News from Swedish Fund Selection Agency

Monthly update on the court review of the procurement of global equity funds

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:14:06 +0200

The Administrative Court in Stockholm is continuing to review Indecap’s application concerning the Swedish Fund Selection Agency’s procurement of actively managed global equity funds. Below is an account of the key events in the case during March.

FTN contests application for judicial review

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:22:06 +0100

On 23 March, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) submitted its statement to the Administrative Court in Stockholm regarding Indecap Fonder’s application for judicial review of the procurement of global equity funds. The Fund Selection Agency contests all of the company’s claims.

Extended tender period for US- and North America funds

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:34:15 +0100

The tender period in the procurement of US- and North America funds has been extended due to updates to the tender documentation. The new deadline for submitting tenders is May 6 2026.

Mapping of technical and legal constraints regarding liquidity management tools in the Swedish Premium Pension system

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:32:14 +0100

FTN has mapped which liquidity management tools are currently assessed as technically and legally feasible to use on the premium pension fund platform.

Healthcare and Biotech funds next to be procured

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:44:13 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces today, 18 March 2026, that healthcare and biotech will be the next fund category to be procured for the premium pension fund platform.

Outcome for procured European index funds

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:43:26 +0100

During the first year with the procured European index funds on the premium pension fund platform, the average return has been 0.29 percentage points higher than in the previous fund offering.

Application for review of the procurement of global equity funds

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 17:26:07 +0100

An application for judicial review has been submitted to the Administrative Court in Stockholm regarding the procurement of actively managed global funds (LUP 2024-7). The application has been submitted by an individual tender that participated in the procurement and was not awarded a contract.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency gives notice of the procurement of US- and North America funds

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:24:53 +0100

Today, 4 March 2026, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces procurements of actively and passively managed US- and North American equity funds focusing on large- and mid-cap companies.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces award decision in the procurement of actively managed global equity funds

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 08:30:51 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has made its award decisions in the procurement of actively managed global equity funds focusing on large- and mid-cap companies for the premium pension fund platform. 12 fund managers are awarded fund agreements for 14 funds.

Date for award decision in the procurement of global equity funds

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:48:06 +0100

On Tuesday, 24 February 2026 at 08:30 CET, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency will publish award decision in the procurement of actively managed global equity funds.

Swedish Fund Selection Agency and Swedish Pensions Agency procure sustainability analysis systems

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:34:44 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency and the Swedish Pensions Agency have procured new systems for sustainability analysis of funds within the premium pension system. Contracts are signed with providers MSCI ESG Research Limited and Clarity AI.

Extended tender period for technology funds

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 13:36:40 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN would like to inform tenderers of an update in e-Avrop regarding question 1.23 a in the tender documentation. As a result of this update, the deadline for submission of tenders is extended until 23 December 2025

Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN named European Pension Fund of the Year

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 13:07:25 +0100

FTN has received international recognition and has been named European Pension Fund of the Year at the 2025 IPE Awards. FTN has also been awarded European Public Pension Fund of the Year and Swedish Pension Fund of the Year for its work to strengthen the Swedish pension system.

Extended tender period for technology funds

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:57:34 +0100

The tender period in the procurement of technology funds has been extended by one week due to updates to the tender documentation. The new deadline for submitting tenders is 18 December 2025.

Fee updates for 2026

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:08:11 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has decided on fee changes that will come into effect in 2026. The annual fee will remain unchanged, while the tender fee will be increased.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency Presents Procurement Plan for 2026

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 14:45:41 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) announced today, November 3, 2025, the fund categories it plans to procure next year. The procurement plan includes a total of four categories of equity and fixed income funds.

Information for the procurement of equity and index funds, US & North America

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 11:43:28 +0100

On 3 November 2025, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN publishes the preliminary procurement specifications for the procurements of US and North American equity and index funds primarily focused on large- and mid-cap companies.

Anna Ekberg appointed as new member of the FTN Board

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 13:10:14 +0100

The government has decided to appoint Anna Ekberg as a member of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. The appointment is valid from November 1, 2025, through October 31, 2028.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency gives notice of the procurement of Technology funds

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 14:55:11 +0100

Today, 28 October 2025, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN announces the procurement of actively managed global technology funds that mainly invests in large and mid-cap companies. The procurement covers approximately SEK 153 billion and affects around 500,000 premium pension savers*.

