’s wide-ranging experience of financial markets and her dedication to the Fund’s mission have played a valuable role in the management of the pension system’s capital buffer. Kerstin has also built a strong and highly professional organisation for which the board has now begun the process of recruiting a new CEO.”

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