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Danish pension fund AkademikerPension has added four companies to its exclusion list after determining they are linked to the production of essential components or services for nuclear weapons outside the European Union.
The companies placed on the exclusion list are Amentum Holdings Inc., China CSSC Holdings Ltd., China Isotope & Radiation Corp. and China National Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. All four were identified during a quarterly screening of the pension fund’s holdings, according to a 2026 news release.
“Our responsibility policy prohibits us from investing in companies that produce controversial weapons, including components or services that are essential for the functioning of nuclear weapons outside the EU,” said Jens Munch Holst, chief executive officer at the fund in the release. “Data shows that these four companies all do this.”
Under the fund’s responsible investment policy, exclusions apply only to activities it deems essential to nuclear weapons systems.
The latest exclusion decisions follow a policy shift announced in June 2025, when the pension fund relaxed its stance on European defense industry investments to support what it described as an increasingly unstable security environment.
At that time, the board amended its exclusion policy so that major European weapons manufacturers with limited ties to nuclear programs were no longer automatically barred from investment — a departure from previous policy, disclosed a 2025 news release.
In that statement, Holst said the move was driven by geopolitical tensions, including Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, and a perceived need to bolster European defense capabilities. “The security situation is currently worse than ever in recent times,” he said.
Under the revised policy, the fund lifted exclusions on six major European defense companies, including Airbus, Babcock International, Dassault Aviation, Leonardo, Safran and Thales, while continuing to exclude other firms tied to controversial weapons or human rights violations, added the 2025 news release.
Additionally, in 2025, AkademikerPension said it had decided to exclude the State of Israel and state-controlled enterprises from its investment universe, citing what it described as a breach of its responsible investment policy related to the ongoing military operations in Gaza. At the time, Holst said the decision was made following “monitoring that identified violations of human rights.” The fund also said it held no positions in Israel or its state-owned companies.