<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Big Northern European investors are increasingly wary of the risks of holding U.S. assets in the face of geopolitical tensions, pensions chiefs told Reuters, a sign of a broadening shift away from the world's biggest financial market. A top investment adviser, three pension funds and a leading industry body said the risk premium attached to holding U.S. assets had also gone up in part because of worries about the nation's finances. Pension industry leaders and investment chiefs from Finland, Sweden and Denmark ‌told Reuters they viewed U.S. foreign policy uncertainty and White House debt levels as a threat to the dollar, U.S. Treasuries and stocks. The Nordic region is home to some of Europe's biggest pension funds by assets. This ​week two Nordic pension funds, Sweden's Alecta and Denmark's AkademikerPension, said they had sold or were in the process of selling their U.S. Treasuries. While they ‍said the decisions were unrelated to recent events, U.S. President Donald Trump's ambitions for Greenland have revived speculation about ⁠Europe responding with financial protectionism to his ⁠administration's policies. &#34;We're having a lot of discussions (with clients) around (whether) it is time to tilt away from U.S. assets,&#34; said Van Luu, global head of solutions strategy, fixed income and foreign exchange at Russell Investments, ‌which advises retirement schemes. &#34;About 50% of them are considering whether they should do something about ​it,&#34; especially Northern European clients, including in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, he said. Seattle-based Russell advises clients with $1.6 trillion of assets and manages $636 billion directly. The value of the U.S. Treasuries held by Dutch pension fund ABP, Europe's largest, dropped steeply from the end of ⁠2024 to September last year, likely driven by a reduction in holdings. RARE PUBLIC ‍DEBATE Shifts in long-term asset ​allocation take time to show up and the United States with its strong economy and deep markets remains a draw. U.S. stocks are trading near record highs. U.S. policy uncertainty, however, has pressured the dollar, which fell 10% against major currencies last year amid tariff hikes ‍and other policies, and 30-year U.S. Treasury yields are trading at around 4.9%, near levels reached during the global financial crisis. The Nordic funds have been more vocal about their appetite for U.S. assets than others. Alecta said it had sold most of its U.S. bond holdings because risk associated with U.S. Treasuries and the dollar had increased, while AkademikerPension said it would divest its holdings by the end of the month, blaming weak U.S. government finances. AkademikerPension said the move was not intended as a political statement linked to the rift between Denmark and the United States over Greenland. The public nature of the debate over U.S. assets is unusual for ​investors, who typically ‍steer away from commenting on any changes that may be linked to current affairs. Their long-term investment decisions tend to look past momentary events. &#34;All of this turmoil is raising some questions about how exposed you should be to the U.S... that is what our members are professionally ​assessing,&#34; said Tom Vile Jensen, deputy director of trade body Insurance and Pensions Denmark. While U.S. policy uncertainty is a risk factor for asset valuations, the funds said they wouldn't withdraw capital for political reasons. &#34;There is certainly no weaponisation of capital. It is not the job of our sector to do that,&#34; said Vile Jensen. VERY MUCH INVESTABLE The U.S. remains an investable market but its risk premium has &#34;continued to rise&#34;, said Annika Ekman, EVP, Investments at Finland's Ilmarinen, which manages just over 65 billion euros ($76.1 billion). Finnish pension provider Veritas, meanwhile, is adhering to its investing mandates but U.S. policy uncertainty is a risk for the dollar, CIO Laura Wickstrom said. &#34;The higher the unpredictability (goes), then that is a more difficult environment,&#34; she said. U.S. policy ​uncertainty has also contributed to the draw of assets such as gold. Folksam, one of Sweden's largest insurers, told Reuters it sold its U.S. Treasuries in 2024 partly to reduce risks ahead of the U.S. election. &#34;There is a lot of talk right now, but for the time being I believe one should keep a cool head,&#34; said Jonas Thulin, CIO at Sweden's AP3, which manages roughly $61 billion ‍of pension assets. ($1 = 0.8546 euros) (Reporting by Naomi Rovnick, Simon Johnson and Simon Jessop; Additional reporting by Yoruk Bahceli; Writing by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Susan Fenton)</div>

Big Northern European investors are reassessing their exposure to U.S. assets due to rising geopolitical risks and concerns over U.S. financial stability. Pension funds from Finland, Sweden, and Denmark are increasingly wary, with some, like Alecta and AkademikerPension, selling U.S. Treasuries. Investment advisers report that about 50% of their clients are considering reducing U.S. asset holdings. While the U.S. remains an attractive market, the risk premium for U.S. assets has increased, prompting discussions about potential shifts in long-term investment strategies.

- Northern European investors are increasingly cautious about holding U.S. assets due to rising geopolitical tensions and financial concerns.  
- Key pension funds in the region, like Alecta and AkademikerPension, have begun divesting U.S. Treasuries as worries about U.S. policy uncertainty and national debt grow.  
- Despite these concerns, some investors maintain that the U.S. remains a viable market, although the risk premium for U.S. assets continues to increase.

fidelity

iShares Core S&P US Growth

iShares Core S&P 500

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

Pro UltrPro Dow30

Dow Jones Industrial Average

VanEck Biotech ETF

ISHRS Us Brokers & Sec Exchg

Schwab US Div Eq

Proshares Ultra Nasdaq Biotech

Avantis US Large Cap Value ETF

SPDR Intermed Term

iShares Dow Jones US

US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF

ISHRS Russ 1000 Growth

Ark Genomic Revolution ETF

iShares Barclays Short Treasury

Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF

iShares barclays 20+ Yr Treasury Bd

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund

SPDR S&P 500

VG Mid-Cap Val

Vanguard Long Term Bd

SPDR S&P Biotech

VG Financial

NASDAQ-100

iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Schwab 5-10 Year Corp Bond ETF

JPMorgan Equity Premium Inc ETF

iShares Expanded Tech Software Sector ETF

iShares 10-20 YR Treasury Bd Fd

VG Mga Cap 300 Grw

ALPS Medical Breakthrough

NASDAQ Composite Index

VG Value

VG Total Stock

iShares Core US Aggregate Bd

ISHRS Us Trsry Bd

iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF

VG S&P M-Cap 400 Val

VictoryShares Pioneer Asst-Based Inc ETF

ProShares Ultra QQQ

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech Index Fd

ProShares Ultra Dow30 ETF

SPDR Djia

S&P 500

iShares Trust iShares 1-5 Year Invest Grade Corp Bond ETF

Invesco QQQ Trust

Proshares UltraPro QQQ

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

VG S&P 500

Guggenheim DJIA Ave Div

Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value

VG Growth

Invesco Biotechnology & Genome ETF

Ps S&P Low Vol

iShares iBoxx  Invt

Nasdaq

iShares Biotechnology ETF

Vanguard Short Term Bd

Vanguard Intermediate Term Bd

iShares Barclays MBS Fixed Rate Bd

ISHRS Russ 2000 Val

Ark Innovation ETF

Fidelity MSCI Financials Index

Schw Us L-Cp Grw

Big North European investors reassessÂ US exposure as geopolitical risk mounts