C-toppen Under Fire for Controversial Pension Fund Investment

The recent involvement of C-toppen in a contentious pension investment has drawn significant scrutiny. Anna-Karin Hatt, the proposed leader of the Center Party, served on Alecta's board and finance committee from 2016 to 2019. During her tenure, the pension giant made a notable investment of 10 billion kronor in Heimstaden Bostad, as reported by Affärsvärlden.

At the same time, the Swedish Pensions Agency allocated approximately 2.5 billion kronor to the same real estate firm. This decision has resulted in the agency receiving a reprimand from the Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) for failing to meet legal standards regarding risk management. The repercussions of this misstep are significant, as Daniel Barr, who was leading the Pensions Agency at the time, is expected to step down from his current role as Director-General of FI this summer.

FI is also examining Alecta's investment practices. Peder Hasslev, the CEO of Alecta since 2023, has publicly criticized the investment, pointing out deficiencies in both the decision-making process and the underlying investment rationale. He has expressed concerns that the shareholder agreement provides Alecta with insufficient influence and that the compensation for the risks undertaken by the pension fund is inadequate.

Similar criticisms have been leveled by FI regarding the Pensions Agency's shareholder agreement with Heimstaden. The authority's report indicates that this arrangement has heightened the risk of losing the invested funds either partially or entirely.