Protesters with Danish and Greenlandic flags attend an illustration in Copenhagen, Denmark, Jan. 17, 2026.
Nichlas Pollier | Bloomberg | Getty Photos
Danish pension operator AkademikerPension mentioned it’s exiting U.S. Treasurys due to finance issues as Denmark spars with President Donald Trump over his threats to take over Greenland.
Anders Schelde, AkademikerPension’s investing chief, mentioned the choice was pushed by what it sees as “poor [U.S.] authorities funds” amid America’s debt disaster. Nevertheless it additionally comes as tensions escalate between the U.S. and Denmark after Trump’s newest threats to tariff European international locations if Greenland, an arctic territory of Denmark, is not bought to the U.S.
“It’s not straight associated to the continuing rift between the [U.S.] and Europe, however after all that did not make it harder to take the choice,” Schelde mentioned in a press release to CNBC.
The fund at the moment has a place of round $100 million in U.S. Treasurys, an AkademikerPension spokesperson confirmed to CNBC. The lecturers-focused fund plans to have exited that holding by the tip of the month.
Schelde mainly cited the ballooning debt invoice going through the U.S. after many years of presidency overspending. The U.S. recorded a finances shortfall of $1.78 trillion final yr, down simply over 2% from 2024’s fiscal yr as Trump’s broad and steep tariffs took impact.
Moody’s Rankings minimize the US’ sovereign credit standing all the way down to Aa1 from Aaa in Could, citing the finances deficit and excessive borrowing prices related to rolling over debt at lofty rates of interest.
The U.S.’ funds made “us assume that we have to make an effort to seek out another manner of conducting our liquidity and threat administration,” Schelde mentioned. “Now we’ve discovered such a manner and we [are] executing on that.”
Denmark has grown more and more hostile towards the U.S. as Trump has ratcheted up his requires management of Greenland to be given to the U.S. Trump mentioned over the weekend that he would institute tariffs on a number of European nations starting Feb. 1 if the U.S. didn’t take management of Greenland and that these levies might rise to 25% on June 1.
European leaders have reportedly thought-about utilizing counter-tariffs and different punitive financial measures consequently. Some traders have anxious that European international locations might dump their U.S. asset holdings in response to Trump’s new tariffs.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen mentioned Monday that it will “not be pressured” and “stand agency on dialogue, on respect and on worldwide regulation.”
Treasury yields within the U.S. and overseas surged Tuesday, an indication of traders feeling geopolitical turmoil rising. The U.S. greenback and shares fell, and gold rose to new all-time highs in a session outlined by the “promote America” commerce.
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio instructed CNBC on Tuesday that sovereign funds might begin to dump U.S. investments in the event that they cease seeing the U.S. as a secure buying and selling accomplice.
“On the opposite aspect of commerce, deficits, and commerce wars, there are capital and capital wars,” Dalio instructed CNBC’s “Squawk Field” on the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland. “Should you take the conflicts, you may’t ignore the potential of the capital wars. In different phrases, perhaps there’s not the identical inclination to purchase … U.S. debt and so forth.”
Reuters first reported the Danish pension fund’s Treasury exit.
