Swedish pension company AMF introduced a new guarantee model and converted SEK 9.3bn of accumulated surplus into guarantees in 2023, according to its annual report and sustainability report.

The pension company also increased the guarantee for paid-in premiums to 100 per cent, and distributed SEK 1.2bn to around 1.7 million customers without repayment protection. This ensures a fair distribution of surpluses arising from large inheritance tax gains, mainly in the SAF-LO contract area.

As previously reported, the pension company achieved a total return of 7.8 per cent of investments in 2023 up from -8.6 per cent last year.

The company’s average annual return over the past five years has increased from 5.6 per cent to 6.9 per cent in 2023, with its 10-year average annual return decreasing slightly from 7 per cent to 6.9 per cent. The solvency ratio also fell from 228 per cent to 220 per cent during the year.

AMF said its listed shares showed the strongest development, rising by 15.8 per cent. Furthermore, other asset classes had a positive return; interest-bearing securities increased by 5.4 per cent and alternative assets increased by 5.2 per cent.
"The year that lies behind us was very much characterised by unrest and uncertainty in the world. The Swedish economy weakened, interest rates rose for a long time and many companies and households have had an increasingly tough time,” said AMF CEO, Johan Sidenmark.

“At the same time, the stock market rebounded during the year, after a really tough 2022, and the Riksbank chose to leave the policy rate unchanged at its December meeting for the first time in almost two years. Despite the turbulence and the weakening economy, we were able to deliver a positive return of 7.8 per cent to our savers at the end of the year,” he added.

The AMF group manages SEK 800m in equities, property, fixed income, and alternative assets for around four million savers.

---