(Bloomberg) -- A year after announcing more than $3 billion in losses on niche banks and real estate, Swedish pension fund Alecta delivered solid returns on its investments.

The fund saw its total assets under management grow by 3.7% to 1,291 billion Swedish kronor ($118 billion) in the first quarter compared with the end of the year, driven by the increasing valuations of its investments, the company said in a statement Tuesday. 

The pension fund, which has made headlines over the past year for its failed bets on regional US banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, and European real estate, reported a 5.9% gain for its optimal product — a defined contribution plan — in the first quarter. 

Returns on its larger portfolio, the defined benefit pension, came to 3.1%. In the defined contribution plan, profit is paid to the employee, while for defined benefit pensions the profit is paid to the employer.

Alecta’s tumultuous year began in March 2023 as concerns about some of its investments started to surface. More than $2 billion in losses from investments in regional US banks were followed by a writedown on landlord Heimstaden Bostad AB. Other bad news over the past year included a flurry of leadership changes, two failed chair appointments, and three ongoing external probes into the fund.

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Despite heightened interest in the fund’s investment makeup over the past year, today’s report was light on details, leaving out returns by asset class and disclosing no new information on its single largest holding, Heimstaden Bostad.

The value of that property bet was written down by 25% in 2023. Alecta also didn’t comment on whether it would participate in any injection of new capital into the residential landlord, which is struggling with elevated borrowing costs.

Alecta has also been looking to renegotiate the unfavorable terms of a shareholder agreement with Heimstaden Bostad’s co-owner, Norwegian billionaire Ivar Tollefsen.

Heimstaden Bostad’s credit rating has been lowered by several agencies, including Fitch, which last month lowered it to BBB-, citing pressured liquidity and a deteriorating interest coverage ratio.

Alecta is planning some changes to its governance structure with decisions due at an annual supervisory board meeting scheduled for Thursday. It has proposed shrinking the supervisory board and appointing at least four independent members of its board of directors.

--With assistance from Christopher Jungstedt.

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