Greenland's pension fund is considering whether to maintain its investments in US stocks, a move its chief executive describes as a symbolic protest against President Donald Trump's efforts to gain control of the Arctic island.
SISA Pension, which manages approximately seven billion Danish kroner ($1.1 billion) for more than 44,000 members, currently has about 50% of its portfolio exposed to the US market, primarily through public equities. CEO Søren Schock Petersen stated in an interview that while no final decision has been reached, the fund's board and investment committee are actively debating the potential benefits of divestment.
"We are still discussing it and will continue discussing it. Probably sometime in the future, we will say enough is enough," said Copenhagen-based Petersen during a phone call. "This continuous pressure might ultimately lead to a decision that we must take action and can no longer overlook the situation."
Discussions about foreign holders selling US assets regained momentum this week after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on goods from European nations that oppose his bid for Greenland. However, he reversed his tariff plan on Wednesday, pointing to a "framework of a future deal" that he claimed was agreed upon concerning the island.
Petersen, who initially made his comments before Trump appeared to soften his position, later affirmed that he stands by his remarks regarding the fund reevaluating its US investments.
A decision by the island's pension fund to liquidate US assets would represent a significant shift, given the dominant status of US equity markets. US stocks constitute roughly 70% of the MSCI World benchmark, and their strong performance in recent decades has fueled discussions of "American Exceptionalism." For nearly all investors, the US market is simply too substantial to ignore.
In Europe, several pension funds announced sales of US Treasuries this week, though they stopped short of full equity divestment. Danish pension fund AkademikerPension revealed plans to exit its roughly $100 million holdings of US Treasuries by month's end, while Sweden's largest private pension fund, Alecta, has divested the majority of its holdings since early 2025.
Petersen, 65, acknowledged that the fund's Treasury holdings are minimal and that the fund is too small for any stock divestment to have a meaningful impact on US capital markets.
A compromise to ease trans-Atlantic tensions remains possible, especially after Trump also seemed to rule out military force. Nevertheless, he insisted on negotiating for the acquisition of Greenland, a proposal Denmark promptly rejected.
Petersen identified a US invasion as the "worst-case scenario." Greenland's prime minister stated on Tuesday that residents must begin preparing for a potential military invasion, even if such an event is considered unlikely.
Petersen predicts that in such an extreme scenario, most Greenlanders would evacuate to Denmark. This exodus would likely negatively impact the valuation of the fund's private investments on the island, including a recently acquired stake in a local seafood company, he added.
In the event of an invasion, Petersen assumes SISA's assets would not be seized by the US, "but of course you never know."
SISA was established in 1999 and is owned by its members. Its main office is located in Nuuk, where it employs a staff of six.
"Our size is very small compared to the rest of the industry," Petersen remarked. However, any decision to divest from US assets "could be symbolic. It could be a signal."
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