The regulators are making waves. Any day now the Norwegian ministry of finance is expected to unveil new investment regulations for pensions and insurance companies (see page 13). The move is expected to cut restrictions on equity and bond allocations and open up larger interest in alternatives.

Daniel Barr, chief economist at the PPM, has told nrpn that he expects the Swedish savings platform to introduce an annual fee for asset managers wishing to list funds.

Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER), the €12bn pension fund for Finnish state employees, is to double its exposure to emerging market equities from 5 per cent to 10 per cent of its equity portfolio, at the expense of European equities.

Pension and insurance funds expect US and Japanese equities to turn in negative returns over the next six months, according to nrpn’s quarterly investor survey, which polled 16 funds with more than €188bn under management.

Fifteen per cent of the savers in Sweden’s new white collar workers’ scheme (ITP) who made an active choice did so because they felt any option was better than Alecta’s default fund.

A further 55 per cent believe making an active choice would secure them higher returns, according to a survey by Collectum, the administrative body of the ITP scheme.

AP 7’s recent SKr3bn (€320m) splash into environmentally friendly companies and technology is very likely to expand further, according to the fund’s executive vice president Richard Gröttheim.

Pioneer Investments, which recently poached Aon Consulting’s Swedish head Mats Langensjö to become its head of institutional business in the Nordic region, is considering the possibilility of entering into a tie-up with a local bank.

The €4.5bn Oslo Pensjonsforsikring (OPF) is planning to increase its allocation to alternatives and is interested in an exposure to commodities. The fund is taking advantage of new investment rules which are expected to cut the limits on equities and bonds and open up a larger allocation to alternatives.

Denmark’s €58.8bn Labour Market Supplementary Pension Scheme (ATP) will add tenders for infrastructure and real estate mandates in 2008, its chief investment officer for beta Henrik Jepsen told nrpn.

Over the past year ATP has cut its exposure to short term bonds and moved more of its assets into commodities, index-linked bonds, real estate and infrastructure.

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund has begun interviewing for a replacement for its executive director, Knut Kjaer, and confirmed that his replacement could be non-Norwegian.

Siv Meisingseth, director of communications at the fund, said: “We are looking and we have started the process with the help of a Swedish head hunter.”

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.

The financial and insurance supervisory bodies in Finland are finally set to merge after more than 10 years of talks, but how will the move affect pension funds, what level of power will the new organisation have and what does the industry think of the move? Caroline Liinanki reports

The Swedish government is to consider a similar structure for the AP funds’ ethical investments as that adopted by the Norwegian Government Pension Fund. The ministry of finance has set up a committee to look into the AP funds’ ethical investments and their policies for corporate governance. The structure of the Norwegian fund is strongly touted as a possible blueprint.

New investment regulations for Norwegian pension and insurance companies will cut the limits on equities and bonds and open up a larger allocation to alternatives, the market expects. Some funds have already started planning how to take advantage of the new investment changes, which are expected to be announced by the ministry of finance this month (December).

Funds are increasingly negative about the future, but continue to increase exposure to equities and alternative investments in the hope that the market will recover. Spencer Anderson investigates

Despite being the oldest pension fund in Finland, the Pharmacy scheme uses a bold investment strategy, taking risks for bigger returns and aiming to maintain strong buffers, writes Caroline Liinanki

Finnish state fund Valtion Eläkerahasto is pushing for a greater proportion of investment in alternatives and is planning to invest in another two infrastructure funds this year, as well as moving away from European equities and into emerging markets. Caroline Liinanki speaks to the fund’s managing director

The AP funds have come under fire from the government for failing to meet targets, but chief executive officer of AP 3 Kerstin Hessius maintains the fund has performed well and a lower risk approach will pay off in the long run. Caroline Liinanki reports

As traditional asset classes become more unpredictable, second hand life policies are emerging as a popular alternative investment. But what are the ethical dilemmas surrounding this, and should funds invest in the asset class? Caroline Liinanki finds out

Sweden’s hedge fund industry punches far above its weight. But alpha/beta separation and an appetite for long-term inflation hedging may see institutional investors favouring real or long-duration assets, especially private equity and property. Martin Steward reports

Peter Leane, managing director Nordic region at BlackRock, examines how a portable alpha framework can be a valuable substitute to passive investing

Aberdeen Asset Management’s head of SRI research, Cindy Rose, examines the drivers behind the growth in demand for socially responsible investment products and looks at how investment managers’ approaches are evolving

It is survival of the fittest as asset managers saturate the market with new 130/30 vehicles, but is demand from funds really that big or are businesses simply jumping on a bandwagon to make some quick cash? Kristen Paech reports

So a flood of new 130/30 products is hitting the market, but there is no way of assessing past performance. The vast range available and the speed at which products are being launched also makes it increasingly difficult to differentiate between managers. Kristen Paech finds out which fund to invest in