Virtual status update with the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 16:25:06 +0200

The office of FTN invites to a virtual status update event on Monday, November 3, 14.00-14.45 (CET)

US equity and US index funds next in line for procurement

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:42:47 +0200

Today, the 24 September 2025, The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, informs that the fund categories US equity funds and US index funds will be announced during the first quarter of 2026.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces award decision in the procurement of passively managed Swedish equity funds

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 08:30:20 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has made an award decision in the procurement of passively managed Swedish equity funds for the premium pension fund platform. Three fund managers are awarded fund agreements for a total of five funds.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces award decision in the procurement of actively managed Swedish equity funds

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 08:00:33 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, has made an award decision in the procurement of actively managed Swedish equity funds for the premium pension fund platform. Seven fund managers are offered fund agreements for a total of ten funds.

FTN specifies date for award decisions

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:00:36 +0200

On Wednesday, August 27, at 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., respectively, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN will announce its award decisions in the tenders for actively and passively managed Swedish equity funds.

Procurement of Sustainability Analysis Systems cancelled and re-announced

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 10:44:46 +0200

On March 14, 2025, FTN together with the Swedish Pensions Agency announced a procurement for sustainability analysis systems. Following the qualification phase and evaluation, a decision was taken to cancel the procurement.

Information for the procurement of actively managed technology funds

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:17:59 +0200

Today, June 2 2025, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency presents a preliminary procurement specification for the fund category global technology equity funds, actively managed investing primarily in large- and mid-cap companies.

Swedish Fund Selection Agency at Almedalen 2025

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 09:33:41 +0200

On 26 June, Erik Fransson, Executive Director of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, will be at Almedalen. Together with the Swedish Pensions Agency and AP7, a pension seminar will be held in the afternoon.

IT and communication next fund category to be procured

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 10:43:10 +0200

Today, the 29th of April 2025, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, announces that the next fund category to be procured for the premium pension fund platform is actively managed IT and communication funds with a focus on large and mid-cap companies.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, gives notice of the procurement of actively managed Swedish and European small-cap funds

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 10:22:27 +0200

Today, 29 April 2025, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, announces the procurement of actively managed Swedish small-cap equity funds and actively managed European small-cap equity funds. The procurement covers approximately SEK 46 billion and affects approximately 334,000 premium pension savers*.

Extended tender period in the procurement of systems for sustainability analysis

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 14:39:18 +0200

The Swedish Pensions Agency has received an indication that files could not be uploaded in e-Avrop. Due to this, the Swedish Pensions Agency extends the tender period until 17 April 2025, 23.59 CET.

Information for the procurement of actively managed Swedish and European small-cap funds

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 09:20:48 +0100

Today, 18 March 2025, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency presents preliminary procurement specifications for the procurement of actively managed Swedish and European equity funds, small-cap.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, together with the Swedish Pensions Agency, gives notice of the procurement of systems for sustainability analysis

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 07:32:39 +0100

The Swedish Pensions Agency now announces on its behalf and on behalf of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) the procurement of two systems for sustainability analysis of financial portfolios and securities. The systems to be procured shall be standard systems to be used off-the-shelf. The deadline for submitting tenders in the procurement is 15 April 2025.

Three members of the FTN board receive renewed appointments

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:50:36 +0100

On 13 March, the Government decided to renew the appointments of three members of the Board of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. The appointments of Maria Rydbeck, Katarina Staaf and Anna Nilsdotter will continue until 2028. Maria Rydbeck is the Director General of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and deputy chair of The Swedish Fund Selection Agency since it was established in June 2022. Katarina Staaf is the CEO of the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP6) and Anna Nilsdotter is the Secretary General of WaterAid, both of whom have been members of the FTN board since its inception in June 2022. On 13 March, the Government decided that they will all be reappointed as board members of The Swedish Fund Selection Agency from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2028. Maria Rydbeck will also continue to be appointed as Vice Chair of The Swedish Fund Selection Agency. "Through their renewed appointments, we ensure the continuity of the board in an important phase where funds are procured for a better premium pension. I am pleased that Maria Rydbeck, Katarina Staaf and Anna Nilsdotter want to continue their appointments as members of The Swedish Fund Selection Agency. Their expertise and experience have been of great benefit and will, with this decision, continue to be so" says Anna Tenje, Minister for Elderly and Social Insurance, in a press release. More information: Board members of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces the award decision in the procurement of Nordic equity funds (small-cap)

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 08:31:59 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has made award decisions in the procurement of Nordic equity funds small-cap for the Premium pension fund platform. Four fund managers are awarded fund agreements for a total of four Funds.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces award decision in the procurement of Nordic equity funds

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 08:03:33 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has made award decisions in the procurement of Nordic equity funds for the premium pension fund platform. Four fund managers are awarded fund agreements for a total of four Funds.

