Denmark clears out, Sweden follows suit! Nordic pension funds are successively selling off U.S. Treasuries.

Major Nordic pension institutions are accelerating their withdrawal from the US Treasury market to avoid rising US macroeconomic risks and policy uncertainties. Sweden’s largest private pension fund, Alecta, and Denmark’s AkademikerPension have successively announced plans for large-scale reductions or even total liquidation of their US Treasury holdings, highlighting a weakening confidence among European long-term capital in US fiscal discipline and the safety of dollar assets.

On January 21, Sweden’s Alecta Chief Investment Officer Pablo Bernengo confirmed to Bloomberg that the institution has implemented a phased strategy since the beginning of 2025, selling off the vast majority of its US Treasury holdings. According to previous reports by Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri, at the beginning of 2025, Alecta held about 100 billion Swedish krona (approximately $11 billion USD) in US Treasuries.

Meanwhile, Denmark’s AkademikerPension also stated clearly on Tuesday, January 20, that it plans to fully liquidate its US Treasury holdings by the end of this month. Both institutions pointed out in consensus that the expansion of the US budget deficit, soaring national debt, and diminished policy predictability are the core factors driving this decision.

This wave of selling is not an isolated event but reflects a reevaluation by Nordic institutional investors of what constitutes a “safe haven asset” in the current US political and fiscal climate. In addition to concerns about fiscal sustainability, recent geopolitical tensions sparked by the Trump administration’s territorial claims over Greenland have also become important triggers for this asset allocation adjustment. Anders Schelde, Chief Investment Officer of AkademikerPension, stated bluntly that the quality of the US as a credit issuer has declined, and its long-term fiscal situation is “unsustainable.”

Although some institutions say they will continue to closely monitor developments and have not fully changed their views on US risk, the Nordic pension giants' withdrawal sends a clear signal to the market: Under the dual pressure of a weakening dollar and rising credit risk, US Treasuries—once considered the world’s safest asset—are facing a severe test of their attractiveness.

This series of reductions is taking place as institutional investors rethink the definition of safe havens. With changes in the US political climate and the debt problem becoming more overt, US Treasuries—traditionally seen as risk-free assets—are now being repriced by European long-term investors. The actions of Alecta and AkademikerPension may be just the beginning, suggesting that in the shifting global macro environment, the pattern of international capital flows may be in for a new round of adjustment.

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