Danish funds investing more in Europe, less in North America

Danish fund managers are reducing their holdings in North American stocks, increasingly favouring European investments, a new study by Finans Danmark has found.

According to Finans Danmark, this trend has largely been driven by the Trump administration’s announcement of new tariffs in early April, which heightened financial uncertainty among investors.

A notable shift

Since February, Danish investors have turned towards funds that invest in European stocks, and by the end of April, these funds had attracted approximately DKK 3.9 billion – according to Finans Denmark, this is a notable shift compared to previous years, during which European stock funds generally experienced outflows.

Funds that invest in North American stocks have seen net withdrawals totalling DKK 1.2 billion in the first four months of 2025 – a notable difference compared to 2024, when these funds experienced net inflows of DKK 5.6 billion.

‘Significant announcements’

“It is not surprising that investment flows have reacted to the significant announcements that have come from various quarters in the first months of the year,” commented Kåre Valgreen, deputy director, investment and savings at Finans Danmark. “Something undoubtedly reflects that there have been large differences in valuations between European and North American stocks.

“But whether this is a more lasting trend depends largely on how the pieces fall into place, both geopolitically and commercially. Right now we can see that investors in Danish retail funds have not panicked, as the figures show that there has only been a limited net outflow of capital of DKK 4 billion in the first four months of the year, when taking into account the large dividend payments earlier in the year. What we are seeing now is rather a re-orientation of a more long-term nature.”

Additional data from Finans Denmark indicated that global equity funds, which often have substantial exposure to US markets, continued to receive new investments in April. However, the net inflow was significantly smaller than in March. Read more here.