Investment portfolio

Keva’s investment portfolio consists of fixed-income investments, equity investments, real estate investments, private equity investments and hedge funds. The portfolio is diversified not only by asset class but also by geography, sector and style.

Fixed-income investments

Keva invests in bonds issued by parties including governments, governmental bodies and corporate bodies in both developed and emerging markets on a global scale. Our primary geographical emphasis is on Europe, however. We only employ active strategies in fixed-income investments. Keva focuses on investment-grade corporate bonds in its choice of fixed-income securities. When it comes to investment opportunities requiring local knowledge and specialised expertise, we draw on strategies prepared by our carefully selected partners.

Equity investments

Keva’s investments in listed equities have been diversified by geography, sector and investment style. In terms of geography, most of our investments are in Northern America, Europe and the emerging markets. Both active and passive investment strategies are employed when investing in equities. Active investment strategies are used when we have reason to believe that after costs, they will outperform index investing. Keva’s equity team focuses primarily on European investments. In other markets, we rely on the equity strategies of thoroughly vetted partners.

Real estate investments

Keva’s real estate portfolio comprises direct investments in real estate located in Finland and the Nordic countries as well as investments in Finnish and foreign real estate funds.

Other investments

Private equity investments

As a long-term investor, Keva capitalises on the investment opportunities provided by non-liquid and less effective markets also when it comes to private equity investments. Our widely diversified private equity investment programme consists of funds which focus on financing start-ups and growth companies as well as mergers and acquisitions on the part of established companies. The majority of these investments take place in Europe and the United States.

Private equity investments are primarily accomplished through funds. Investments may also be made in non-listed equities.

Hedge funds

Keva’s hedge fund investments and other alternative investments consist of both traditional absolute return funds as well as funds which have a longer duration and are often also of a more opportunistic nature.

The investments have been diversified by fund and investment style to accomplish a portfolio of moderate risk level which spans more than one market cycle and seeks to preserve capital under all circumstances. In many cases, the strategies employed by the hedge funds are designed to be relatively independent of the returns on the most common investment instruments, which boosts the portfolio’s risk diversification.

Hedge fund investments and other alternative investments are made via funds.

Responsible investment

Tasked with managing the local government pension assets, Keva is a long-term investor that under law must ensure the safety and return of investments. The responsible performance of its task requires Keva to have an excellent understanding of the risks and opportunities relating to factors such as the environment, social responsibility and good corporate governance.

Guidance is provided by our principles of Responsible investment. The core idea of the principles is to integrate responsibility into the entire investment process rather than to exclude certain corporations or industries from the investment universe.

Responsible investment at Keva applies equally to all asset classes but the specific methods and scope for action depend on the characteristics of each individual asset class. Keva’s responsible investment operations are coordinated by the Responsible Investment Steering Group, which has representatives from each of the Investments department’s units.

Keva became a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) in 2008. Progress in the field of responsibility is monitored by means of the PRI questionnaire completed annually

Keva's Public Responsible Investment Transparency report (pdf)

Responsible investment in practice: environmental strategy for real estate investments

The energy consumption for electricity and heating in the properties managed by Keva was approximately 200 GWh in 2018. The greenhouse gas emissions from this energy use were approximately 34,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

We aim to become carbon neutral by 2030 in terms of CO2 emissions from the electricity used in our direct real estate investments. Our interim target is to halve these carbon emissions by the end of 2025.

To support the main goal, our other aims include:

• improving the energy efficiency in our properties by 12% by 2025 and by 20% by the end of 2030;
• increasing the share of renewable energy produced on site at the properties to 4% by 2025 and to 10% by the end of 2030.