Early-year market turbulence has limited impact on earnings-related pension assets – total assets EUR 284 billion

The amount of investable pension assets in the earnings-related pension system fell by one billion euro during the first quarter of the year. The total amount of assets at the end of March was EUR 284 billion. Although market conditions were still looking promising for investors in January and February, sentiment cooled rapidly in March because of the war in Iran.

“The closure of the Strait of Hormuz was quickly reflected in energy prices, which in turn accelerated inflation and pushed up market interest rates. This was reflected in the investment returns of earnings-related pension providers, particularly on the stock markets. However, the geographic and asset-class diversification of assets provided protection in the volatile market environment, and the overall impact on assets was limited,” says Mikko Mäkinen, Chief Economist at TELA, the Finnish Pension Alliance.

The investment return for January–March was -0.1 per cent in nominal terms and, accounting for inflation, -1.7 per cent in real terms. The figures are from the latest TELA statistics on the performance earnings-related pension assets in the first quarter of 2026.

One quarter does not define the whole year – let alone longer periods

At this point in spring, it is still impossible to predict what the investment year 2026 will look like as a whole.

“Accelerating inflation and rising interest rates are dampening economic growth prospects in the eurozone and Finland this year. For the rest of the year, the biggest risk surrounds the duration and scope of the war in Iran and damage to energy infrastructure. Uncertainty surrounding US trade policy remains high and may cause market upsets,” Mäkinen says, naming the uncertainties.

At the same time, Mäkinen sees parallels with last year.

“Stock markets dipped in the spring of 2025 following the trade policy decisions of President Trump’s administration, but the markets recovered quickly and earnings-related pension providers’ investments ultimately yielded a real return of 7.2 per cent last year,” Mäkinen notes.

Mäkinen also stresses that far-reaching conclusions should not be drawn on the basis of a single quarter’s investment returns.

“Earnings-related pension providers have an investment horizon spanning decades, evening out short-term fluctuations in investment returns over time. The system can weather bumps now and in the future,” Mäkinen says.

The pension reform currently going through Parliament will also permit increased investment risk to improve long-term investment returns. This is necessary to stabilize the financial balance of the earnings-related pension system in an era of ageing demographics and reduced numbers of working-age people.

Details on pension asset amounts

The amount of the pension providers’ investable earnings-related pension assets at the end of March 2026 totalled EUR 284 billion. The assets declined by one billion euro during the first quarter.

For January–March, the nominal return was -0.1 per cent. The real return, adjusted to remove the effects of inflation on total return, was -1.7 per cent. The longer-term return since 1997 was 5.9 per cent in nominal terms and 4.0 per cent in real terms.

The nominal and real returns per investment class in January–March were as follows:

• equity and equity-type investments: nominal -0.3 per cent, real -1.9 per cent
• fixed-interest investments: nominal -0.5 per cent, real -2.1 per cent
• property investments: nominal 0.5 per cent, real -1.1 per cent
• alternative investments: nominal 1.6 per cent, real 0.0 per cent.

There were no significant changes to the asset-class or geographical allocation during the quarter.

The figures for earnings-related pension assets compiled jointly by TELA and Statistics Finland pertain to the pension assets managed by pension providers, pension funds, pension foundations, the Pension Fund for the Employees of KELA, KEVA, the Church Pension Fund, the Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution, the Seafarers’ Pension Fund, the Bank of Finland’s Pension Fund, and the State Pension Fund of Finland. Only statutory pension coverage is included in the statistics.

The pension assets for which statistics are presented here do not include other receivables and liabilities or tangible assets recognized in the balance sheet. The aforementioned earnings-related pension assets refer to investable assets.

More detailed information on the amount and allocation of investment assets is available in full on the Amount of pension assets page of the TELA website. You can also browse data on the TELA statistical database.

TELA will next publish statistics on pension assets, for Q2 2026, at the turn of August and September.

Further information: