Lægernes Pension is opting out of Chinese investments worth DKK 1.5 billion. The sale is a consequence of the increased imbalance between return and risk for Chinese investments.
Lægernes Pension is deselecting China from the pension fund’s investment portfolio and selling investments worth approximately DKK 1.5 billion, primarily invested in Chinese listed shares.
Increasing imbalance between return and risk
Lægernes Pension, which manages a total pension asset of approximately 125 billion kroner for Danish doctors, has made the decision as a consequence of several factors that make investing in China less attractive.
Lægernes Pension invests globally to achieve attractive returns, and continuously assesses the relationship between returns and risks by investing in different parts of the world.
The Chinese economy faces a number of structural challenges. China is facing a significant decline in the labor force, has very high private debt and is currently challenged by a tough adjustment of the real estate market. In addition, growing geopolitical and trade tensions have increased the unpredictability of investments in China, according to the pension fund.
The divestment will initially apply to listed investments, which also include investments in Macau and Hong Kong. The pension fund will also not make new unlisted investments in China.
Ongoing analysis and weighing
The pension fund continuously conducts analyses and balances the relationship between risk and return in the investment portfolio, and has previously sold assets worth approximately DKK 1 billion in Russia immediately before the country invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Lægernes Pension thus avoided the pension fund’s investments being hit by large losses caused by the subsequent sanctions against Russia.
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