Elo made its best-ever quarterly return – strong solvency supports preparation for pension reform

In January-June, the investments of the earnings-related pension company Elo yielded 6.4 per cent, or EUR 2.2 billion. The second quarter’s 6.2 per cent return on investment is the best quarterly return in Elo’s history. This result was achieved in an operating environment characterised by geopolitical uncertainty and the war in Iran. 

– The second quarter of 2026 was the strongest on record for Elo, which is also reflected in our solvency. Good investment performance, stronger solvency, favourable development of insurance sales and the use of data and analytics in our services create an excellent foundation for the rest of the year, says CEO Carl Pettersson.

Pension reform improves risk-bearing capacity

The first phase of the pension reform, which came into force at the beginning of July, improved our solvency position and laid the groundwork for a controlled increase in investment risk.

– We’ve prepared for the reform systematically by increasing the equity weighting of our investment portfolio. This was possible even before the reform thanks to our good investment returns and strengthened solvency. Equities currently make up an exceptionally large part of our investments, which supports long-term return expectations, explains Chief Investment Officer Jonna Ryhänen.

Finland’s economic recovery is reflected in Elo’s client base

The Finnish economy is now showing the positive trends anticipated by Elo already last year: strong export development, a pick-up in investments and a generally improved outlook for companies. The recovery is also expected to improve the operating environment for earnings-related pension insurance. 

– It’s great to see that the economic recovery is also reflected in everyday life as an increase in our customers' total pay sums and a moderate decrease in credit losses. Total premiums written during the review period increased by 0.5 per cent, and the TyEL earnings reported by client companies increased by 1.4 per cent, Pettersson says.

Despite the improved economic outlook, geopolitical uncertainty and inflationary pressures continue to cast a shadow over developments.

Strong growth in insurance sales

Elo's business developed steadily during the review period. Sales of both YEL and TyEL insurance policies grew strongly, and the sales results for both types of insurance were positive. The net sales of TyEL insurance rose to EUR 13 million, whilst the net sales of YEL insurance policies stood at 2,551 policies. 

– We’ve managed to increase our insurance sales by a record amount. This shows that our services are seen to be working well and that our ability to understand companies’ changing business environment is appreciated, says Pettersson.

At the end of June, Elo managed 44,600 TyEL policies and 83,300 YEL policies for the self-employed. The total number of insured employees and self-employed persons was 478,600. Elo’s cumulative market share in the sales of new YEL policies was 34.6 per cent, while the corresponding figure for TyEL policies was 39.2 per cent.

Elo’s goal is to become the most data-driven pension company in Finland

The new strategy period that started at the beginning of the year proceeded as planned during the review period. Elo launched a new growth unit to strengthen its ability to serve fast-growing companies at all stages of their growth. 

High-quality data and foresight play a significant role in effective and successful work ability management. To support this work, Elo launched an AI-assisted analytics service that allows large client companies to better anticipate disability risks and allocate risk management measures as effectively as possible. Elo continued to develop operating models based on data, analytics and artificial intelligence as part of its goal to become the most data-driven earnings-related pension company.

Investments in Finnish growth companies approach EUR 1 billion 

Elo has been investing in Finnish growth companies for more than a decade and has invested in over 470 growth companies during that time. Elo’s investments and commitments in Finnish growth companies and funds are approaching the one-billion-euro mark this year. As an investor of earnings-related pension assets, Elo encourages companies to grow whilst seeking strong long-term returns on pension assets.

More information:

Chief Executive Officer Carl Pettersson
Chief Investment Officer, Deputy CEO Jonna Ryhänen
Interview requests: Miia Pullinen / Communications, tel. +358 40 588 3637

Interim Report Q2 2026 >
Presentation Q2 2026 >

The comparison figures in brackets are for 30 June 2025 unless otherwise stated. 

Key figures January–June 2026

• Overall result EUR 1.0 (-0.2) billion.
• Net return on investment 6.4% (1.5%), or EUR 2.2 billion.
• Market value of investments EUR 36.3 billion (34.4 billion at the end of 2025). Ten-year average return on investment 6.5%, equalling real return of 4.2%.
• Solvency ratio 126.5% (123.8% at the end of 2025), and solvency capital 1.4 times (1.4 times at the end of 2025) the solvency limit.