Finance
Swedish pension fund Alecta cuts US Treasury holdings, citing policy uncertainty
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 21, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 21, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Swedish pension fund Alecta divests US Treasuries citing political risks, totaling 70-80 billion crowns. Danish fund follows suit.
STOCKHOLM, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Swedish pension fund Alecta has sold most of its holdings in U.S. Treasuries over the last year because of the increased risk and unpredictability of U.S. politics, the fund's chief investment officer said on Wednesday.
"Since the beginning of 2025, we have reduced our holdings in U.S. government bonds in several rounds, and together the reductions account for the majority of our holdings," Alecta's Chief Investment Officer Pablo Bernengo said in a statement to Reuters.
"We have also continued to maintain a high currency hedging ratio against the U.S. dollar," he said.
Bernengo, however, declined to comment on the exact amount sold.
Swedish business daily Dagens Industri reported, without identifying its sources, that Alecta sold 70 billion-80 billion Swedish crowns ($7.7 billion-8.8 billion) worth of U.S. Treasuries in the last year, out of a holding of 100 billion.
In his statement to Reuters, Bernengo did not specifically mention the heightened concern over U.S. international policy since the start of this year and threats of more trade tariffs.
These have revived market talk of the "Sell America" trade that first emerged last year when U.S. President Donald Trump began imposing tariffs.
The divestment was based on an assessment of the increased risk in U.S. government bonds and the dollar "related to the reduced predictability of the policy pursued in combination with large budget deficits and growing government debt," Bernengo's statement added.
On Tuesday, Danish pension fund AkademikerPension said it would sell its holding of U.S. Treasuries, worth some $100 million, by the end of this month, citing weak U.S. government finances.
($1 = 9.1115 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik and Barbara Lewis)
A pension fund is a type of investment fund that is established by an employer or organization to provide retirement income for employees. It collects contributions and invests them to grow the fund over time.
Investment risk is the possibility of losing money or not achieving the expected returns on an investment. It can arise from various factors, including market volatility and economic changes.
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