Balance of payments, first half of 2025
Swedish portfolio assets decreased abroad
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-02-03 8.00
Swedish holdings in foreign portfolio assets decreased in the first half of 2025. Total holdings amounted to SEK 10 682 billion, which was a decrease of 3 percent compared to the end of the second half of 2024. Holdings in shares accounted for the largest percentage decrease. Holding in investment fund shares decreased meanwhile debt securities increased.
Portfolio assets consist of foreign shares, investment fund shares, and long-term and short-term debt securities.
At the end of June 2025, Swedish investors had 58 percent of their total foreign holdings of portfolio investments in shares. Investment fund shares accounted for 25 percent and debt securities 17 percent. The distribution among the different types of securities were almost the same in comparison to the end of December 2024.
Swedish holdings in foreign shares and investment fund shares have decreased during the period
Swedish holdings in foreign shares amounted to SEK 6 157 billion at the end of June 2025, which is a decrease of 4 percent in comparison to the end of December 2024. Swedish investors’ largest holdings were in US shares, amounting to SEK 3 394 billion, a decrease from SEK 3 746 billion at the end of December 2024. Swedish holdings in US shares corresponds to 55 percent of total Swedish holdings in shares abroad. The second largest holding consisted of shares issued in The United Kingdom with SEK 441 billion. During this period foreign shares decrease in countries such as Denmark and Finland, while foreign shares increased in Germany and France.
Holdings in investment fund shares amounted to SEK 2 686 billion at the end of June 2025, a decrease of 3 percent compared with the end of December 2024. Luxembourg continued to be the single largest country for Swedish holdings in foreign investment fund shares, accounting for SEK 1 408 billion, which was a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to the end of December 2024.
Debt securities issued in Euro increased
Sweden’s holdings in debt securities abroad amounted to SEK 1 839 billion at the end of June 2025, an increase of 4 percent compared to the end of December 2024. Holdings in long-term debt securities amounted to SEK 1 722 billion. Short-term debt securities amounted to SEK 117 billion.
At the end of June 2025, holdings in debt securities were dominated by the currencies Euro, Swedish krona and US dollars. Debt securities issued in Euro amounted to SEK 602 billion, an increase of 20 percent compared with the end of December 2024. Swedish holdings in foreign debt securities issued in Swedish krona amounted to SEK 464 billion at the end of June 2025, while debt securities issued in US dollar amounted to SEK 402 billion. As a result, there was a 20 percent decrease in debt securities issued in US dollar compared to the end of December 2024. Debt securities issued in Swiss francs increased during the period, from SEK 1 billion to SEK 55 billion.
Definitions and explanations
This item of statistical news is based on the reporting of the Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS), carried out on the initiative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and to which numerous countries submit results biannually. CPIS reporting includes holdings in portfolio assets with the rest of the world and forms part of the international investment position in Sweden. Sweden has taken part in this survey since 2001. Assets in the first six months of the year are measured at the end of June, and in the second half of the year, assets are measured at the end of December.
As of the publication on the first six months of 2019, new data sources have been used for the compilation of Swedish portfolio investment abroad. This data was previously collected via questionnaire survey, but is now collected directly from the database on securities holdings (VINN).
For further information, see: New data sources for statistics on securities (scb.se)
In connection with the publication of December 2022, information regarding Swedish holdings of foreign shares and investment fund shares have been updated with new information for the period 2013–2018. For more information see the document Changes in the time series for statistics on securities, 2023-09-04
What are portfolio assets?
Trading and holdings in securities are grouped under the concept of portfolio investments, which includes shares, investment funds and debt securities. For a share to be defined as a portfolio investment, the ownership share must be below 10 percent of the votes; if the ownership share is above 10 percent, it is defined as a direct investment.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.