The announcement of FTN's award decisions for Nordic equity funds will be made on February 19

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 13:22:13 +0100

On Wednesday, February 19, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) will announce its award decisions regarding the procurement of Nordic equity funds, focusing on mid/large- and small-cap companies. Previously, FTN indicated that these award decisions would be published in February 2025. We are now providing the exact timing for the announcements. The decisions for Nordic equity funds focused primarily on large and mid-cap companies will be announced at 08:00, followed by the decisions for small-cap companies at 08:30. The award decisions will be published on FTN's website, through a press release, and will also be available on the procurement platform e-Avrop. For further inquiries, please contact: Viktor Ström, Head of Communication viktor.strom@ftn.se +46 73 321 64 46

Extended tender period for actively managed global equity funds

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 16:15:36 +0100

FTN has identified ambiguities in the RFP. Consequently, the tender deadline has been extended to 6 February.

Extended tender period for actively managed global equity funds

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:34:59 +0100

Due to the significant interest in the procurement and as a result of clarifications and changes to mandatory requirements in the Procurement specifications (Annex 2) and Supplementary information (Annex 4), the tender period has been extended to January 30, 2025.

Swedish and European small-cap funds next in line to be procured

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:42:35 +0100

Today, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN announces the next fund categories to be procured for the premium pension fund platform. The categories are actively managed Swedish and European small-cap funds.

Preliminary procurement plan for 2025

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 15:20:41 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has today, 5 November 2024, presented the fund categories that it intends to procure next year. In total, five procurements of different categories of equity funds are planned for 2025.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN gives notice of the procurement of actively managed global equity funds

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 14:40:28 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) today, 4 November 2024, announces the procurement of actively managed global equity funds focusing on large and mid-cap companies in developed markets. The procurement covers more than SEK 200 billion and affects approximately one million savers. The deadline for submitting tenders in the procurement is 16 December 2024.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces award decision in the procurement of global equity funds (index)

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 08:30:26 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has made award decisions in the procurement of global equity funds (index) for the Premium pension fund platform. Five fund managers are awared the opportunity to sign contracts for six funds.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency announces award decision in the procurement of European equity funds (index)

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 08:00:34 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has made award decisions in the procurement of European equity funds (index) for the Premium pension fund platform. A total of four fund managers have been awarded.

Extended tender period for actively and passively managed Swedish equity funds

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 10:48:14 +0100

The deadline for procuring actively and passively managed Swedish equity funds has been extended one week due to adjustments to the mandatory requirements in the Request for Proposal.

Timing of FTN award decision announcement

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 13:48:33 +0200

On Thursday 31 October at 08:00 and 08:30 respectively, The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN will publicise award decisions in the procurement of passively managed European equity funds and passively managed global equity funds.

Digital information session with the office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:03:22 +0200

The office of FTN welcomes fund managers to a digital information session on Tuesday 5 November 10.00-10.30

Presentation of a preliminary procurement specification for the upcoming procurement of actively managed global equity funds

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 08:57:05 +0200

Today, 26 September 2024, FTN presents a preliminary procurement specification for actively managed global equity funds focusing on large and mid-cap companies in developed countries. The procurement will be announced in November and will cover pension assets of around SEK 200 billion, which will affect over one million pension savers.

