This year will be remembered for the comeback of one asset class. While Nordic pension funds have previously been keen to diversify their investments into equities and alternatives at the expense of fixed income, the recent market crisis has made bond holdings reappear at the top of the investment agenda.

Sweden’s AP funds (AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4) have dumped shares valued at tens of millions of euros in companies that sell cluster bombs. The fund’s ethical council came to the decision after the country’s government endorsed the Wellington treaty on cluster bombs in May.

Amnesty International Norway is calling for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global to take a tougher stance on its bond investments by excluding government bond holdings in countries that are breaching human rights.

Lífeyrissjódur verkfrædinga, the Icelandic Engineers’ Pension Fund, has made its first foray into property.

In its first mandate win in the Nordic region, F&C Investments has been appointed to provide active engagement services for the Pædagogernes Pensionskasse (PBU), the DKr29.8bn (€4bn) Danish pension fund for early childhood teachers.

Nordic pension funds will continue to plough money into private equity, which remains one of the most attractive asset classes for the region’s funds.

400  The amount in millions of Danish kroner AP Pension recently invested into a credit fund. The DKr30bn (€4bn) fund had allocated only DKr230m to the asset class at the end of 2007.

Schroder Property is continuing its push into the Nordic region by adding more senior staff from its competitor Aberdeen Property Investors.

Sarah McPhee has been appointed chief executive of Swedish pension provider SPP and group director at Storebrand.

The combination of high inflation and the depreciation of the krona has created a stir in the Icelandic pension industry. Caroline Liinanki finds out what tactical allocations have been made.

Still battered from global economic turbulence, many Danish funds have been loath to go public about their declining solvency levels. The widespread drop in equity exposure, however, is no secret, writes Reeta Paakkinen.

Facing pressure from regulators, the press and the public, Sweden’s AP7 has embraced hedge fund replication to lower its vulnerability to hedge funds’ inherent risks, writes Spencer Anderson.

After a healthy boost to equities for over five years, Finnish investors have now bucked the trend by dumping the asset class in a risk-averse first half of 2008, writes Caroline Liinanki.

After a turbulent first half, Nordic pension funds are trying to change their luck by upping equities, private equity and cash holdings writes Hjalmar Tjan.

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.

With Iceland still reeling from the credit crunch and the future of the krona uncertain, Marinó Örn Tryggvason, Kaupthing’s head of institutional asset management, tells Caroline Liinanki why inflation-linked government bonds are still a good horse to back.

Despite setting the gold standard for responsible investment worldwide, the Nordic region is only now looking to apply it to property Caroline Liinanki investigates.

Institutional investors are experimenting with separating their alpha and beta return streams. In theory, writes Martin Steward, there are efficiency and risk-management payoffs – but is it as simple as it sounds?

Despite boasting the most volatile financial markets in Europe, the Turkish investment landscape is presenting some long-term opportunities. Caroline Liinanki investigates.

Peter Leane, head of the Nordic region and Elysia Tse, head of US Real Estate Research at BlackRock, examine the potential severity of the current slump in the US housing market.

Does the old saying in economics: “When the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold”, still hold true? Ramu Thiagarajan, managing director and head of DB Advisors’ Quantitative Research Center, sets out some research findings.

Wegelin’s Daniel Leveau, partner, and Magne Orgland, managing partner and chief investment officer, discuss the paradigm shift in financial market theory.

With most emerging market talks turning to China and India, Japan is one neglected economy that should be on investors’ radars, writes David Townshend.

Rising interest in active extension investment has increased the need for managers with additional skill sets to help returns mushroom. By Alex Homan.

After a tumultuous year for global markets, the Dutch pension industry has certainly taken hits. But its recent risk adjustments have meant it will survive this particular storm, writes >Hjalmar Tjan.