PensionDanmark, Copenhagen, reported an investment return of 28.8 billion Danish kroner ($4.3 billion) for the 12 months ended Dec. 31.
In an update Tuesday, PensionDanmark said the pension fund's assets grew 14.9% to 271.1 billion Danish kroner in the period. For the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2018, the pension fund recorded a 3.2 billion loss.
PensionDanmark said a 40-year-old participant received a 16.1% return on their assets; a 65-year-old participant achieved a 9.5% return for the period.
As of Dec. 31, PensionDanmark achieved a 10-year annualized return of 9.4% for younger participants and 7.6% for older participants.
The pension fund's equity allocation returned 27.5% in the 12 months. On the fixed-income side, bonds and loans added 9.5% in the same period, while Danish state and real estate bonds delivered a 2.9% return.
Private equity delivered a 10.3% return, and real estate gained 8.9%. Infrastructure and renewables added 4.7%, while fund of funds delivered 1.3%.
"Our mission is to provide our more than 750,000 members with good investment returns, which makes 2019 a really good year," CEO Torben Moger Pedersen said in a news release accompanying the update. "A high degree of digitalization and use of robotics in our customer service help keep our costs down. Low costs will become even more decisive in the coming years, where we expect investment returns to be more moderate."
PensionDanmark reduced the carbon footprint of its investment portfolio in 2019. The pension fund's carbon dioxide reduction from its investments in renewable energy infrastructure is now three times greater than the total dioxide emission from its listed equity portfolio, Mr. Pedersen said in the news release.
