Danish pension customers Danica, Digi Mart USA News: Yesterday’s sharp decline on the stock markets cut billions of kroner from pension savings in Denmark, according to figures from pension company Danica. The customers hit hardest were those with high-risk profiles, who lost 2.6 percent of their total savings.
Danica calculated the impact on a 40-year-old high-risk customer with a pension account of one million kroner. That person was a pension millionaire when they got up yesterday morning, but after a hectic day on global stock markets, only 974,000 kroner remained in the account this morning.
The 26,000-kroner loss was driven mainly by steep declines in U.S. and Asian stock markets.
Andreas Stang, investment chief at Danica, said younger customers lost the most money yesterday, but noted that they have already earned substantial gains on stocks this year. Their pension portfolios have returned about 8 percent so far in 2026.
Stang explained that younger customers typically hold more stocks because stocks usually offer higher returns than other assets pension companies invest in.
Stang said Danica invests the largest part of pensions in stocks for customers with a long time until retirement. As customers get older, the company shifts some stocks into assets that fluctuate less in value.
For customers up to 55 years old, no risk reduction takes place, and they have seen a 2.6 percent decline yesterday but a return of 8.0 percent year to date. A 60-year-old customer, where risk reduction is underway, also lost 2.6 percent yesterday and has returned 7.6 percent so far this year.
A 63-year-old customer with five years until retirement, where further risk reduction has occurred, lost 1.9 percent and has returned 6.0 percent year to date.
Danica said customers who are young for pension purposes are generally those up to the mid-50s, after which the company gradually replaces stocks with real estate, bonds and other assets that fluctuate less. A 50-year-old high-risk customer with a four-million-kroner pension account lost 104,000 kroner from yesterday’s decline.
A 63-year-old with a medium-risk profile and an equally large account lost 56,000 kroner.
Asked how the company responds to sudden sharp drops, Stang said Danica has an investment strategy that it reviews during large fluctuations to decide whether changes are needed. He said that with 30 years until retirement and payouts spread over 20 years, the company does not make major changes because of day-to-day market swings.
He advised customers not to be worried, noting that most have had advisory discussions to determine the appropriate risk level. He added that global stocks still returned 7.5 percent this year, including yesterday’s decline.
The figures for the younger groups were: a 2.4 percent decline for customers up to 50 years old with no risk reduction, who have returned 7.6 percent year to date; a 2.1 percent decline for a 55-year-old customer with risk reduction underway, who has returned 6.2 percent; and a 1.4 percent decline for a 63-year-old customer, who has returned 4.8 percent year to date.
Stock markets are not expected to keep falling today. U.S.
stocks opened up 1 to 2 percent, although prices may move up and down considerably in the coming period. Stang said he was surprised by the size of the swings but not by the situation following the midterm elections, when the dust still needs to settle.
He expects investors to refocus on company earnings rather than fears about whether Trump and Democrats can agree on policy. He said corporate results look quite good.
Jeppe Juul Borre, department director at AL-Sydbank, shares a similar view. In a commentary on yesterday’s decline, he wrote that it is not everyday that U.S.
stocks lose several months’ worth of gains in a single day, but that it comes on the back of a fine year for stock markets. He does not believe it is time to sell stocks, warning that volatility may continue for a time and could worsen before it improves, while noting that the best days on stock markets often come after the worst.
