Finland’s state fund VER reports 9.3% return for 2025

The State Pension Fund of Finland (VER) made a market-value-weighted return of 9.3 per cent in 2025, up from 9 per cent in 2024.

Publishing its full-year results, VER said its real rate of return was 9.1 per cent for 2025, up from 8.2 per cent in 2024.

Over a longer period, the pension fund’s average nominal rate of return over the past 10 years was 5.9 per cent and real return 3.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the average nominal five-year return was 6.5 per cent and the real return was 3 per cent.

At the end of 2025, the market value of the VER’s assets amounted to €25.8bn, up from €24.2bn at the end of 2024.

Broken down, fixed income instruments accounted for 39.2 per cent, equities 55.6 per cent and other investments 7.9 per cent of the portfolio. The rest of the effect of risk-adjusted allocation was due to derivatives, VER said.

VER’s two largest asset classes, liquid fixed-income investments and listed equities, delivered positive returns in 2025.

The return on liquid fixed income instruments was 4.3 per cent, and that of listed equities was 15.4 per cent. Of the other asset classes, the best performance was put in by non-listed equities at 28.6 per cent, as well as hedge funds and systematic strategies at 11.3 per cent.

VER CEO, Timo Löyttyniemi, said: “For investors, 2025 was a good year. While economic and geopolitical uncertainties persisted, ultimately the investment market performed well across all asset classes. Share prices developed exceptionally well during the year, with listed shares yielding returns of over 15 per cent.

“At times, US customs policy and tariff negotiations were important drivers in the market, but relaxed monetary policy provided sufficient momentum for the market.”

He added that VER’s funding ratio reached 26.5 per cent at the end of 2025.

However, he warned that decisions made at the government’s mid-term economic policy review and budget negotiations will “undermine VER's risk-bearing capacity and postpone the schedule for greater risk-taking”.

Furthermore, in 2025, VER’s expenditure totalled approximately €5.6bn. As VER contributes 42 per cent towards these expenses to the government budget, the transfer to the budget amounted to approximately €2.4bn.

VER received approximately €1.7bn in pension contributions during 2025.

At the end of 2025, VER’s liabilities amounted to €97.8bn, while the funding ratio was 26.5 per cent. The Financial Statements will be adopted by the Ministry of Finance in April 2026.



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