Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company is the largest private investor and one of the largest earning-related pension insurance companies in Finland. In 2020 Varma had 900,000 workers insured by them.In addition to managing statutory TyEL insurance for employees and YEL insurance for the self-employed, Varma offers its customers vocational rehabilitation and well-being at work services which support workability and help people to remain in working life longer. Varma is a mutual company and its head office is located in Salmisaari, Helsinki. In 2019, Varma paid out pensions in the amount of EUR 5.9 billion to 343,700 people and made 22,340 new pension decisions. Premiums written amounted to EUR 5.3 billion, and at year-end 541,926 people were insured with Varma.
History
Varma was launched on 1 July 1998, when Pension Sampo and some two thirds of Pension Varma merged. Varma has provided support to the Finnish National Opera and Ballet for several years. In 2016, Varma donated a total of approximately EUR 10,000 to various foundations, with Suomen Teollisuuslääketieteen Edistämissäätiö receiving the largest share. Varma began introducing solar power in its properties in 2016, when two office buildings in Helsinki were equipped with solar power systems. In autumn 2017, Varma installed 5,000 more solar panels in its new solar power plants in seven properties. Charging points for 250 electric cars were installed in Varma's parking facility in spring 2017. The charging system is among the largest in the world. The installer, Parking Energy Ltd., received product development support for the project from Tekes.
Organisation
Board of Directors
The members of Varma's board of directors are chairman Jari Paasikivi, deputy chairmen Antti Palola and Kai Telanne, and regular members Riku Aalto, Johanna Ikäheimo, Rolf Jansson, Ari Kaperi, Casimir Lindholm, Jyri Luomakoski, Petri Niemisvirta, Ilkka Oksala and Pekka Piispanen.
Executive Group
The members of Varma's executive group are, in addition to president & CEO Risto Murto, Tiina Kurki, Ville-Veikko Laukkanen, Pasi Mustonen, Pekka Pajamo, Reima Rytsölä, Katri Viippola and employee representative Eeva Hautala. The secretary for the executive group is the head of legal affairs, Tuula Kallio. Varma's chief actuary is Pasi Mustonen, and the company's senior physician is Jukka Kivekäs.
Investments
Varma is the largest private investor in Finland. The invested assets are used to secure present and future pensions. Varma invests the assets it collects as pension contributions for current and future pensions. Varma's investment assets in 2017 amounted to approximately EUR 45 billion, 28% of which has been invested in Finnish society. The company mainly invests in fixed income, equity, real estate investments, and in hedge funds.
Real Estate
According to a report by KTI Property Information Ltd, Varma was the fourth largest real estate investor in Finland in 2017, and the value of the company's real estate investments totalled approximately EUR 3.6 billion at the end of September. Domestic real estate investments accounted for 80 per cent and international real estate investments for 20 per cent of Varma's real estate portfolio. Varma's real estate portfolio includes both direct real estate investments in Finland and domestic and international real estate funds. Varma's real estate assets are diversified according to both type of premise and geographical location. Varma offers rental flats, but the office and business premises owned by the company hold the most weight. In December 2017, the value of Varma's real estate fund investments totalled EUR 805 million.
Equities
In 2017, Varma's investment portfolio yielded a return of 6.2 per cent, i.e. EUR 2.7 billion, and the return on investments doubled compared to the previous year. Of Varma's investments, equity investments generated the highest returns, at 9.6 per cent, and of those, listed equities performed the strongest, yielding 10.8 per cent. Equities listed in Finland yielded a return of 14.9 per cent.
Sustainable equity portfolio
Varma began building a sustainable equity portfolio in summer 2016. The portfolio invests in companies that benefit from climate change mitigation and which have clear targets concerning climate change or do not incur major costs from adapting to climate change. At the end of 2016, the value of the portfolio was roughly EUR 300 million and it comprised companies from developed markets operating in various business sectors, including both industrial and consumer companies. In March 2017, Varma's portfolio was named the winner in the category of “best achievement in responsible investment of 2016” among Nordic investors. Varma's investment portfolio was also, alongside other major Finnish pension investors, part of an assessment conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature in 2017 to determine how well-aligned the renewable energy and coal investments of significant European investors are with the Paris climate agreement. The head of WWF Finland considered Finnish investment to be good. In 2017, the carbon footprint of Varma's listed equity investments declined by 27% compared to the 2015 baseline. This result was achieved by increasing the share of low-emissions industries and by avoiding emissions-intensive industries such as energy and mining.
Recognition
In 2017, Varma's pension specialist Outi Viljanen was voted the best customer service agent in Finland in the Customer's Voice survey.
