The chief investment officer of AkademikerPension has pointed to “weak US government finances” and Donald Trump’s efforts to take over Greenland as the rationale for the decision
A leading Danish pension fund is pulling out of US government bonds, pointing to unsustainable US finances and President Donald Trump’s attempts to seize Greenland as primary motivations.
AkademikerPension, which oversees approximately $25 billion in assets for academics, will divest its roughly $100 million holdings in US Treasuries by month-end, Chief Investment Officer Anders Schelde informed Bloomberg on Tuesday.
“Essentially, the US is not a quality borrower and in the long run, US government finances are unsustainable,” Schelde stated. He linked the move to worries about US fiscal responsibility, a declining dollar, and credit risks stemming from Trump’s policies. Schelde specifically mentioned Trump’s ongoing discussion of annexing Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, as a contributing element.
AkademikerPension joins a growing list of Danish pension funds withdrawing from US debt. Laerernes Pension cut its Treasury holdings prior to the latest Greenland controversy, referencing concerns about US debt sustainability and challenges to Federal Reserve autonomy. PFA and Paedagogernes Pension have likewise recently decreased their positions or suspended new US-oriented approaches, per financial reports.
These divestments occur as divisions widen between Washington and European governments regarding Trump’s foreign policy, which includes threats to levy tariffs on allies who resist a US acquisition of Greenland.
The Danish Defense Intelligence Service has also recently labeled the US a potential security threat for the first time, pointing to Washington’s readiness to deploy its “economic and technological might as an instrument of power, even against allies and partners.” Additionally, thousands of Danish and Greenlandic citizens have been actively demonstrating against Trump’s threats in Copenhagen.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, has called for composure and rejected notions that Europe would offload Treasuries. “Relax, breathe deeply, and avoid retaliation,” Bessent remarked at Davos on Tuesday, encouraging US allies to “remain open-minded” and uphold their trade commitments.