Ilmarinen posts 4.8% investment return as solvency strengthens

Written by Adam Cadle

27/10/2025

Finnish pension insurer, Ilmarinen, has reported a 4.8%, or €3bn, return on its investments for the first nine months of 2025, as strong equity and fixed-income performance helped lift solvency.

The market value of the company’s investment portfolio rose to €65.7bn, up from €63.3bn at the end of 2024, while its solvency ratio improved to 128.3%. Solvency capital increased to €14.7bn, up from €13.9bn at the end of 2024.

The provider’s long-term average return on investments since 1997 was 5.8% as at the end of September 2025, corresponding to a real return of 4%.

Ilmarinen CEO, Mikko Mursula, said the year had been shaped by geopolitical and trade policy tensions, although market uncertainty had eased since the spring.

“Ilmarinen has performed strongly in January–September. Equity and fixed-income investments in particular have yielded good returns, and our solvency has continued to strengthen,” Mursula said.

Despite returns being boosted by equity and fixed income investments, the figures were below the same period in 2024.

The return on equity investments was 5.4%, compared to 11.9% for January-September 2024, and the return on fixed income investments was 4.7% (4.6%). Real estate investments achieved a return of 1.3% (-0.3%), and other investments generated a 5.8% (4.0%) return.

Ilmarinen CIO, Annika Ekman, said the stock market recovered well from its decline in early April, with listed equity investments performing “particularly well”.

Furthermore, the company’s insurance premium income grew by 3% in January–September to €5.5bn. Premium income was boosted by growth in customers’ payroll. The total payroll and earned income of those insured by Ilmarinen grew by 2.5% to €22.1bn.

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