Sampension looks to invest further in real estate and forestry
Written by Sunniva Kolostyak
13/08/2019
Danish pensions administrator Sampension is interested in investing further in real assets such as real estate and forestry due to the low bond returns.
The administrator, which manages the assets of academic funds ISP Pensions, the Architects’ Pension Fund and PJD Pensions, said the very low interest rates and the uncertain global market forces Sampension to look for new and creative ways to invest.
This has led the pensions company to look for alternatives, including real assets, Sampension CIO Henrik Olejasz Larsen said.
“The equities we are looking for are within the areas of real estate, forestry or other types of real assets which are a bit harder to invest in. They require more research but are assets we have an expectation of being able to remain more stable and provide better returns than normal bonds are able to, at the moment.”
Larsen said interest rates have over a short period of time dropped to a very low level and, in some areas, interest rates are either close to zero or negative. This, he said, points toward structural and long-term issues, but also the current international trade uncertainties.
“We will have to be creative, and we are sadly not the only ones looking for equities that can provide a slightly stable return,” Larsen noted.
“We are composing our portfolio to get our savings to grow as much as possible. And when bonds are providing zero or a negative rate, we are of course looking to invest more in equities, but they are fluctuating massively, so we are therefore looking for other types of equities,” he explained.
