Sampension provides pensions administration and investment management for Danish occupational pension schemes and life insurance providers with a total of 340,000 members. Sampension Life Insurance (88% shareholding), the Pension Fund Architects & Designers (3%), the Pension Fund for Agricultural Academics and Veterinary Surgeons (3%), and the Pension Fund for Technicians- and Bachelor of Engineering (6%) are co-owners of the parent company Sampension Administrationsselskab.
Sampension employs both internal and external investment management. Management of risk overlays, indexed risk exposures, tactical allocation, interest risks, government bonds and European covered bonds, counterparty risks, FX risks and domestic real estate is primarily conducted in-house. Equity risks, credit risks and alternative investments are mainly outsourced to external asset managers.
The alternative investment portfolio is allocated to property and public–private partnerships, infrastructure, commodities, forestry, private equity, structured credit, and global macro hedge funds. Sampension’s alternative investment strategy is carried out through various subsidiary companies, which include Sampension Forestry K/S, Sampension Global Real Estate K/S, Sampension Private Equity K/S and Sampension Structured Credit K/S. These are controlled through a general partner (GP), Komplementarselskabet Alternative Investments ApS.
Sampension has a strong focus on sustainability, based on international norms and standards, including the UN Global Compact, OECD guidelines for responsible business conduct for both multinational enterprises and institutional investors as well as the climate targets of the Paris Agreement. It aims to achieve net-zero carbon across the whole portfolio by 2050, with an interim emissions reduction target of 45% by 2030 relative to 2020 levels.
It operates an active stewardship programme, often acting as lead or co-lead investor when engaging with companies as part of a collaborative initiative. Sampension is a member of Climate Action 100+, the Net Zero Engagement Initiative (NZEI) founded by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), and Nature Action 100. It also reports through and takes part in active ownership dialogues organised by the CDP.
Sampension also seeks to actively build up the proportion of environmentally sustainable investments in the portfolio, which accounted for 8% of total assets at year-end 2023. It also sets various revenue thresholds relating to coal extraction, as well as a broader universe screening on a range of sustainability criteria via an external provider. Exclusion criteria include tar sand exploitation, controversial weapons, human rights violations, international sanctions, and environmental damage.
