Green investment outlook and organisational improvements

Traditionally, chief investment officers at Nordic pension funds tend to rise from within the ranks of the listed asset teams. As the first chief investment officer of a major Nordic pension fund coming from the private market side, Markus Aho’s appointment at the Finnish pension company Varma about two and half years ago was breaking new ground. Prior to taking on the role as chief investment officer, he was head of the EUR 63.2 billion pension company’s private market investments.

Markus Aho sees his appointment in light of the evolution of institutional investors’ portfolios. “Institutional portfolios used to be about public markets while private assets were something awkward in the corner. Now it’s a big allocation. Private markets have taken market share and it has become more balanced, so it’s more natural that people can come from either side. On both the public and the private market side, you have responsibility for large portions of the portfolio and the investment returns and can also have adequate leadership and management experience,” says Markus Aho during a meeting at Varma’s seafront Helsinki