Major Nordic pension institutions are accelerating their exit from the US Treasury market to evade the escalating macroeconomic risks and policy uncertainties in the United States. Sweden's largest private pension fund, Alecta, and Denmark's pension fund AkademikerPension have successively disclosed plans for substantial reductions or even a complete sell-off of their US Treasury holdings, a move that underscores a wavering confidence among European long-term capital in US fiscal discipline and the safety of dollar-denominated assets.
On January 21, Alecta's Chief Investment Officer, Pablo Bernengo, confirmed to Bloomberg that the institution has adopted a phased strategy since early 2025, divesting the vast majority of its US Treasury portfolio. According to a prior report by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri, Alecta held approximately 100 billion Swedish kronor (around $11 billion) in US Treasuries at the start of 2025.
Simultaneously, Denmark's AkademikerPension also made a clear statement on Tuesday, January 20, announcing its plan to completely liquidate its US Treasury holdings by the end of the month. Both institutions coincidentally pointed to the expanding US budget deficit, soaring national debt, and declining policy predictability as the core factors driving this decision.
This wave of selling is not an isolated incident but reflects a broader reassessment by Nordic institutional investors of what constitutes a "safe-haven asset" within the current US political and fiscal climate. Beyond concerns over fiscal sustainability, recent geopolitical tensions, triggered by the Trump administration's territorial claims on Greenland, have also served as a significant catalyst for this asset allocation adjustment. Anders Schelde, Chief Investment Officer of AkademikerPension, stated plainly that the quality of the US as a credit entity is showing signs of deterioration, with its long-term fiscal situation being "unsustainable."
Although some institutions indicate they will continue to monitor developments closely and have not entirely altered their view on US risks, the divestment actions by these Nordic pension giants send a clear signal to the market: under the dual pressures of a weakening US dollar and rising credit risks, US Treasuries, once considered the world's safest asset, are facing a severe test of their appeal.
This series of divestments occurs against a backdrop where institutional investors are rethinking the very definition of a safe harbor. As the US political climate shifts and its debt problems become more apparent, the traditionally perceived risk-free asset—US Treasuries—is undergoing a repricing by European long-term investors. The moves by Alecta and AkademikerPension may be just the beginning, signaling that the landscape of international capital flows could face a new round of adjustment amidst changes in the global macro environment.
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