Storebrand has claimed a new victory in its drive to win business in the Norwegian municipal pensions sector – dominated by KLP – after regaining the custom of Askøy, and forecast increasing competitive activity in the sector from now on into next year.
Odd Arild Grefstad, group chief executive officer of Storebrand, said: “It is pleasing that Askøy has again chosen us as a supplier.”
“We will be a challenger in the market for public pensions and Askøy is a very important customer for us,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Askøy, an island municipality in Vestland county near the city of Bergen, was the first municipal client Storebrand took on when it re-entered the Norwegian municipal pensions market around 2020.
The Norwegian financial services firm said it will manage over NOK1.5bn (€131m) for 7,000 scheme members who have pension rights in the municipality as a result of the tender win.
“The competition shows that it pays to seek out bids for a municipality’s pension schemes,” Storebrand said.
Grefstad said public pensions were a large and important market for his company, as well as being an opportunity for municipalities and healthcare organisations to save money.
“Pensions are the municipalities’ biggest purchase, and several municipalities have saved large amounts by going to tender,” he said.
Jon Hippe, head of public sector at Storebrand, said he believed there would be increasing activity in the public market going to 2024.
“These days, many new municipal councils are meeting – and a lot of politicians are looking at municipal finances with fresh eyes,” Hippe said.
“We know that many people are concerned about operating efficiently and getting the most out of every krone.
“When it comes to pensions, tenders are the only way the municipality can ensure that they get the best quality and price for the pension scheme,” he said.
The firm said that earlier this year, Austevoll municipality had decided to move its occupational pension to Storebrand, adding that tenders were currently underway in Vestland county municipality as well as Ulstein municipality.
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