Restricted by the regulatory requirements to invest domestically, Iceland’s Stafir pushes for less controls, writes Reeta Paakkinen

Norway’s longest running occupational pensions company has sailed through the crisis with solid growth, writes Peter Carvill

After a previously poor performance, pensions company KPA has made a marked improvement, writes Caroline Liinanki

After one of the country’s worst performances in 2008, Denmark’s Bankpension is sticking to its long-term strategy, writes Caroline Liinanki

After suffering relatively moderate damage in the crisis, SPP adheres to Storebrand’s cautious approach and posts gains, writes Hjalmar Tjan

Norway’s typically conservative Vital is planning to more than double its exposure to global equities, writes James Redgrave

The Finnish Broadcasting Company’s pension fund has seen the worst of the crisis, but is wary of market growth, writes Reeta Paakkinen

The Finnish farmers’ pension fund has made a strong comeback in the first half of the year by resisting radical change, writes Reeta Paakkinen

After restructuring its investment department, Danish PenSam is now overhauling its entire strategy, write Hjalmar Tjan and John Foster

The fund for Norway’s largest council hopes to spread its bets equally between asset classes to counter the downturn, writes Hjalmar Tjan.

Swedish Match is continuing to spread its risk by adding more alternatives to its two pension fund portfolios. Caroline Liinanki finds out more.

Finnish Veritas remains prudent in the downturn while keeping an open mind on new areas, writes Reeta Paakkinen

Despite suffering a big loss last year, the Danish engineers’ pension fund is still looking to diversify, writes Spencer Anderson

The Danish pension fund for early childhood teachers prepares for a risk-averse year, writes Hjalmar Tjan

The Swedish architects’ fund has shed its bad managers and changed management style for 2009. Caroline Liinanki investigates

Iceland's Stapi emerges from the wreckage intact, thanks to its conservative policies, writes Spencer Anderson

Danish pensions company PFA is changing all aspects of its operation to help prevent losses, writes Hjalmar Tjan

With modest but comparatively impressive results, KLP plays it safe to maintain its top market share, writes Spencer Anderson

After months of equity aversion, some Swedish investors are regaining an appetite for the asset class, writes Caroline Liinanki

Despite a challenging domestic climate, Iceland’s Gildi is faring better than its competitors, writes Caroline Liinanki.

Despite coming second to last among Finnish pension companies in 2008, Ilmarinen is standing its ground, writes Caroline Liinanki.

Rather than playing it safe, PensionDanmark has met the tough times with shapeshifting tactics, writes Caroline Liinanki.

After weathering the storm and beating its benchmark, Sweden’s first national buffer fund welcomes aboard a new captain, writes Chris Newlands.

Danish fund Sampension is diversifying and will drop its weighty bond allocation for more flexible investments, writes Caroline Liinanki

After a lacklustre year, the Icelandic General Pension Fund is convinced private equity is the way to go, writes Caroline Liinanki

Taking different risks to avoid its weakness in times of high inflation, Danish ATP stands firm while keeping one eye on the US, writes Spencer Anderson.

While the 7 per cent alternatives limit has scuppered OPF’s plans, the fund still has ambitious targets, including private equity and hedge funds, writes Caroline Liinanki.

In a break from the traditionally conservative Swedish pension funds, Kåpan Pensioner – the fund for government employees – has ditched a large proportion of its bond holdings in favour of ‘quirky’ alternative allocations, including some outside of the established markets. Caroline Liinanki reports.

VR pension fund managed to post a solid performance in fairly difficult conditions. Its conservative outlook was also justified this year when its alternatives allocation failed to beat equities, writes Reeta Cevik.

Responsibility and sensibility have always been the watch words of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global. But with a dramatic increase in the fund’s equity allocation planned and a Shanghai office in the pipeline, it may be time to get more adventurous. Caroline Liinanki reports.

Danish fund Industriens Pension is enjoying the fruits of its labour, as good returns have enabled the fund to allocate more money into risky asset classes like alternatives. Caroline Liinanki finds out how it approached the asset class.

A low-yielding environment, combined with changing demographic patterns for the largely female workforce it insures, has forced Denmark’s PKA to work harder to match its liabilities. Reeta Cevik reports on how the firm is reassessing its investment portfolio to deliver positive returns.

Danica Traditional’s 2006 performance was disappointing after a buoyant 2005, but the fund’s chief investment officer says its problems are over. Reeta Cevik finds out how the firm’s risk management, diversification and foreign expansion have helped.

All but one of the Nordic region’s biggest pension funds saw returns fall last year, and worst-hit Denmark is blaming poor bond performance and reliance on derivatives. Reeta Cevik hears how investors are planning to dig themselves out of the unexpected downturn.

The restrictive investment guidelines in place at Etera when new CIO Mika Pesonen arrived did not suit his vision for the fund. He is now in the process of changing the guidelines to allow the scheme to take a more tactical approach and to keep up with its competitors. Chris Newlands reports.

The Danish Early Childhood Teachers pension fund is doing well thanks to limited immediate liabilities and the low average age of its members. Thomas Escritt finds out how it is enticing them over from a defined benefit to defined contribution system.

Veritas is looking to get the best of both worlds by preparing for long-term goals while keeping one eye on short-term opportunities. However, one of the fund’s guiding principles is to stick to what it knows and get the best out of the sectors it has mastered. Reeta Cevik reports.

Peter Norman, executive president of Sweden’s seventh AP fund, is an advocate of pure alpha, urging investment managers to create products that do not allow them to hide behind beta performance. Hugo Greenhalgh spoke to him about the fund’s alpha-beta split, the functioning of the PPM system and the fund’s future investment plans.

Bank Pension’s 2005 performance was impressive, but recent market turbulence has meant that they have struggled in the first half of this year. However, this well-diversified yet conservative fund has no intention of initiating any radical shake-ups. Reeta Cevik reports.

With the consolidation of Iceland’s second-pillar pension funds, LSJ Nordurlands expects to merge with other schemes in the near future, but it is determined to dominate post-merger. Iain Morse speaks to the country’s sixth largest pension fund on this and its investment strategy going forward.

Like many, Norske Shells Pensjonskasse has struggled with the cooling of the global markets. However, its desire to diversify into alternatives and equity investments has been hampered by a strict Norwegian regulatory environment. Reeta Cevik reports.

Finland’s largest mutual pension insurance company logged an impressive year-on-year return growth with a shift towards equities. And with recommendations being accepted to raise the equity component of the fund by 10 per cent, this could well be repeated again. Reeta Cevik reports

Reeta Cevik speaks to Tom Rathke, CFO of Vital, on the pension company’s four principles of investment, which include risk taking and a stringent monitoring of managers’ SRI activities