Swedish portfolio holdings 2001 - Foreign shares and debt securities

The value of Swedish investors' holdings of foreign securities amounted to SEK 1,494 billion at the end of 2001. Holdings of foreign shares and mutual funds corresponded to SEK 1,062 billion, while the value of debt securities amounted to SEK 432 billion. This information is obtained from a survey which has been carried out by the Riksbank for the second time and which is part of an international survey led by the International Monetary Fund. This survey will in future be carried out annually.

Sector breakdown. Insurance companies and Swedish mutual funds, which belong to the sector entitled "other financial institutions", account for the largest share of foreign assets. They are followed by the social insurance sector (primarily the AP pension funds), which has substantially increased its foreign investment assets during 2001.

Households accounted for SEK 69 billion, or just under 5 per cent of the total Swedish holdings of foreign securities. However, the household sector share is estimated to be larger than this, as many households invest capital in Swedish-registered funds, which in turn invest in foreign securities. These holdings are reported under the sector "other financial institutions".

Country breakdown. The survey also contains a detailed country breakdown of investments abroad. The country breakdown shows that more than one third of all Swedish portfolio assets were invested in American securities.

The complete report can be downloaded from the Riksbank's website. Further information can be obtained from the Monetary Policy Department, Helena Persson, tel. +46-8-787 02 45 and Johanna Nahkuri, tel. +46-8-787 02 41.