Sweden’s AP3 reports a record return of 20.7% for 2021

Sweden’s AP3 has reported a return of 20.7 per cent (after expenses) in 2021, its best annual result in its 20-year history.

The return equates to a net result of SEK 86.8bn, significantly higher than the SEK 37.3bn generated in 2020. The fund has delivered an average annual return of 11.1 per cent over the past 10 years. Fund capital stood at SEK 502,287m at the end of the year, an increase of SEK 79,313m from 2020.

AP3 has exceeded its long-term real return target, delivering an average annual real return of 5.5 per cent since inception in 2001. Over the year the fund made net payments of SEK 7,528 to the pension system. The asset management cost ratio was 0.08 per cent, of which operating expenses were 0.05 per cent.

The fund has made a positive contribution to the financial strength of the pension system, generating an average annual return of 7 per cent since 2001. The income index, which governs pension credits and indexing, has risen by an annual average of 2.9 per cent in this time.

AP3 CEO, Kerstin Hessius, commented: “We are proud to report an historic return of over 20 per cent and an increase in fund capital to more than SEK 500bn. We have grown from an initial portfolio of SEK 134bn in 2001 into a fund worth SEK 502bn today.

“During this time, we have paid out SEK 73bn to the pension system in our role as a source of buffer capital, and, at the same time, helping to ensure the financial health of the system for future generations.”

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