The Fund Selection Blog

Storebrand Rearranges Their Executive Management

Storeband, a Norwegian investment, pension, and asset management company, intends on rearranging their executive management, as of March 1, 2011.

Storeband described the main objective of the new organization as, ‘a holistic customer interface, consolidate areas of competence and facilitate efficient balance sheet management.’

CEO of Storebrand, Ida Kreutzer, stated in the company press release: “the main objective of the organization is to make it easier to be a customer in Storebrand. We will streamline our internal processes, strengthen our position in the retail market and increase our sales of fund based products.“

The new structure will include the following:

· Idar Kreutzer- Group CEO and Managing Director Storebrand ASA.

· Lars Aa. Løddesøl- CFO and COO.

· Odd Arild Grefstad - Managing Director Storebrand Livsforsikring AS.

· Sarah McPhee-Managing Director SPP Livförsäkring AB.

· Hans Aasnæs-Managing Director Storebrand Kapitalforvaltning AS.

· Gunnar Rogstad- Executive Vice President Insurance

 

HealthInvest Leading Healthcare Fund

January 26, 2011: Since its launch in January 2009, HealthInvest Value Fund rose 90%, compared to other pharmaceutical funds in a similar category, which only rose about 10%, according to Morningstar statistics.

HealthInvest is an independent Swedish fund management company, established in 2006 by Anders Hallberg and Carl Bennet. The company manages specialty funds, these include: HealthInvest Global Long/Short Fund, HealthInvest Value Fund and HealthInvest Asia Fund.

HealthInvest Value Fund is a long only fund, which invests in micro, small and mid-cap healthcare companies. HealthInvest has described their high performing Value Fund as ‘the world’s leading pharmaceutical fund’.

Anders Hallberg, CEO of HealthInvest and the portfolio manager of HealthInvest Funds, commented in the company press release: "Of course it is very satisfying to HealthInvest Value Fund has had such a strong returns. The main reason for this favorable development is our Investment focus on smaller and under-researched companies where it is easier to find gems that are unexplored. Although our investment process where we get much help from independent consulting organizations that provide direct contact with the doctor for due diligence and partnerships with accountants for the audit of company accounting allow excess returns. "

Finnish Fund Returns 12.3%

 

 
January 26, 2011: Preliminary data shows that Keva the €28.8bn fund, for Finnish municipal workers, returned 12.3%, in 2010.

Managing Director Merja Ailus, stated in the company press release: “the performance of Keva’s investment activities can be considered very good with regard to the general situation.” She added that, "We can also be satisfied with the cumulative real return on the pension fund, which has stood on average at 3.9 per cent per annum since its inception in 1988. In the course of Keva’s funding operations, the capital markets have experienced two very difficult periods: the collapse of the equity markets as a result of the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the recent financial crisis."

The €28.8bn market value of Keva’s investments consist of 44.8% equities, 41.1% fixed-income investments, 7.6% real-estate,  4.0% private equity investments, 1.7% hedge-fund Investments, and .8% commodity investments.  Keva’s investments are located in diverse locations and sectors, with only 20% of all their investments made within Finland.

Keva Investment Director, Ari Huotari mentioned that "2010 was a difficult yet interesting year from an investor’s viewpoint.“ He continued by stating, “The current year is also expected to be quite challenging. It is increasingly difficult to generate returns from interest rate markets, and equity markets already have two years of particularly high returns behind them. Indeed, the capital markets are ripe for investing in new targets."

 

Danish Unipension Receives Praise From Amnesty International

January 27, 2010: Amnesty International praises Unipension with roses, for their effort in socially responsible investments (SRI). The aim is to motivate companies to invest responsibly. Sanne Borges, an adviser at Amnesty International, stated in the company press release "Active ownership is a very positive step. This way you are helping to boost the healthy development of enterprises."

Unipension has a history of socially responsible investments, as well as abiding by the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment. The company maintains an (SRI) policy and they ensure that the companies they invest in abide by those guidelines. “We can influence the companies in a positive direction being and engaging in dialogue. It is also a financially responsible solution. The companies we invest in are selected based on an expectation of good returns for the benefit of members, “said Zaiga Strautmann, Environmental, Social and corporate representative at Unipension.

 

 

 

 

Tove Bångstad’s New Role at Aviva

 

January 19, 2010: Aviva appointed Tove Bångstad, as Business Development Director, in Sweden. Her role will be to develop Aviva’s investor business and client relationships, throughout the Nordic Region.

Ted Potter, Managing Director for Aviva stated in the company press release, “We look forward to deepening our relationships in both the institutional and financial institutions space following the appointment of Tove, who has great experience in the Swedish market and a strong track record in building external business as well as experience as being a client on the institutional side.”

Prior to joining Aviva, Tove Bångstad worked for SEB as head of fund. Bångstad resigned from SEB mid-December 2010, where she had worked as head of SEB fund, since 2007. Bångstad was the seventh woman, head of SEB fund, to resign from her position. Bångstad explained the reason behind her resignation in December, to  Dagens Industri, “I think there is a male culture in the financial industry in general. I've only worked at SEB so I cannot compare with other large banks, but when it is mostly men, there is a male culture. If you are in the minority, it is tough, whether you are a woman or an immigrant, and I happen to be both. "

Beginning of February this year, Tove Bångstad will assume her position at Aviva. “Many investors in Sweden are currently looking to diversify their portfolios, bringing in more alternatives, such as real estate, private equity and hedge funds. I believe that Aviva Investors strength and expertise as a global asset manager, underpinned by a strong risk-management heritage and experience in corporate governance will be an advantage in this market. I look forward to joining the company and building on its offering and presence in the Nordic region, ” said Tove Bångstad, in the company press release.

