Danish pension fund to sell $100 million in Treasuries, citing 'poor' U.S. government finances

Danish pension relation AkademikerPension said it was exiting U.S. Treasuries due to the fact that of concern concerns arsenic the state spars with President Donald Trump implicit his calls to takeover Greenland.

Anders Schelde, AkademikerPension's investing chief, said the determination was driven by what it sees arsenic "poor [U.S.] authorities finances" amid America's debt crisis. But it besides comes arsenic tensions escalate betwixt the U.S. and Denmark aft Trump's latest threats to tariff European countries if Greenland wasn't sold to America.

"It is not straight related to the ongoing rift betwixt the [U.S.] and Europe, but of people that didn't marque it much hard to instrumentality the decision," Schelde said successful a connection to CNBC.

The money presently has a presumption of astir $100 cardinal successful U.S. Treasuries, an AkademikerPension spokesperson confirmed to CNBC. It plans to person exited that holding by the extremity of the month.

Schelde chiefly cited the ballooning indebtedness measure facing the U.S. aft decades of authorities overspending. The U.S. recorded a budget shortfall of $1.78 trillion past year, down conscionable implicit 2% from 2024's fiscal twelvemonth arsenic Trump's wide and steep tariffs took effect.

Moody's Ratings chopped the United States' sovereign recognition standing down to Aa1 from Aaa past year, citing the fund shortage and precocious borrowing costs associated with rolling implicit indebtedness astatine lofty involvement rates.

The U.S.' finances made "us deliberation that we request to marque an effort to find an alternate mode of conducting our liquidity and hazard management," Schelde said. "Now we person recovered specified a mode and we executing connected that."

But the determination besides comes arsenic Denmark grows progressively hostile toward the U.S. arsenic Trump has ratcheted up his calls for Greenland, an arctic land operated by the European country. Trump said implicit the play that helium would institute tariffs connected respective European nations opening Feb. 1 if the U.S. did not instrumentality power of Greenland and that those levies could emergence to 25% connected June 1.

European leaders person reportedly considered using counter-tariffs and different punitive economical measures arsenic a result. Some investors person disquieted that European countries could dump their U.S. plus holdings successful effect to Trump's caller tariffs.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Monday that it would "not beryllium pressured" and "stand steadfast connected dialogue, connected respect and connected planetary law."

Treasury yields successful the U.S. and overseas surged connected Tuesday, a motion of investors feeling geopolitical turmoil rising. The U.S. dollar and stocks fell and golden roseate to caller all-time highs successful a league defined by the "sell America" trade.

Bridgewater Associates laminitis Ray Dalio told CNBC connected Tuesday that sovereign funds could commencement to dump U.S. investments if they halt seeing the U.S. arsenic a unchangeable trading partner.

"On the different broadside of trade, deficits, and commercialized wars, determination are superior and superior wars," Dalio told CNBC's "Squawk Box" astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland. "If you instrumentality the conflicts, you can't disregard the anticipation of the superior wars. In different words, possibly there's not the aforesaid inclination to bargain ... U.S. indebtedness and truthful on."

Reuters archetypal reported the Danish pension fund's Treasury exit.