AMF, Sweden’s second-biggest occupational pension fund, has revealed it is splitting its equities management department into two in an organisational revamp aimed at boosting its chances of achieving good returns.
The Stockholm-based pension fund, which had SEK852bn (€80.2bn) of assets at the end of September, including its investment funds business, announced this morning: “AMF is dividing its equity management into two departments – Swedish equities and foreign equities – as part of strengthening management and creating the best possible conditions for delivering a high return to AMF’s savers.
The pension fund, whose scheme mostly covers blue-collar workers, said John Hernander had been appointed head of the foreign equities department and Dick Bergqvist as head of the Swedish equities department.
Both Hernander and Bergqvist already work at AMF, though Hernander had only returned to AMF as a manager of foreign equities last autumn, after working at Volvo Cars and Nordea for several years. He previously worked at AMF as an equity manager between 2007 and 2013.
Bergqvist, meanwhile, has worked at AMF as a manager of Swedish equities since 2007, having previously managed the asset type at SHB Fonder, the pension fund said.
Katarina Romberg, AMF’s chief investment officer, said: “In order to strengthen AMF’s equity management, clarify and streamline the work and improve our opportunities to create a competitive return, we are now dividing the equity management.”
But she added that AMF would “continue to work integratedly within AMF’s asset management, and based on our common management philosophy”.
In connection with the changes, AMF said its management of unlisted shares would be merged with the alternative investment management, and led by Henrik Lundh.
At the end of last summer, AMF’s head of equities and stewardship Anders Oscarsson left the pension fund, and Hernander was hired. At the time, AMF declined to communicate any organisational changes, however.
