Danish pension fund AkademikerPension is divesting nearly US$100 million in U.S. treasuries, citing weak U.S. government finances.
In a press release, Anders Schelde, the organization’s investment director, clarified the decision wasn’t made in response to recent U.S. threats to annex Greenland, a Danish territory. “It is not directly related to the ongoing division between the U.S. and Europe, but it has, of course, not made the decision any more difficult to make.
“The decision is rooted in the weak public finances in the U.S., which has led us to assess that we need to make an effort to find an alternative way to handle our liquidity and risk management. We have now found a manageable investment solution and are in the process of implementing it. The solution does not negatively affect the return.”
AkademikerPension has no plans to divest its holdings in U.S. public equities, said Schelde, citing an obligation to achieve the best possible return for plan members.
“We will probably never be able to withdraw completely from the American market, as it has historically been a major growth driver in terms of returns. How the distribution will be in the future can be difficult to predict, and we are of course keeping a close eye on the situation. But withdrawing completely from American investments is probably unlikely.”
The move by AkademikerPension mirrors similar actions by Swedish pension fund Alecta, which has divested more than $8 billion in U.S. government bonds since January 2025.