AP6

About AP6

AP6, formally Sjätte AP-fonden or Sixth AP Fund, is a Swedish state pension buffer fund with SEK 77.1 billion (approximately €6.8 billion) in assets under management as of December 2024, headquartered in Gothenburg. The fund was established in 1996 by the Swedish Parliament with an initial SEK 10.4 billion endowment from the ATP system, and differs structurally from the other AP funds in that it does not receive or pay out pension contributions and invests exclusively in private equity. AP6 operates as a self-financed government agency reporting to the Ministry of Finance, with a 9.0 percent return in 2024 generating SEK 6.4 billion in net profit. Since inception, the fund has compounded capital from SEK 10.4 billion to over SEK 81 billion as of April 2025. In May 2025, the Riksdag legislated AP6's merger into AP2 effective 1 January 2026, ending 30 years of standalone operation.

Investment thesis

AP6 pursues a private-equity-only mandate with no liquidity constraints from pension outflows, operating three sub-portfolios across buyout, venture and growth, and secondaries. The buyout sleeve is the dominant engine, returning 15.9 percent in 2024 and 21.9 percent over five years, while the secondary portfolio returned 17.5 percent in 2024 and the venture portfolio 10.6 percent. The investment model combines primary fund commitments to external managers, secondary purchases of limited partner stakes, and direct co-investments alongside trusted general partners. Disclosed manager relationships span leading Nordic and pan-European houses, complemented by venture and growth allocations to early-stage Nordic specialists. Geographic focus is Nordic-biased with overlay pan-European and selective North American exposure. Value creation occurs primarily through general partner execution at the portfolio-company level, with AP6's own team adding selection alpha, secondaries timing and co-investment fee reduction.

Recent activity

AP6's 2024 activity was anchored by the 9.0 percent total fund return and SEK 6.4 billion in net profit, with deployment continuing across all three sub-portfolios ahead of the announced 2026 merger into AP2. Underlying portfolio company activity in 2024 reflected general partner-led exits and new investments across industrials (2024), software (2024), healthcare (2024) and consumer (2024) sectors via the buyout sleeve. The venture sleeve recovered from a soft 2023 with 10.6 percent returns in 2024 across underlying technology and life-sciences positions. Specific portfolio company names are not disclosed by AP6 directly, as exposures are held via underlying fund vehicles managed by third-party general partners. Detailed buyer names and multiple data available on Pro at €49/month.