 

 

 

One of The Best Equity Values Found in Norway

Top fund managers, look to companies in Norway, Italy, and Mexico. Find the full story on Investment News.

SPP Launches (SRI) Fund

January 24, 2011: SPP launched an index fund that follows the principles of socially responsible investment (SRI). The new fund is entitled SPP Beta Emerging Markets SRI, and it aims to invest in both, the well-established and emerging markets.

SPP Beta emerging markets SRI follows the MSCI emerging markets index, allowing it to have a low fee set at .95 percent. The fund also follows the SPP rules for socially responsibly investments, the fund thus, ‘refrains from investing in companies engaged in the violation of human rights, labor rights and international law, serious corruption, serious environmental damage and production of landmines, cluster munitions, nuclear weapons and tobacco’.

CEO of SPP Funds, Peter Beckman, stated in the company press release: "The fact that the fund invests in emerging markets, is SRI-screened and has a very low fee makes it unique in the market. Association provides an affordable opportunity to invest in the booming regions in a healthy and responsible way. " Beckman  added , " we have had great demand for this type of fund for a long time, so the fund will be a welcome addition in the index fund family and complete the offer in a good way. "

Spp’s research department for environmental and social responsibility has over 15 years of experience, and they are currently supervising over 4500 companies. The standards for SRI are set, and the company has no problem refusing companies, due to inadequate SRI analysis. According to Stina Billinger, Corporate Strategist at SPP, “We have already been forced to exclude several companies due to inadequate analysis of environmental and social responsibility and has many more under investigation. We always try first affecting the company for improvement before we rule out, it is through pressure and dialogue we see the greatest change. For us it is important to work with social responsibility also in emerging markets, although of course the challenge is greater there, than in established markets. "

Per Klitgård Appointed CEO of Danica Pension.

Danica Pension, announced that Per Klitgård will be their new CEO. 

Chairman Peter Straarup, stated in the company press release: "Per Klitgård has a broad, competent background from industry, where he has proved that he is both a visionary and capable leader. At the same time matched his profile our culture and core values. I am therefore convinced that he is a good choice for Danica Pension."

Per Klitgård has a history of Alka Insurance and Pension and was the CEO at Codan Forsikring, and most recently the CEO of SEB pension. "After many good years at SEB Pension, I look happily forward to new challenges. Danica Pension has a strong position in Denmark and Scandinavia, which I look forward to developing with Danica's customers and employees, "said Per Klitgård to Danica.

Euroclear Launches New Fund-Transaction Service

STOCKHOLM, January 20, 2011: Euroclear announces the inauguration of a fund-transaction service, designed to make fund-transaction processing, standardized and automated.  Euroclear describes the aim of the new fund service as ‘a fully automated pan-European investment fund solution giving all Euroclear clients, easy access to domestic and international funds.’ This service is designed to benefit fund management firms, fund distributors and transfer agents in Sweden.

“The Swedish fund market, which includes over 1,300 funds with an estimated value of €200bn (SEK 1.9 trillion), is a sector where Euroclear Sweden can add value by reducing back-office processing costs and risks through automation and standardization. The consolidated and comprehensive fund service that Euroclear Sweden will offer is filling a gap in transaction processing that should cut client processing costs, compared with conventional manual processing procedures. We also intend to leverage Euroclear Bank’s cross-border FundSettle service in providing Swedish firms with access to over 50,000 foreign funds and trading counterparties from over 30 markets via Euroclear Sweden,” Said Anders Löfgren, head of product management at Euroclear Sweden, in the company press release.

Euroclear reports that several of their clients have already signed up as pilot users, for the new transaction service, these clients include: Carnegie Fonder, Catella Fondförvaltning, Nordnet AB, Öhman Fonder and Öhman Fondkommission.

Björn Pettersson, head of administration at Carnegie Fonder, said in the company press release. “We believe the initiative will create more efficient, secure and standardized administration of the ultimately, the end investor.”

Euroclear’s fund transaction service will be expanding by mid-2011, to include an automated fund-unit settlement and asset servicing. The aim is to allow for investors to hold funds in the same Euroclear Sweden account, as their equity and fixed-income. Moreover, the company also plans on providing a registry for fund management companies.

Nordic Managers Listed as Most Popular of 2010

 January 21, 2011, Citywire announced the most popular managers of 2010, on their website. 

Two out of the ten managers selected were Nordic managers. Filip Weintraub and  Kristoffer Stensrud were amongst the ten most popular managers in 2010.

 Filip Weintraub, is a Swedish manager who managed Skagen global from 2001 until 2010, and is now one of the founders of Labrusca Family Office AB. In 2010, the Labrusca Family Office launched their first global fund; Labrusca Global.

Kristoffer Stensrud, is a Norwegian manager, and one of the founders of Skagen Funds, established in 1993. In 2002, Stensrub launched the SKAGEN Kon-Tiki equity fund, and is currently the portfolio manager for the fund.