The return on the Swedish Church's capital management at the national level, which includes shareholdings, interest rates, alternative investments, and properties, landed at 10.0 percent in 2024. Over the past ten years, the average return has been 7.7 percent.
What was positive last year was that we had an overweight in shares, and in global shares that performed very strongly, says Johan Barkfeldt, financial manager for the Swedish Church at the national level.
Very pleased
A two-digit return is something we are very pleased with.
As of December 31, 2024, the Swedish Church managed capital worth 11.8 billion kronor. In normal circumstances, 50 percent of the portfolio consists of shares, but at the end of 2024, the proportion of shares was instead 54 percent.
The Swedish Church, however, managed to time a rebalancing of its holdings almost perfectly. During the first quarter of 2025, they sold shares worth half a billion, to reach the normal level of shares. Since the sale, USA's President Donald Trump has announced the country's tariffs, and leading stock exchanges have plummeted.
It was a fortunate rebalancing, with hindsight. There was no one who could have predicted this in any way. It was a rebalancing made strategically in the long term, says Barkfeldt.
Doing nothing at present
It was motivated primarily by high valuations of many American companies that weigh heavily in the global share portfolio.
The Swedish Church now has around 44-45 percent in shares, which have been affected by the large decline on the stock market. But there are currently no plans to rebalance the holdings.
At present, we are monitoring the development, what is happening on the financial market. There are so many question marks, and it is a very uncertain situation. So, we are doing nothing for now.
