Investors in Danish equities will be content. According to the latest figures from ABN Amro’s Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2008, Danish stocks returned a respectable 7 per cent in real terms over the course of last year.

Denmark is king, at least according to Aon’s third annual pension performance ranking of 25 of the 27 EU member states. The study, which measures the health of each country’s pensions system, saw Denmark top the table for the second year in a row. Italy fell seven places to finish last.

After half a decade trying to get to grips with interest rate derivatives, Danish pension funds are finally waking up to the prospect of more exotic alternatives, writes Thomas Escritt.

Danish life and pension funds are looking to move away from their relatively large bond holdings in favour of alternatives, according to consultancy Kirstein Finans.

nrpn spoke to four Danish pension funds about a difficult year for domestic returns and where they are finding yield.

Denmark has yet to change its tax legislation to avoid discriminating against life companies based outside the country, despite a recent European court ruling.

A new socially responsible emerging markets fund offers investors both a carrot and a stick to bring about changes in the governance of emerging market companies.

Farmakonomer has topped the performance tables for the second year running, while the architects’ fund has leap-frogged from forty-first position to third. Reeta Cevik examines the results of Kirstein Finans’ Life and Pensions study.

ATP, the €49bn Danish labour market supplementary pension scheme, has withdrawn plans to offer Folkebørsen, the electronic pension savings platform, as an investment option to Danish pension funds.

The second year of Folkebørsen, the Danish electronic savings platform, has started with a boom in emerging market equity funds. The platform, launched in January 2005, currently has assets totalling DKr50bn (€6.7bn). The scheme is managed by ATP, the €48.94bn Danish labour market supplementary pension scheme.

Velkommen til vinterudgaven af Nordic Region Pensions & Investment News, Financial Times Business’ særlige publikation for pensions- og investeringsbrancherne i de nordiske lande, som nu er gået ind i sit andet år.

Folkebørsen, the Danish electronic pension savings platform, is growing steadily after a cautious start. Indeed, the platform has even attracted interest from companies in Norway and Germany who are keen to

introduce similar systems to service their members.

nrpn spoke to four Danish investors about their current and future concerns.