Alecta, Stockholm, recorded a 3.9% return in the first quarter despite losses from the pension fund's U.S. bank exposures.
The result compares with a -6.2% return in the first quarter of 2022.
Assets increased 3.4% over the three-month period, to 1.19 trillion Swedish kronor ($114.7 billion) as of March 31, according to the financial update released on Wednesday.
Assets increased by 1.2% compared with figures as of March 31, 2022.
Alecta recorded a 5.6% return for its equity allocation in the first quarter, compared with -10.2% in the same quarter a year earlier.
Fixed-income assets recorded a 2.2% gain in the quarter vs. a 2.7% loss in the first quarter of 2022.
Alternatives added 0.4% compared with a 3.5% return in the same period a year earlier.
Alecta had a total of 12 billion kronor invested in collapsed banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which were written down to zero in March. The pension fund also sold a 9.7 billion kronor holding in First Republic Bank at a loss, divesting its exposure in March for 7.3 billion kronor. The pension fund's total loss was about $1.4 billion.
Alecta said on April 11 that CEO Magnus Billing had left the pension fund as the board worked to restore trust following the losses. Katarina Thorslund, Alecta's deputy CEO and head of customer relations, was appointed acting CEO.
"This has of course been a challenging quarter, but in daily operations we have continued to deliver return to our customers. Our financial position is very strong," Ms. Thorslund said in an emailed comment.
