Sweden’s AP6 is concluding its operations after having contributed SEK 72.5bn to the pension system since its inception in 1996.

The pension fund, which invests in private assets, will be merged into AP2 from 1 January 2026, transferring its assets and operations into the main buffer fund system.

Its SEK 72.5bn contribution to Sweden’s pension system correlates to a 700 per cent return since 1996.

Furthermore, in the first eight months of 2025, its final year of operation, AP6 achieved a return of 7.5 per cent, equating to a profit of SEK 5.8bn.

AP6 CEO, Katarina Staaf, described 2025 as a “special year” in other respects besides the closure of AP6.

“The listing and sale of Asker Healthcare Group, one of the most successful co-investments AP6 has ever made, has generated a return of more than SEK 4bn for the pension system,” she stated.

The investment in Asker, with co-investor Nalka, has resulted in a profit of over SEK 4bn for the pension system.

Looking over its five-year return period, the pension fund has generated a 16 per cent return, well above its 7 per cent target.

All sub-portfolios have an average return well above 15 per cent; the buyout portfolio has achieved a 22.7 per cent return, the venture/growth portfolio 16.3 per cent and the secondary portfolio 18.6 per cent, on average over five years.

The average total return for the entire investment portfolio (excluding liquidity) is 21.8 per cent, and fund capital amounted to SEK 82.9bn, as at the end of August 2025.

Currently, AP6 is the second largest investor in private equity in Sweden after Skandia and the fifth largest investor in the Nordic region, according to Arkwright's evaluation (on behalf of the government) of the AP funds for 2024.

AP6, together with Skandia, co-founded Creandum and was an early investor in the development of Spotify, a very good investment for Sweden's pensioners via AP6.

Staaf said she is “proud” of what AP6 has achieved for the benefit of the buffer fund system and “the role we have played in the venture capital market, which has contributed to Sweden’s success in this area”, and thanked staff at the fund.

AP6’s activities will cease on 31 December, and Staaf along with the fund’s employees, will leave the fund on this date, when AP6's board of directors' term of office also expires.

In October, it was revealed that AP6 and AP2 are at odds over the process of integration ahead of the funds’ merger in January 2026.

AP6 said it has submitted “detailed information” to AP2 and the special coordinator appointed by the government, Eva-Lena Norgren, showing that the Swedish pension system risks losing up to SEK 70bn over a 10-year period as a result of the merger.

However, it noted that Norgren has “chosen to support AP2's views and has so far had no objections to the path chosen by AP2”.

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