The “Nordic Exodus” from US debt is accelerating, and the numbers are getting serious.
Just 24 hours after a Danish pension fund announced a $100M exit, Swedish giant Alecta has confirmed it has sold the “majority” of its US Treasury holdings over the last year. Reports from Dagens Industri estimate the sell-off at 70-80 billion SEK ($7.7B – $8.8B).
📉 THE RATIONALE (Fiscal & Political Risk): CIO Pablo Bernengo didn’t mince words. The divestment wasn’t a tactical trade, but a fundamental reassessment of US creditworthiness.
- The Drivers: “Reduced predictability of the policy pursued,” combined with “large budget deficits” and “growing government debt.”
- The Quote: “Since the beginning of 2025, we have reduced our holdings in U.S. government bonds in several rounds… We have also continued to maintain a high currency hedging ratio against the U.S. dollar.”
🌊 THE TREND: This feeds directly into the “Sell America” narrative resurfacing in 2026.
- Scale: Unlike the $100M divestment by AkademikerPension on Tuesday, Alecta’s move represents a massive reallocation of capital ($8B+).
- Hedging: By maintaining a high hedge ratio against the USD, Alecta is effectively neutralizing its remaining exposure to the Greenback, betting that US policy volatility will erode the currency’s value.
💡 ANALYST TAKEAWAY: When a conservative pension fund like Alecta dumps $8B of the world’s “risk-free asset,” it’s a warning flare. It suggests that for sophisticated European allocators, the US Fiscal Deficit is no longer just a talking point—it is a tangible risk factor that requires de-risking. If this “Fiscal repulsion” spreads to Asian insurers or Sovereign Wealth Funds, the yield curve could face significant structural pressure.
👇 Fixed Income CIOs: Is Alecta an outlier, or are we witnessing the early stages of a structural re-rating of US Sovereign risk?