Information ahead of award decisions in the procurement of European and Global equity index funds

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 07:58:45 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN has previously announced that award decisions in the procurement of European and global equity funds index will be made during the fourth quarter of 2024. Now FTN has decided to specify the timing further. The award decision in the procurement is intended to be announced at the end of October/beginning of November.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency extends the tender period for actively and passively managed Swedish equity funds

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 15:56:41 +0200

The deadline for the procurement of actively and passively managed Swedish equity funds is extended by one week due to an adjustment of the mandatory requirements in the Request for Proposal.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency gives notice of the procurement of actively and passively managed Swedish equity funds

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 13:02:39 +0200

Today, September 9, 2024, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, announces the procurements of the fund categories actively and passively managed Swedish equity funds, focusing mainly on large and mid-cap companies. The two procurements cover more than SEK 155 billion and affect over 1 million pension savers*. Fund Managers who wish to participate in the procurements have until October 31, 2024, to submit tenders.

FTN is preparing the procurement of sustainability analysis platforms

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 09:59:55 +0200

Later this year, The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) will procure Sustainability/ESG platforms for the analysis of financial portfolios (standardised and existing platforms that can be used by FTN off-the-shelf). As part of the background research, FTN has published a Request for Information (RFI).

Update to the procurement plan for 2024

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:11:39 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, today, 14 June, informs that a procurement of actively managed global equity funds focusing on large and mid-cap companies will be announced in the fourth quarter of 2024. Notice will be given after the procurement of Swedish equity funds and Swedish index funds and replace the global fixed income funds category in the procurement plan 2024.

Dialogue meetings with FTN

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 11:46:21 +0200

To increase understanding of the market, FTN will organise dialogue meetings with fund managers.

Mats Dillén new chairman of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 13:41:58 +0200

Today, 13th June 2024, the government has appointed Mats Dillén as chairman of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. He succeeds Mats Sjöstrand, who will step down on 31 July 2024.

FTN extends the tender period for the procurement of Nordic mid and large-cap equity funds and Nordic small-cap equity funds

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 11:38:59 +0200

Extension of the tender period by one day due to an update in the Request for Proposal.

Virtual status update event with the office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN

Wed, 29 May 2024 08:42:05 +0200

The office of FTN invites fund managers to a virtual status update event on Friday, June 14th, 10.00-10.45 (CET)

Information for the procurement of actively managed Swedish equity funds and Swedish index funds

Fri, 24 May 2024 15:47:22 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency today, 24 May 2024, presents preliminary procurement specifications for the procurement of actively managed Swedish equity funds with a primary focus on large and mid-cap companies and Swedish index funds with a primary focus on large and mid-cap companies.

New member of the FTN Board

Wed, 08 May 2024 12:48:45 +0200

The Government has appointed Henrik Braconier as a member of the Board of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN.

Change of chairman of FTN

Tue, 07 May 2024 15:22:32 +0200

The chairman of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, Mats Sjöstrand, has requested resignation from the assignment.

FTN gives notice for procurements of Nordic large-cap equity funds and Nordic small-cap equity funds

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 17:00:27 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, is today giving notice for the procurement of the fund categories Nordic large-cap equity funds and Nordic small-cap equity funds. The two procurements comprise a total of approximately SEK 18 billion and around 140,000 savers. Fund managers who wish to participate in the procurements have until 10th June 2024 to submit tenders.

FTN extends the tender period for the procurement of European and Global Index funds

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:39:31 +0200

Information prior to the procurement of Nordic equity funds

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 15:53:29 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, now presents preliminary procurement specifications for the procurement of actively managed Nordic equity funds with a primary focus on large and mid cap, and the procurement of actively managed Nordic equity funds with a primary focus on small cap.

FTN announces award decision in the procurement of European equity funds

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 08:00:04 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, has made an award decision in the first procurement for the premium pension fund platform. Six fund managers are awarded fund agreements.

New member of the FTN Board

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 08:43:44 +0100

The Government has appointed Anders Sjöborg as member of the Board of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN.

Timing of FTN award decision announcement

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 14:13:05 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, will publish the award decision in the procurement of actively managed European equity funds March 25th.

FTN extends the tender period for the procurements of European equity funds index and Global equity funds index

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 16:10:00 +0100

Due to certain clarifications and revised mandatory requirements in the procurement documentation, the tender period is extended as follows:

FTN gives notice for procurements of Global and European index funds

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 14:15:51 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, is now giving notice for the procurements of the fund categories Global equity index and European equity index. The two procurements comprise a total of approximately SEK 58 billion and up to half a million premium pension savers. Fund managers that wish to participate in the procurements have until April 18th 2024 to submit their tenders.

