AkademikerPension is now relaxing the rules for investments in the defense industry, according to CEO Jens Munch Holst.
“The security situation is currently worse than ever in recent times. Russia continues its brutal war against Ukraine. And we see an increasingly clear picture of an imperialist Russia that clearly does not respect recognized borders and the right of other peoples to self-determination. And at the same time, we can see that Europe, despite many talks with the American government, is very isolated when it comes to Ukraine, European security policy, the maintenance of democracy and relations with Russia. It is sad, and it calls for a new course in terms of investments in Europe’s defense.”
Liability policy changes
In order to support European democracies, the board of directors has decided to change the pension fund’s accountability policy and stance on weapons. Specifically, the policy will be changed so that European weapons manufacturers will no longer be excluded due to links to nuclear weapons.
Weapons manufacturers associated with controversial weapons or gross violations of human rights will continue to be on the exclusion list, and AkademikerPension will also continue to exclude all weapons manufacturers associated with non-European nuclear weapons programs, including the American one.
“Europe is facing the largest military buildup in recent times. Therefore, we believe that it is the most responsible thing to do – both in terms of return and social responsibility in the current situation,” says Jens Munch Holst.
Six companies have their exclusion lifted
Specifically, the change in the weapons approach here and now means that AkademikerPension is lifting the exclusion of six of the large listed European weapons manufacturers, which are now permitted to invest in despite the fact that a small part of their turnover comes from activities related to the European nuclear weapons programs. These are companies with a total market value of 2.6 trillion kroner and over 400,000 employees.
“We are not doing this to invest in nuclear weapons, but conversely, we do not want a small turnover from nuclear weapons-related activities to prevent us from supporting the capital construction of a European defense. In the short term, this results in a smaller purchase of defense stocks, while in the longer term it gives us opportunities to navigate the significant growth that we see for the European defense industry,” concludes Jens Munch Holst.
AkademikerPension will continue to exclude a large number of weapons manufacturers (46 in total) worldwide for production and/or connection with controversial weapons (including non-European nuclear weapons programs) and connection with human rights violations.
Among European companies, AkademikerPension will therefore continue to exclude, for example, RheinMetall, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, as well as a large number of large American companies. This means that we will continue to be underweight in the global defense and arms industry.
The exclusion of the following major European arms manufacturers has been lifted:
- Airbus
- Babcock International
- Dassault Aviation
- Leonardo
- Saffron
- Thales
In addition, three other, smaller companies will be removed from the exclusion list (Serco Group, Groupe Reel and Ultra Electronics).
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