Danish plan AkademikerPension blacklists Russian investments

AkademikerPension, Gentofte, Denmark, is blacklisting all Russian holdings from its investment portfolio after seeing "no alternative" following the invasion of Ukraine, the pension fund said in a statement Friday.

Earlier in the week, the 128 billion kroner ($19.5 billion) pension fund placed a temporary hold on investments in Russian government bonds and shares in state-controlled companies Tuesday when Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two Russian-backed separatist territories in eastern Ukraine.

The subsequent invasion of Ukraine on Thursday prompted AkademikerPension to exclude Russia from its investment universe. "The invasion is a clear and unequivocal violation of international law and of our policy on responsible investment. Therefore, there is no other option than to exclude Russia," CEO Jens Munch Holst said in the statement.

AkademikerPension will divest Russian government bonds and investments in Russian companies in which the state owns more than 50%, which together amounts to $46.3 million, or 0.2% of pension assets. After running the numbers, "we are confident that we can still maintain adequate risk diversification after this exclusion," Mr. Holst said.

"Responsible investment is a cornerstone of our pension fund's ethos, and we simply do not want to invest in states that systematically violate human rights or international laws and regulations," he said.