According to statistics from the Fund Companies Association, Swedes’ fund savings account for by far the largest share of global equity funds. Much of this capital is invested in US stocks.
But last year in particular turned out to be less fortunate, even though the foreign stock exchanges performed significantly better than the Swedish one and set one record after another in many places.
A global stock index rose by 20 percent in 2025. And although the Stockholm Stock Exchange only rose by around 8 percent, the return for Swedes at home was better. Things got even worse for the Swede who put the money into the USA.
– For US stocks, the return in Swedish krona is actually negative, says Landeborn.
And this despite the fact that the US stock markets grew significantly better at around 18 percent than the Stockholm Stock Exchange with an increase of 9.5 percent.
The reason is the crown strong reinforcement. Among the world’s major currencies, the Swedish currency was the strongest performer, gaining about 20 percent against the dollar in a year. A Swede who invested SEK 1,000 in the US at the beginning of 2025 would therefore only receive SEK 800 back at the end of the year, assuming that the local value of the investment continued to stagnate.
“Then, because of the currency, it was better to have the money on the Stockholm Stock Exchange,” says Maria Landeborn. Even the European stock markets were better than global or US funds from a Swedish perspective.
According to the fund companies According to the association, Swedes net sold US stocks in large quantities last year, while global funds continued to see large inflows.
On the other hand, the krona weakened in a number of previous years, giving additional impetus to foreign investment.
And in the long term, she still recommends investing a relatively large portion of your savings in global funds so as not to miss out on the performance of the best companies. Landeborn does not recommend trying to time the development of the crown.
But what will 2026 look like in the shorter term?
Many appraisers follow that the crown should be further strengthened and that is how the year 2026 began. And considering that the Stockholm Stock Exchange has performed weaker than many others, Swedish stocks may also do better this year.
– It is very possible that we will take revenge in Stockholm, says Landeborn.
