A turbulent and challenging first half of 2022
“The first half of 2022 was very challenging also from an historic perspective, with considerable market turmoil and not least sharply falling stock markets at the same time that interest rates have risen quickly. This development, of course, has not left AP4’s portfolio unscathed,” comments Niklas Ekvall, CEO of AP4.
“The return for the first half of the year was strongly negative, at -12.6%,” Niklas Ekvall continues. “In this context it must be kept in mind that AP4 is a very long-term investor and trying to make an evaluation of an individual half year is not meaningful. If we stretch out the horizon a bit to also include 2021, AP4’s portfolio has delivered a positive asset management result of SEK 19.1 billion.
“The spring of 2022 will have an obvious place in the history books. Once again, we have a war in Europe with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with enormous suffering for the Ukrainian people. Moreover, we are facing macroeconomic challenges with significantly higher inflation at the same time that economic growth is slowing down.
“AP4 regularly conducts analyses surrounding which asset allocation is best suited in relation to our obligations as a buffer fund for the income pension system. These show that AP4 needs a relatively high share of equities in our asset allocation in order to fulfil our mission in the best way over the long term. However, this means that we also need to be prepared for a situation in which we may have comparatively large fluctuations in our result from one year to another, and also to have a tolerance for large, negative results during individual years. However, as a buffer fund in the income pension system, we have a very long investment horizon and thereby also a good ability to withstand periods of large market movements. This ability to act long-term is a major asset for us during periods of difficult, disorderly and turbulent markets of the type we experienced during the first six months of this year. The fact is that in a long-term perspective, many good investments are done during difficult market conditions rather than in such a strong financial market that we saw at the end of 2021,” concludes Niklas Ekvall, CEO of AP4.
Key ratios for AP4’s operations |
30 June 2022 |
30 June 2021 |
31Dec 2021 |
Fund capital at end of period, SEK bn |
459.1 |
489.8 |
527.6 |
Net result for the period, SEK bn |
-66.6 |
44.5 |
85.7 |
Net flow to national pension system, SEK bn |
-2.0 |
-4.2 |
-7.5 |
Asset management costs, operating expenses, full year basis, % |
0.05 |
0.06 |
0.05 |
Asset management costs, commission expenses, full year basis, % |
0.03 |
0.03 |
0.03 |
Total asset management costs, full year basis, % |
0.08 |
0.09 |
0.08 |
Return, total portfolio, before costs, % |
-12.6 |
10.0 |
19.3 |
Return, total portfolio, after costs, % |
-12.6 |
9.9 |
19.2 |
Real return after costs, % 1 |
-16.5 |
8.8 |
15.3 |
Annualised return after costs, 5 years, % |
7.5 |
11.5 |
11.6 |
Annualised return after costs, 10 years, % |
9.7 |
10.6 |
11.8 |
Currency exposure, % |
19.9 |
21.0 |
20.9 |
1 The CPI for June 2022 is an estimate, since this figure was not yet available at the time of publication of the interim report.
Contacts
Karoline HammarKommunikationschef
Tel:08-46 8 787 75 53karoline.hammar@ap4.seImages
Links
About Fjärde AP-fonden
AP4:s uppdrag är att bidra till ekonomisk trygghet för dagens och morgondagens pensionärer genom att förvalta en del av det allmänna pensionssystemets buffert. AP4:s långsiktiga perspektiv, ansvarstagande som ägare och stora engagemang för hållbarhet skapar möjligheter för hög avkastning till låg kostnad. På så sätt verkar AP4 för tryggare pensioner.
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Latest releases from Fjärde AP-fonden
Good return in the first half of 202426.8.2024 10:26:32 CEST | Press release
The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's (AP4) return for the first half of 2024 amounted to 6.9 per cent after costs. As of the end of June 2024, AP4's fund capital amounted to SEK 533.3 billion, compared with SEK 499.6 billion at the beginning of the year. Profit for the first half of the year was SEK 34.6 billion. During the same period, SEK 0.9 billion was transferred net to the pension system.
God avkastning första halvåret 202426.8.2024 10:25:03 CEST | Pressmeddelande
Fjärde AP-fondens (AP4) avkastning för första halvåret 2024 uppgick till 6,9 procent efter kostnader. AP4:s fondkapital uppgick per sista juni 2024 till 533,3 miljarder kronor, att jämföra med 499,6 miljarder kronor vid årets början. Resultatet för första halvåret blev 34,6 miljarder kronor. Under samma period överfördes netto 0,9 miljarder kronor från AP4 till pensionssystemet.
AP Funds strengthen the Swedish income pension system by adding SEK 142 billion5.3.2024 09:10:00 CET | Pressmeddelande
The First-Fourth AP Funds performed well in 2023 and strengthened the financial position of the income pension system by SEK 142 billion. The result corresponds to an average return of 8.1 per cent. At year-end, the four funds managed total assets of SEK 1,880 billion. The net payments of the AP Funds to the pension system totalled SEK 19 billion. This contributes strongly to the stability of the income pension system and its mission to maximise benefits for current and future pensioners.
AP-fonderna stärker det svenska inkomstpensionssystemet med 142 miljarder kronor5.3.2024 09:10:00 CET | Pressmeddelande
AP-fonderna (AP1-AP4) summerar ett bra resultat för 2023 och stärker inkomstpensionssystemets finansiella ställning med 142 miljarder kronor. Resultatet motsvarar en genomsnittlig avkastning på 8,1 procent. Totalt förvaltade de fyra fonderna vid årsskiftet 1 880 miljarder kronor. AP-fondernas nettoutbetalningar till pensionssystemet var 19 miljarder kronor. Detta resultat bidrar starkt till inkomstpensionssystemets stabilitet och uppdraget att vara till största möjliga nytta för dagens och morgondagens pensionärer.
Good returns in uncertain times23.2.2024 08:23:33 CET | Press release
The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP4) reports a good return of 9.6 per cent after costs for the full year 2023. With a profit of SEK 43.9 billion, fund capital increased to SEK 499.6 billion after SEK 4.8 billion was transferred net to the pension system during the year. The portfolio's carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 11 per cent compared to 2022 and AP4 has reduced emissions by a total of 65 per cent since 2010. AP4 takes responsibility as owner and served on 56 nomination committees during the year.
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