The Swedish consultancy market is continuing to develop apace following its step up two years ago from traditional audit based services to advising on investment manager appointments and performance reviews.
Nevertheless, there are many in the country's investment community who feel there is much room for more developed consulting provision and a greater variety of players in the market.
And predictions are that the coming year could see necessary consolidation amongst the smaller groups operating in the country such as Stockholm based MPIR, Ernst & Young and Copenhagen-based Alcifor, to compete with the more predominant consultants, Wassum and William Mercer, which look set to technologically sharpen up the consultancy crusade. Nils Jutterström, client executive for institutional clients at SEB Investment Management, says: Without a doubt the larger consultants like Mercer are seeking to enhance their existing services through more performance/review-based tools, and in-deed clients are starting to ask for more quant research and risk adjustment provisions from them.
"However, the consultancy business still has unfulfilled growth potential and I feel we could actually do with a few more players in the market to give greater variety and add a little impetus to its development."
Lars Källholm, head of European institutional clients at Trevise Unibank Investment Management, adds: "The consultants are doing a good job in Sweden, although they seem to be geared towards specialist management selections and not so much the complex performance services, I feel are required.
"I predict that this year the niche players will begin to rally together in order to match the proliferation of services such as research into fund structures and balance sheet arrangements, which are on the larger consultant's agendas." Hugh Wheelan"

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