Corporate governance

The starting point for Varma’s corporate governance is the company’s core task – securing pensions. The statutory earnings-related pension scheme was created by an agreement concluded between the government and labour market organisations, and the tripartite model still plays a key role in the development of the system. Labour market organisations also participate in the administration of earnings-related pension companies.

 Good governance promotes the transparency of Varma’s operations and administration, which in turn contributes to strengthening public confidence in the earnings-related pension scheme.

 Varma’s governance is based on the Finnish Act on Employment Pension Insurance Companies. Varma also complies with the applicable provisions of the Finnish Corporate Governance Code. The Finnish Corporate Governance Code is available on the Securities Market Association’s website. 

Varma provides pension insurance for work carried out in Finland. Varma is a mutual company, owned by its client companies and self-employed persons and insured employees.

Varma’s core task is to secure pensions. We take care of the statutory pension cover of private entrepreneurs and employees. Companies take out TyEL insurance for their employees, while entrepreneurs insure themselves through YEL insurance. We invest the assets collected as pension contributions profitably and securely for current and future pensions.

Our services in workability management and rehabilitation help client companies to save in pension and sick-leave costs. We also let office space and flats and provide financing for companies.

Varma is a mutual company, owned by its client companies and self-employed persons, insured employees and owners of the guarantee capital.

• Corporate Governance Report (pdf)
• Statement on remuneration at Varma (pdf)
• Articles of Association (pdf)

Positions of trust

• Positions of trust held by the members of the Board of Directors (pdf)
• Positions of trust held by the President & CEO and management (pdf)
• Investment Organisation's Positions of Trust (pdf)
• Varma's memberships in shareholders' nomination boards of listed companies (pdf)

Policyholders and the personnel employed by them (the insured) are Varma’s customers. Varma is a mutual company. This means that the policyholders and the insured have a right based on a client relationship to participate in decision-making at the Annual General Meeting.

The main task of the Annual General Meeting is to elect the members of the Supervisory Board and decide on their remunerations on the basis of the proposal submitted by the Election Committee.

Articles of Association (pdf)

Supervisory Board

Board of Directors

President and CEO

Executive Group

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an integral part of our core task: securing pensions. 'Responsible Varma' is also a key theme in our new strategy.

Read more about corporate social responsibility

Varma follows Insider Guidelines confirmed by the Board of Directors. The purpose of the guidelines is to promote the public reliability of the company's investment operations and the personnel's knowledge of insider regulations, so that they are not unintentionally violated. The instructions are applied to Varma’s investment operations and employees’ personal trading in securities. The insider guidelines require advance consultation for trading in listed equities or securities entitling to listed equities by those Varma employees who are considered as permanent insiders based on their position or tasks where they regularly receive inside information.

In advance consultation the compliance officer authorises the transaction. The authorisation requires that there is no insider information at Varma concerning the listed equity in question; the compliance officer ensures this from Varma’s internal register prior to the authorisation. Permanent insiders are also prohibited from short selling.

Following a transaction carried out after the advance consultation, the permanent insider is required to notify the compliance officer of the number of securities acquired or disposed of for the purpose of maintaining Varma’s internal register.

The data in the public insider register can be accessed through Euroclear Finland’s link.

The company maintains an internal related party register that includes the members of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Directors, the chief auditor, the President & CEO and other members of the Executive Group, as well as the spouses and wards of these persons.

Significant trades and other transactions between Varma as a company and a registered related party must be approved by the Board of Directors before they are realised.

• Related party transactions

We wish to promote open societal interaction, develop more customer oriented operations and listen to our customers. Five consultative committees support these goals: the consultative committees for pension affairs, the insured, self-employed persons, employers and pensioners.

The objective is to improve co-operation and communication between us, entrepreneurs, pensioners, labour market organisations as well as employees insured by Varma and employers.

The term of office for the consultative committees is three years.

Pension Affairs

Insured

Self-employed Persons

Employers

Pensioners

In our sponsorships, we primarily focus on long-term co-operation agreements. Co-operation with selected parties is made use of as diversely as possible. Our goal is to support both the physical and mental workability of Finns by boosting well-being and supporting entrepreneurship.

Varma does not offer financial support to political parties.

Read more about sponsorship co-operation.

The current theme for sponsorship collaboration is supporting SMEs' growth platform and their leap to international growth. In relation to this theme of growth, we have entered into sponsorship collaboration with Kasvu Open and Kasvuryhmä (Growth Collective Finland). Kasvu Open helps small and mid-sized companies prepare for nationwide growth. Growth Collective Finland supports the peer work of mid-sized companies and their preparation for a strong period of growth and internationalisation.

Varma's collaboration with the Finnish National Opera Ballet is the company's way of supporting Finnish culture and lowering the threshold to the world of opera and ballet for more and more Finns. The Finnish National Opera Ballet has been Varma's co-operation partner since 1984.

A key form of co-operation with the Opera is customer events: Varma's most important customer event takes place at the Opera.

The value of the National Opera co-operation agreement is EUR 150,000 per year.

Through donations, Varma supports non-profit activities by participating in co-operation projects that advance disability risk management and longer careers by means of

• medical research into illnesses causing occupational disability
• studies into social phenomena and working life
• promoting the employment of special needs groups
• preventing the marginalisation of young people.

Charitable donations in 2019

Christmas donation of EUR 8,000 to MIELI Mental Health Finland and EUR 5,000 to Suomen Teollisuuslääketieteen Edistämissäätiö (a Finnish foundation for the promotion of industrial medicine).