(August 21, 2012) — Lars Rohde, CEO of Danish pension giant ATP, has been appointed chairman of the country’s central bank, as the fund reports another set of impressive half yearly results.
Rohde is to join the bank at the start of February as head of the three-member board of governors, the institution announced today, succeeding Governor Nils Bernstein who is set to retire.
Bernstein said: “Lars Rohde is a great choice for [the Danish Central Bank]. [He is] an experienced man who is highly respected and [has] in-depth knowledge of national bank operations. I want to congratulate Lars Rohde on the appointment and [wish him] good luck with the job.”
Rohde has been at the helm of ATP since 1998 and has overseen much of its transformation into an alpha-seeking, risk managing, public sector quasi-hedge fund.
ATP‘s investment return for the first half of the year was just over DKK4.4 billion ($740 million), the institution said, due to positive results from four of its five risk classes. The equity and credit risk classes were the top performers.
“The European debt crisis continues unabated, and H1 was generally marked by great financial market uncertainty. Low interest rates also present a challenge for a pension provider such as ATP, and against this backdrop, we are satisfied with the results,” Rohde said.