PFA Klima Plus: 5 years of CO2-friendly returns and strong customer support

PFA’s climate-focused savings product, PFA Klima Plus, is currently celebrating its five-year anniversary with strong results. The product has achieved its ambition of CO2 neutrality ahead of schedule, delivered competitive long-term returns, and experienced significant support from customers.

When PFA Klima Plus was launched in 2020, the goal was to create a pension product where the focus on a low CO2 footprint went hand in hand with the ambition of delivering solid returns for customers. Five years later, PFA – on behalf of its customers – can proudly announce that these ambitions have been fulfilled: The portfolio is now climate-neutral, and its returns have kept pace with PFA’s broader Plus product, although it has fluctuated more in the short term.

"We are proud to have achieved our goal of CO2 neutrality while also delivering solid, long-term returns that are close to the returns of our broader Plus product," says Rasmus Bessing, Director of Responsible Investments at PFA.

He elaborates that PFA Klima Plus has delivered a return of 43.4 percent to a typical customer with medium risk since its launch 5 years ago. This is close to the returns of PFA’s broader Plus product and among the best in comparable products.

A popular choice among PFA’s 1.3 million customers
According to Rasmus Bessing, the product has also proven to be a popular choice among customers. Approximately one-fifth of PFA’s customers have chosen to place all or part of their savings in PFA Klima Plus, which, with over 20 billion Danish kroner under management, is the largest Danish savings pool with a climate focus.

"It’s gratifying to see that our customers have embraced the product, with many wanting to make a difference for the climate through their pension savings. We can see that PFA Klima Plus is particularly popular among our younger customers and those living in urban areas," says Rasmus Bessing.

Better data enables stricter climate requirements
According to the director, a more precise and standardized data foundation for companies’ climate footprints – driven in part by common EU reporting frameworks – has in recent years enabled PFA to sharpen the product’s climate profile while expanding the portfolio without compromising on its ambitions.

"We can now account for the entire value chain – meaning both the emissions from companies’ own operations and from their supply chains. This has strengthened our data foundation and allowed us to include more companies without compromising on our climate ambitions," says Rasmus Bessing.

He notes that the Klima Plus portfolio now includes around 200 companies, each contributing in their own way to ensuring that the CO2 footprint of the investments is 60% below the average of global equities. Additionally, there are investments in forestry, for example, which help reduce the overall climate footprint of the investments.

Facts about PFA Klima Plus

• PFA Klima Plus is Denmark’s fastest-growing climate product, with a total value of 20.4 billion DKK.
• A typical customer with medium risk has achieved a return of 43.4 percent since the launch of Klima Plus.
• 47 percent of Klima Plus customers are women, 53 percent are men, and 45 percent live in the capital region.
• One in three customers aged 25-34 has chosen Klima Plus, while it is, on average, chosen by one in five.