PFA Optional

PFA Optional is for anyone who wants PFA to manage their investments, but want to determine the investment risk of their savings. You do not need to learn about shares, bonds, the real estate market, interest rates or alternative investments. Our specialists manage your money in the best possible way, based on the risk you are willing to take in relation to your return expectations.

Please note: On 1 April 2025, PFA Optional will be renamed PFA Flexible

PFA Optional 

With PFA Optional, you can freely choose how savings are allocated between PFA’s low and high-risk funds. You decide the allocation between funds and can adjust it on an ongoing basis. You can adjust your allocation up to 3 times per month at no cost. If you do not change your allocation, it will remain the same and the risk will not reduce gradually as you approach retirement.

PFA ensures that the allocation between high and low-risk funds is adjusted at least twice a year to ensure that your savings have the intended risk level chosen. 

With PFA Optional, you choose your own risk level

The Low-risk funds
The Low-risk funds invest in low-risk assets. The funds mainly invest in bonds and similar investments. These include credit bonds, government bonds, infrastructure, property and forest. The Low-risk funds consist of a Low-risk fund and a Climate Plus Low-risk fund. (Climate Plus Low-risk fund will be renamed PFA Climate Plus Low-risk fund on 1 April 2025). 
The High-risk funds
The High-risk funds invest in high-risk assets. The funds invest mainly in shares and similar investments. The risk level is comparable to that of a diversified global share portfolio and the investments are therefore mainly oriented towards listed and private companies as well as high-risk infrastructure. The High-risk funds consist of a High-risk Fund and a Climate Plus High-risk fund. (Climate Plus High-risk fund will be renamed PFA Climate Plus High-risk fund on 1 April 2025). 


 
See the returns for PFA Optional

Is PFA Optional the right choice for you?

When it comes to risk appetite, everyone has their own preferences. Your choice of risk affects your pension savings and therefore your future pension payouts, so the risk/return ratio must also be right for you.

The investment of your savings should therefore reflect your risk profile, your finances and what your overall long-term savings look like.  

You can quickly get an idea of whether PFA Optional is the right choice for you by answering some simple questions about your return expectations and risk appetite in the Investment Guide at My PFA. All you need to do is log on to My PFA and find the guide under the Investment section.

 
Try the investment guide at My PFA

PFA Climate Plus – pension products that promote a low-carbon economy

By choosing PFA Climate Plus, you can invest all or part of your pension savings in investments that promote a low-carbon economy. As a minimum, shares in PFA Climate Plus will emit 60 per cent less CO2 than the World Equity Index. The ambition is for PFA Climate Plus investments to be carbon neutral overall in 2025 and remove more CO2 from the air than they emit by 2030. This is checked against scopes 1 and 2*. In addition to climate considerations, the investments in PFA Climate Plus, like PFA’s other investments, are chosen based on social and corporate governance considerations – collectively called ESG.

Comparison of PFA Plus and PFA Climate Plus

The table below compares the two savings options on the basis of a number of key parameters:

Parameters PFA Plus  PFA climate Plus
Responsible investments and active ownership ✔ ✔ 
Exclusion of fossil fuels** –
 ✔
CO2 emission in terms of the World Equity Index -53 %
 -74 %
Goal to be carbon neutral by 2050 2025
Alternative investments and properties Currently approx. 23 % Approx. 20 % over time
Risk in relation to PFA Plus –  Comparable risk with PFA Plus***
Expected return in relation to PFA Plus – the return will be different than for PFA Plus –
 Same long-term return as PFA Plus
ARP  0.66 - 0.96 % 0.67 - 0.96 % 
*Scope 1 concerns the CO2 that the invested companies emit from their own activities, such as production. Scope 2 concerns the CO2 that the invested companies are indirectly responsible for, for example CO2 from energy produced for the company.
**It means the exclusion of oil, gas and coal companies (exclusion of GICS energy classification + BICS Energy ex. Renewables)
***The share portfolio in PFA Climate Plus consists of fewer shares (between 50-80) and focuses primarily on reducing the climate footprint. That means that the concentration of risk is higher in PFA Climate Plus. PFA Climate Plus also has a so-called ‘scenario risk’ if, for example, the political and commercial climate focus shifts significantly from what it is at present.
Learn more about PFA Climate Plus