SWEDEN – The state controlled premium pension system (PPM) is increasing the number of funds companies owned by the same holding group can offer to investors.

The recent take-over of insurance company SPP by Handelsbanken raised their combined number of funds to 34, nine more than the previous limit of 25.
Consequently PPM has decided to double the number to 50 per holding group, but the number remains at 25 for independent fund managers.

" We have thought about it before, but the SPP and Handelsbanken merger was the trigger. It’s not a problem to have a large number of funds per company; if it had been a problem the decision for the change wouldn’t have been made," says a spokesperson at PPM.

Other firms have expressed an interest in raising the number of funds they currently offer through the PPM system.
Swedish manager Alfred Berg, part of the ABN-AMRO group, has welcomed the decision, according to the PPM.

Around 70 fund managers currently offer 483 funds through the PPM system.