SWEDEN- T Rowe Price, US asset management firm, is considering opening an office in Stockholm as it continues its push into the Nordic regions. Managing director, Thomas Pederson says, market condition permitting, they will make a final decision in the next six months.

T Rowe Price already has an office in Copenhagen, but feels the need to be closer to the institutions in Sweden. Says Pederson: “the person we choose to head up the office will ideally be Swedish-speaking and have excellent contacts in the institutional market.”

In its push into the Nordic markets, T Rowe Price entered a partnership earlier this year with the Finnish fund manager Tapiola, giving it exclusive rights to market six T Rowe Price funds in Finland through its own branded mutual funds.

“We have applied a top-down geographical business approach. The Nordic countries are our predominant target as we came with good institutional contacts in that area. We are gradually moving our strategy further south. We already have dealings in Germany and Switzerland. The next step will then be the Benelux countries, and after, Southern Europe,” says Pederson.

T Rowe has been gradually expanding into Europe since the creation of its European sales and client servicing arm in January 2001. Since that time, the team has grown to 20 people in London and Copenhagen, and recently Christian Elsmark was appointed as vice president with responsibilities across Europe for client services, sales, product specialisation and management.