Nordic equity funds next in line to be procured

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 12:32:46 +0100

FTN now releases which two categories that are next in line to be procured to the premium pension fund platform. The next two categories to be announced are actively managed Nordic equity funds mid/large cap and actively managed Nordic equity funds small cap.

Information on procurement notice: Global and European Index Funds

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 15:01:50 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, is planning to give notice for the upcoming procurements at the end of February. Changes in the procurement specifications will be communicated when notice is given.

Information regarding fund mergers during the transition period

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 15:01:43 +0100

Change of members of the FTN board

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 18:38:52 +0100

Two members of the board of FTN, Hans Lindblad and Åsa Edman, have requested resignation from the assignment, which was granted by the Government Office as of January 25, 2024.

FTN receives award from the Investment & Pensions Europe

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 16:00:05 +0100

At the end of November, FTN was awarded the Pension Fund of The Year award in the Nordics category at the Investment & Pensions Europe Conference and Awards in Vienna. As stated in the motivation, FTN received the award for "A unique and ambitious structure for defined contribution pension and fund selection". Erik Fransson, Executive Director of FTN, was in Vienna to receive the award. "This is a good way to get more actors to recognize us and raise awareness of our work internationally," says Erik Fransson. Investment & Pensions Europe, IPE, is a European industry magazine that brings together the pension and insurance industry. IPE further mentions that: “FTN ensures freedom of choice for pension savers and it will be very interesting to follow how this freedom is used by the Swedish pension savers”.

Global and European index funds next in line

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:04:02 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN, is announcing the next two procurements of funds to be procured to the premium pension fund platform – European equities index and Global equities index. Notice will be made for the procurements at the end of 2023 or in the beginning of 2024. FTN also announces two additional procurements to the plan for 2024; actively managed Swedish equities and Swedish equities index, in addition to previously communicated categories. Notice will be made simultaneously for the procurements of European equities index, AUM SEK 14 bn*, and Global equities index, AUM SEK 40 bn*. Fund managers that wish to participate in both procurements will have to submit separate tenders for each category. In addition to the index procurements, notice is planned during 2024 for the following procurements, without consecutive order: Nordic Equities, actively managed: AUM of ~ SEK 19 bn* Global bonds: AUM of ~ SEK 0.7 bn* Swedish Equities, Actively managed: AUM of ~ SEK 74 bn* Swedish Equities, Index: AUM of ~ SEK 46 bn* To inform fund managers about the upcoming index procurements, FTN shares a Fund specification draft for the procurement of Global equities index (see slide 13 in attached pdf). Since the next two procurements are the first index categories to be procured to the premium pension fund platform, FTN also shares examples of the preliminary requirements on index funds and selected benchmarks, which are currently under evaluation and can be subject to change. Examples of preliminary requirements for index funds: Fund must be constructed to replicate or follow an index. Tracking Error < 0,5% against the selected benchmark index. Selected benchmark should be a standardized index or a customized index e.g. sustainability screened indices. Preferred strategies for index funds are full replication or stratified replication. Examples of preliminary requirements for selected benchmarks: Must be provided by an independent index provider. Index must be provided by an established provider such as Bloomberg/MSCI/FTSE/Russell/S&P/Solactive or provider approved under the EU regulation on benchmarks (BMR). Must use transparent index methodology. Must follow regular rebalancing schedule. Index must fulfil the minimum sustainability requirements e.g. exclusion of controversial weapons and companies that repeatedly violate international conventions. The above information regarding coming procurements and the preliminary requirements on index funds and selected benchmarks were communicated at a Status update event held by Executive Director Erik Fransson and Head of Communication Viktor Ström, on Tuesday November 21st, 15:00 CET. During the event, FTN also shared that the tender fee, annual fee for procured funds and the fee for application-based funds on the fund platform, will remain unchanged during 2024. FTN welcomes comments and questions on the procurement plan, which can be sent to procurement@ftn.se. FTN will not be able to answer all questions, but will review and consider all submitted comments. Please note that documents received by an authority are official documents. Official documents are public insofar as they do not contain information that must be kept secret under the Swedish Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2007:400). Public documents may therefore be disclosed in full or in part if someone requests access to them. Information protected by confidentiality is not disclosed. However, FTN will make an independent confidentiality assessment which in turn may ultimately be reviewed by a court. *AUM is the amount allocated to the category today. It is not guaranteed that the procured volume will be equally large. Find the presentation from the Status update event here .

