The investments of pension insurance company Veritas returned 5.2 per cent in January–June. The premiums written are expected to grow by over 6 per cent in the current year.
Veritas’ sales increased last year to a new record and, this year, the pace has picked up even further.
“Increasingly more customers transferring from one pension insurance company to another have chosen Veritas as their partner. This group saw growth of more than 80 per cent, measured in premium income,” says Carl Haglund, CEO of Veritas.
According to Haglund, Veritas has succeeded in strengthening its activities while, at the same time, holding on to the personal service it offers.
“We are the only pension insurance company that provides each customer with a designated contact person of their own. In addition to that, we promise to answer phone calls in less than 20 seconds.”
Equity investments brought a return of 8.9 per cent
The return on Veritas’ investments was 5.2 (2.4) per cent in January–June. The return on fixed-income investments was 2.7 (3.5) per cent, on equity investments 8.9 (4.8) per cent, on real estate 0.9 (-3.3) per cent and on other investments 3.5 (0.6) per cent. The value of investments was EUR 4.6 (4.3) billion at the end of June.
“Equities and other risky asset classes generated good returns in the first half of the year, which is reflected in the return figures of Veritas. The return on fixed-income investments was primarily achieved from credit risk investments,” says Laura Wickström, Chief Investment Officer of Veritas.
At the end of June, the solvency ratio of Veritas was 123.5 (122.3) per cent. The solvency capital was 1.5 times (1.6 times) the solvency limit.
Interest rate cuts expected by the market
In August, the market sentiment was nervous, leading to particularly strong market movements.
“The employment figures in the United States were worse than expected, which unnerved the markets. Concerns about economic growth have increased, particularly in the United States, and the markets are speculating on whether central banks have kept interest rates high for too long,” explains Wickström.
According to Wickström, the weaker than expected macroeconomic figures in Europe and the United States have increased market expectations for interest rate cuts.
“Central banks are easing their monetary policy, in other words, lowering key interest rates. This is positive for Finland, in particular, as we have been suffering from higher interest rates more than the other euro-area countries. The falling interest rates and decreasing inflation will ease the situation for consumers and increase their purchasing power.”
Appendices:
Further information:
- Carl Haglund, CEO, tel. +358 (0)10 550 1600, firstname.lastname@veritas.fi
- Laura Wickström, CIO, tel. +358 (0)44 209 7498, firstname.lastname@veritas.fi
Comparison figures in brackets refer to the same period of time in the previous year.
