Finnish public sector pension provider Keva made a return of -0.2 per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, equivalent to -€0.2bn.

Publishing its Q1 results, the pension provider revealed that the market value of its investments ended the quarter at €74.1bn. This is up from €70.3bn at the same time last year.

In terms of asset class, private equity investments achieved a return of 2.8 per cent, hedge funds 1.6 per cent, and real estate investments (including real estate funds) 0.7 per cent.

However, the return on fixed income investments was 0 per cent, and on listed equities, –2.0 per cent.

Keva CEO, Jaakko Kiander, said the year started “very promisingly” for equity markets, but they took a “turn for the worse” upon the outbreak of the war in the Middle East.

“The decline in prices, however, appears to have remained limited and temporary. Still, the development of the global economy is hampered by persistent uncertainty caused by geopolitical tensions,” he added.

According to Keva CIO, Maaria Kettunen, the conflict has brought a great deal of uncertainty to the markets.

“It is still difficult to assess the ultimate damage to the global economy caused by the conflict. One key factor in terms of the impact is, in particular, how long the conflict will last. It is therefore likely that volatility in the markets will continue,” Kettunen noted.

During Q1, 43.8 per cent of Keva’s portfolio was allocated to listed equities and equity funds, 28.9 per cent to fixed income, 19.2 per cent to private equity, 6.7 per cent to real estate investments and 6.2 per cent to hedge funds. The impact of derivatives was 4.9 per cent.

Over the longer term, Keva’s returns have been strong. The cumulative capital-weighted real return since the start of funding (1988) up to the reporting date was 3.9 per cent per year.

The non-capital-weighted average real return of the corresponding period was 4.9 per cent. The non-capital-weighted real return for the past five years has been 1.4 per cent, and for the past 10 years, 3.7 per cent.

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