Virtual status update event with FTN

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 15:34:29 +0100

The office of FTN invites fund managers to a virtual status update event, Tuesday, November 21st at 15.00-16.00 (CET) The event is a live broadcast meeting where the office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) gives a status update on the procurement process and the development of the organization. Executive Director Erik Fransson together with Head of Communication Viktor Ström will share the status of ongoing operations, the procurement of funds to the premium pension fund platform, the plan for 2024 and answer related questions. The status update event is mainly directed at stakeholders that participate or may participate in any of the procurements of funds to the premium pension fund platform and will be held in English. The broadcast will be recorded, translated and subtitled in Swedish and will be published on FTN:s website the week following the event. Please note that no information regarding the ongoing procurement, or any other information covered by secrecy, is shared during the status update event. Registration for the information meeting is made via this link: FTN virtual status update event For practical questions regarding participation in the event, please contact freja.liljedahl@ftn.se Welcome! Upcoming events FTN:s office will participate in Employees at the office of FTN will participate in a number of external events during the autumn. The aim is to represent FTN and participate in seminars and dialogue with the fund industry. Read more here

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency is starting the evaluation of tenders in the procurement of actively managed European equity funds

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 09:59:12 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) thanks the tenderers for the tenders received in the procurement of actively managed European equity funds with a primary focus on investments in large and/or mid cap to the premium pension fund platform. The tender opening is now finalized, which constitutes the start of the assessment and evaluation of the tenders received. The deadline for submission of tenders in the procurement was passed end of day Thursday, October 5th 2023 (CEST). FTN has now finalized the tender opening and will now start the evaluation, review and assessment of all the submitted tenders. The evaluation of tenders is estimated to be completed, towards the end of Q1 2024 when an award decision will be announced. Absolute secrecy applies to all information related to the tenders. This means that no information regarding the tenders is disclosed until after the award decision has been announced, or when the procurement, where applicable, has been ended in another way. Further information about the procurement process can be found in the Procurement Guidelines, which are available here . All information regarding the procurement will continue to be provided via the procurement platform e-Avrop .

The office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency recruits Viktor Ström as Head of Communications

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 09:11:00 +0200

The office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency welcomes Viktor Ström as Head of Communications. He is taking over the position from Nadine Viel Lamare, who will focus on the FTN’s sustainability strategy. Viktor joins most recently from Lannebo Funds, where he has worked since 2019. During his time at Lannebo Fonder, he had the role as Head of Marketing and Communications within the corporate management team. Prior to working at Lannebo Funds, Viktor worked as a financial journalist for a decade, during which he held various positions, including News editor and part of the editorial management team at the Swedish business daily Dagens industri. With his deep experience from both the fund industry and media, Viktor’s ability to create successful communication strategies that generate long-term value will be an important addition to FTN’s market dialogue and organization. "The FTN has a task that aims to enhance the financial standing of the pension savers. I am both honored and deeply appreciative of the opportunity to play a role in such an important undertaking," says Viktor. Viktor will start his new position as Head of Communication October 2nd.

FTN extends the tender period for the procurement of European equity funds

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 10:57:59 +0200

Due to certain clarifications the tender period is extended as follows: New last date for submission of tenders: October 5th 2023. New last date to submit questions about the tender: September 24th 2023 (11 days before the tender deadline). New last date for publishing answers to questions: September 29th 2023 (6 days before the tender deadline). Information about the procurement is available on e-Avrop.

FTN extends the tender period for the procurement of European equity funds

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 16:10:43 +0200

Due to the fact that several questions have been received, answered and/or certain clarifications have been made at a late stage of the tender period, the tender period is extended as follows: New last date for submission of tenders: 28 September 2023. The opportunity to ask questions about the tender will be reopened. New last date to submit questions about the tender: 17 September 2023 (11 days before the tender deadline). New last date for publishing answers to questions: 2023-09-22 (6 days before the tender deadline). The questions already asked but not yet answered will be answered as soon as possible. Information about the procurement is available on e-Avrop.

