Our latest pension report was featured in the front-page and 3-page article by Børsen, Denmark’s leading financial newspaper. The article focuses on the equity investments of Danish pension funds under the following headline:
DKK 105 billion (13% of total investments) from Danish pension funds are placed in companies with no women on the board and/or in executive leadership.
This year’s analysis builds on Denominator’s 2023 report on Danish pension funds, which was also covered by Børsen. At that time the total figure was just under 100 billion. DKK. Now it has increased to 105 billion. DKK.
In 2024, the scope has expanded to include the entire Nordic region.
The article features insights from key stakeholders, including the Danish Minister for Equality, representatives from three pension funds, and a professor from Copenhagen Business School.
“This is not good enough. If we want to change the numbers, we need to work together and take responsibility,” said Magnus Heunicke, Minister for Equality.
Rasmus Bessing from PFA added:
“We believe that it is beneficial to the long-term value creation of companies and thus also in the interest of our customers that boards contain different competencies, gender, age, background, etc. As active owners, we therefore work to create boards where both genders are represented.”
In the 1990s Jens Munch Holts, CEO at Akademikerpension was a fierce opponent of regulation in the area – he is no longer so, because something must be done, he believes. Akademikerpension itself has a policy that at least 30 percent of the board of directors in a portfolio company must, as a rule, be of the underrepresented gender – most often women – when there are elections to the board. Otherwise, the vote is no.
Dorte Eckhoff, Head of Sustainability at Danica:
“Customers expect us to focus on diversity when we invest.”
“There is no doubt that this number should of course be lower over time and as low as possible, and there is no doubt that it will hopefully change.”
CBS professor Marie Louise Mors is not impressed with the pension companies' responses.
“If you have an investment policy that is about creating more diversity in top management, then it sends a clear signal if you keep the money away.”
Key Findings:
- On average, 33% of board members and 23% of executives in Nordic pension fund portfolios are women.
- Danish pension fund investments fall slightly below the Nordic average, at 30% on boards and 21% in executive roles.
Emma Helbo, Head of External Relations & Communication at Denominator:
“If pension funds don’t know these numbers for their portfolios, it’s hard to act. If you ask them about traditional financial risk factors or climate data, I believe, the knowledge is there.”
While Børsen focused on Danish pension funds, Denominator’s full analysis includes more than 27,000 listed equity investments across 21 pension funds in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, all with a market cap above $1 billion.
👉 Find the full pension fund report here.
📩 For collaboration or media inquiries, reach out to emma.helbo@denominator.com
