Mr Wilhelm Backlund | Director Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities
Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company | Finland

Mr Backlund is in charge of the management of a €12 bn fixed income portfolio, a € 8 bn currency overlay program and liquidity management at Varma mutual pension insurance company. Since 2007 he is also responsible of an up to 1.5 bn commodities mandate. Commodities were given to the fixed income team because of the (at least perceived) connection to macroeconomic themes and term structures. Mr Backlund heads a team of 6 portfolio managers. Prior to joining Varma in 1999, Backlund was senior portfolio manager at the Local Government Pension Institution. Prior to that he held various positions in fixed income sales and proprietary trading, at various domestic and Scandinavian banks and brokers in Helsinki and Copenhagen. Mr Backlund has studied at Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration and Helsinki University of Technology.