AMWatch

”We hope, of course, that we have managers who are aligned with our wishes and ambitions on climate. And if not, we will engage in a critical dialogue with them,” Christina Gordon Christiansen, head of ESG at P+, Pensionskassen for Akademikere tells AMWatch. #future #investing #sustainability #oilandgas #climatechange #esg #esginvesting

"This year will go down as the year of concentration,” C WorldWide Asset Management CEO Bo Almar Knudsen says in AMWatch’s New Year’s series. This year marked a real breakthrough for the DKK 141 bn – (EUR 18.9 bn) manager as over 12 months it went from managing a few millions to USD 1bn in US mandates. Founded in 1986 with the goal of finding the best 30 stocks globally, the company has a long track record and a stable investment team. #assetmanagement #assetmanager #institutionalinvestor #institutionalinvestment #portfoliomanagement #mandates #activeinvesting #passiveinvesting #nordic

US asset management giant Franklin Templeton Investments has been active in the Nordic region for 25 years. Recently, the company has seen strong Nordic client interest in the alternative credit area, institutional sales director Remco van Dijk tells AMWatch in our International Asset Managers series. Alternative credit encompasses a wide range of opportunities for the manager, including senior secured loans, real estate debt and (dis)stressed opportunities. According to van Dijk, Franklin Templeton is “having a lot of rich conversations with Nordic investors on these topics.” #assetmanager #assetmanagement #wealthmanager #wealthmanagement #institutionalinvestors #investments #Nordic #bankingindustry #financialmarkets

On Jan. 20 next year, the USA will get a new president when Donald Trump takes over from Joe Biden. But as Inauguration Day draws nearer, the rest of the world remains unable to figure out what might happen afterward. This is but one of the many unknowns that lie ahead of us in 2025. According to Staffan Hansén, CEO of Sweden’s public pension fund, AP3 Tredje AP-fonden, changes in the security landscape and a revolution in the development of smart tools are other major factors to consider next year. In the first article in our New Year’s series, Hansén tells AMWatch that he hopes that Europe will become more competitive in 2025. ”The US is easily the global star performer entering 2025, but I do hope Europe will step up to gradually build a competitive edge with well thought-out regulations and pro-growth policies, innovation and increased productivity. Europe urgently needs to get its act together,” he says. #pensionfund #pensions #investments #assetmanagement #assetmanager #bankingindustry #financialmarkets #Nordic

“The US is and should be determined to keep its leading position in AI development – it cannot give in to China,” says Henri Blomster, portfolio manager at Finland’s Asilo Asset Management Oy. The company manages the Asilo Argo fund, which is part of United Bankers’ product range. At the end of November, the fund had a net asset value of approximately EUR 170m. During the current year, the proportion of AI exposure within the fund has grown, says Blomster. #ai #artificialintelligence #fundmanagement #fundmanager #portfoliomanager #portfoliomanagement #finland #largecap #nordic #mutualfunds #institutionalinvestments #institutionalinvestor #assetmanagement #assetmanager #techcompanies #equities

What a year it has been for the Nordic investment industry – a year of significant resignations and replacements, Flemming Højbo writes in this latest analysis for AMWatch. Among the movers and shakers that changed jobs was Swedbank Robur’s star portfolio manager Kristofer Barrett who joined Carmignac in London. A beacon of stability was Jan-Olof Jacke, who remained interim Chair as Swedish pension giant Alecta was engulfed by investment failures and botched recruitments. At Nordea Asset Management, Martin Persson will succeed Snorre Storset who is leaving for new pastures at the end of the year after nine years at the helm. It remains to be seen whether Storset will compete with incumbent Nicolai Tangen when the CEO position at Norway’s mighty Oil Fund becomes available in 2025. William Paus will be at the forefront of SEB’s fightback in the battle for the investment market as head of a new consolidated business area for wealth and asset management. He will be flanked by Linnéa Ecorcheville, head of Life, and Javiera Ragnartz, head of Asset Management. #assetmanagement #assetmanager #investmentmanagement #investments #Nordic #financialmarkets #bankingindustry #pensionfunds #wealthmanagement #fundmanagement

Robeco has continued last year’s success in the Nordics, reaching its highest AUM in the region so far, head of Nordic Sales Stefan Laszlo tells AMWatch in our International Managers Series. #investing #assetmanagement #assetmanagers #nordics

Companies from Iceland and Slovenia are quite unusual holdings in Swedish investment organization Coeli’s frontier market fund that is otherwise dominated by developing economies like Vietnam, Pakistan, and Egypt. According to portfolio managers James Bannan and Hans-Henrik Skov, there are historical reasons why Iceland is mentioned alongside poorer countries from warmer climates. “Iceland is a bit of an outlier in terms of GDP per capita. The story behind it is that after the financial crisis, when Iceland basically nationalized the whole banking sector, and the currency was frozen, they got thrown out of all indexes by MSCI,” Bannan says. Later, when Iceland was reintroduced to the global investment community, MSCI decided to “start them in frontier," he adds. #fundmanagement #fundmanager #frontiermarkets #assetmanagement #assetmanager #bankingindustry #financialmarkets #investments #Nordic #Iceland

Lauri Vaittinen, former CEO of Mandatum Asset Management, names the shift from public to private assets as one of the biggest changes in the Nordic asset management landscape over the past fifteen years. He expects the trend to continue and grow further. “The financial crisis of 2008 had its impact on investments here and then came the zero-interest rate environment. The biggest shift has been the move from public to private assets among institutional investors,” says Vaittinen, who is currently on gardening leave. #assetmanagement #ceo #finland #nordic #portfoliomanagement #privateequity

In this interview, Joe Sullivan, the CEO of Allspring Global Investments, tells AMWatch about navigating as an asset manager in a world with differing views on climate and ESG. ”Our Nordic clients have been instrumental in helping us with our mindset. They’ve been challenging us, causing us to think and to raise the bar in terms of a lot of the things we do. So, we are grateful to them,” says Sullivan. Allspring entered the Nordics around 20 years ago but has growth ambitions. ”We are nowhere near where we should be in terms of our business in the Nordics,” Sullivan tells AMWatch. #investing #climatechange #future #ceo #assetmanagement #esginvesting