About Velliv Foreningen
Velliv Foreningen (The Velliv Association) has around 340,000 members, all of whom are customers of Velliv (formerly Nordea Life & Pension).
How the association came into being
Velliv Foreningen was founded on 6 August 2015 by demerger from TryghedsGruppen. The association was originally called Foreningen Norliv. The association has around 340,000 members, all of whom are customers of Velliv (formerly Nordea Liv & Pension). Upon its founding, the association Velliv Foreningen had assets of DKK 8 billion.
The aims of Velliv Foreningen
The association aims to ensure a strong democratic basis through members' engagement with and participation in the association's elections, bonuses and other member benefits. The association also works to promote good mental health in Denmark through charitable donations.
Timeline
- 2015
Danish Financial Supervisory Authority approves the founding of the association The association is established with a Board of Representatives based in TryghedsGruppen
- 2016
National elections to the Board of Representatives and formation of the Board of Directors Board of representatives agrees a strategy for the association and a sub-strategy for its charitable activities Board of Representatives resolves to acquire 25% of the members' pension company Nordea Liv & Pension Secretariat is established and composed
- 2017
Change of name from Foreningen NLP (Association NLP) to Norliv - the association for customers of Nordea Liv & Pension. Members' meetings are held across Denmark A model for payment of members' bonuses is agreed Board of Representatives resolves to acquire a further 45% of Nordea Liv & Pension from Nordea
- 2018
Elections to the Board of Representatives in the regions west of the Great Belt First payment of members' bonuses to be agreed Opening of funding applications for activities that promote good mental health. The name is changed to Velliv Foreningen at the same time as Nordea Liv & Pension changes name to Velliv.
Our mission
An important ambition of the association is to engage members in elections to the Board of Representatives, as this is a prerequisite for a thriving association democracy that reflects the members' interests.
Furthermore, the association aims to grant specific member benefits to individual members in the form of a bonus payment. The association's Board of Representatives has resolved that 80% of its returns should go on bonus payments. The total amount of bonus payments is agreed each year at the ordinary meeting of the Board of Representatives in the spring.
The remaining 20% of the returns go to charitable activities that promote mental health in Denmark. Mental health issues are a particular growing challenge for Denmark. Stress related issues results in around 35,000 people being off work sick every day, added to which are symptoms of anxiety, depression, sleeping difficulty and loneliness, which have also been increasing in recent years. This has enormous welfare consequences for the individual and their family as well as major financial consequences for companies and the public sector. Norliv wants to help address this challenge through preventive efforts.
Governance
Members
Velliv Foreningen is a representative democracy in which, every four years, the association's 330,000 members or so based in the five Danish regions can stand for election to or vote in elections for the association's Board of Representatives. Thus, it is ultimately the members who determine the direction of the association.
Board of Representatives
The supreme authority of the association is the Board of Representatives. This consists of approx. 50 representatives elected by and from among the members. The Board of Representatives establishes the framework for the association's work, elects the Board of Directors and approves general strategies, financial statements, articles of association etc. Elections to the Board of Representatives take place every two years alternately in the regions east and west of the Great Belt.
Board of Directors
The Board of Representatives elects seven board members and two deputies from Velliv Foreningen. The Board of Directors manages the association and takes decisions on the association's investments.
Investment Committee
The Board of Directors has appointed an Investment Committee comprising the board's chairmanship, Peter Gæmelke and Kent Petersen, and the association's CEO, Lars Wallberg. The Investment Committee takes decisions on adjustments to investments within the framework established by the Board of Directors.
Secretariat
The association's Secretariat serves the association policy forums, undertakes monitoring and adjustment of asset management, provides member services and other administrative service functions, and assumes responsibility for administering and preparing charitable donations for approval by the Board of Directors.
Investments
Solid returns on the association's assets are a precondition for the Velliv Association being able to create value for its members and Danes in general. It is the returns that will ensure a good cash bonus to the members and fund the association's charitable activities.
In 2017, the association acquired a 25% stake in Velliv (formerly Nordea Liv & Pension), and in 2018 a further 45% stake which was approved by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority in the spring of 2018. The association owns 70% of the pension company and is thus the majority shareholder in the company. In the coming years, the pension company Velliv (formerly Nordea Liv & Pension) will conduct a share buyback programme directed at Nordeas remaining shares so that Velliv Foreningen will own 100%. At that point Velliv will become a fully customer-owned company.
Due to the acquisition of Velliv (formerly Nordea Liv & Pension), the composition of the association's investments are changing and a new investment strategy is being implemented.