The Swedish pension fund caught up in a banking crisis in the US has begun delivering on a promise to cut back on risk far away from its home market.
(Bloomberg) — The Swedish pension fund caught up in a banking crisis in the US has begun delivering on a promise to cut back on risk far away from its home market.
Alecta reduced its stakes in 12 US companies during the first quarter, according to a 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The decision to scale back certain foreign holdings comes in the wake of nearly $2 billion of losses as a result of Alecta’s failed bets on SVB Financial Group, First Republic Bank and Signature Bank. The soured investments sparked an outcry in Sweden and led to the ousting of the fund’s chief executive officer and equities boss.
The same filing confirmed that Sweden’s biggest pension fund had closed its positions in the three niche US banks while also selling its entire stake of 1.65 million shares in retailer Ross Stores Inc for about $191 million.
The only increase among Alecta’s US holdings in the first quarter was 350,000 shares in Nike Inc., which bumped the stake to about 5.5 million shares worth $671 million.
More details of the de-risking:
- After the sale of 1.2 million shares, its stake in retailer TJX Companies consists of 15.4 million shares valued at $1.21 billion
- Alecta also sold shares in sector peers Dollar General, Estee Lauder and Ulta Beauty
- Holdings in tech companies Microsoft and Alphabet were decreased by 767,000 and 270,000 shares, respectively
- The fund’s Spotify stake was cut by 550,000 shares
- Alecta also shaved holdings in Amphenol, Rockwell Automation, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Ametek and Ecolab
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