New member of the FTN Board

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 13:47:53 +0200

The Government has appointed Hanna Kristiansson as member of the Board of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN). On 20 July 2023, the Swedish Government has appointed Hanna Kristiansson as member of the Board of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. The appointment is valid until 31 August 2026. Hanna Kristiansson is a judge at the Administrative Court of Appeal in Stockholm. She replaces Mikael Westberg, who has requested to be dismissed from his post.

Parts of the Procurement material have been updated

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 13:49:28 +0200

The Procurement Guidelines section 2 have been updated with information regarding the fees that will be collected in accordance with Section 7 of the Act (2022:759) on the Fund Selection Agency. The following information has been added: FTN will, in accordance with Section 7 of the Act (2022:759) on the Fund Selection Agency, charge an annual fee from the fund managers with whom FTN has entered into fund agreements to cover FTN's costs for, among other things, procurement and review of funds on the premium pension fund platform. The size of the fee is based on the principle of full cost coverage for the work that the fee is intended to cover. The annual fee is currently 0.015% of the Swedish Pensions Agency's invested capital in the Fund and will be invoiced quarterly. The fee may be adjusted upwards or downwards during the term of the fund agreement if it is necessary for the principle of full cost coverage to be met over time. Any changes to the fee are made once a year in connection with FTN's annual review of the size of the fees. Updated Procurement Guidelines Furthermore, the FTN has made the following adjustments to the procurement material: Annex 4 - Supplementary Information have been corrected in Question 1-1 and Question 1-2 to be able to enter a date earlier than 1 January 1900. FTN would also like to clarify item 2 in the Fund specification: Fund type refers to a Common fund (Sw. värdepappersfond) or UCITS (Sw. fondföretag) according to Ch. 1 section 1 of the Swedish UCITS Act (2004:46). The fund must not be exchange-traded (ETF) or so-called self-managed (i.e. a UCITS that has not appointed a management company, e.g. a self-managed SICAV or equivalent). All procurement documents are to be found on www.e-avrop.com .

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) makes notice for procurement of actively managed European equity funds

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 23:02:35 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency, also called FTN, is now making notice for the procurement of actively managed European equity funds - the first procurement for the premium pension fund platform. The notice marks the start of a series of procurements that will be made to offer high quality funds on the Fund platform, with the aim of creating a more secure premium pension system with higher pensions for savers. The procurement covers actively managed European equity funds with a primary focus on investments in large and/or mid cap, for which up to six funds will be procured. As of May 31st 2023, approximately SEK 11 billion of savers' premium pensions were invested in this category. European small cap equity funds will be procured later in a separate procurement. The aim of FTN is to procure, review and quality-ensure the funds on the premium pension fund platform. The procurement is carried out in accordance with the Act Procurement of Funds to the Premium Pension Fund Platform, with a process based on industry practice. According to the Act, the procured funds must be cost-efficient, sustainable, controllable, of high-quality, and suitable for the premium pension system and the Swedish social security system. "FTN is now making notice for the first procurement of funds to the premium pension fund platform. The reform of the fund platform has been preceded by preparatory work that began as early as 2018 when a public inquiry was initiated. In 2022, the government bill on the reform was passed in parliament, followed by the establishment of FTN. This year, the work for the procurement has intensified and now we have reached this milestone for the premium pension system," says Mats Sjöstrand, Chairman of FTN. The notice of the procurement means that fund managers can submit a tender, which must be submitted to FTN no later than September 14th 2023 via the procurement platform e-Avrop. Participation requires the payment of a tender fee, which must be paid at the latest when a tender for a procurement is submitted. In connection with the notice of the procurement, the fund agreements for the affiliated funds affected by this procurement will be terminated. However, the funds will continue to be available on the fund platform until the procurement is completed and the procured funds that have been awarded fund agreements replace the affiliated funds. To ensure that all potential tenderers are treated equally, no information regarding the procurement will be shared directly with individual tenderers. All dialogue relating to the ongoing procurement, including questions and answers, will be handled via e-avrop.com, where questions must be submitted no later than September 4th 2023. FTN will answer questions on an ongoing basis, between July 31st and September 8th 2023. Please note that documents received by an authority, such as tenders, are public documents and may therefore be disclosed in their entirety if someone requests access to them. However, information protected by confidentiality is not disclosed. It is therefore important that the fund manager clarifies which parts of the material submitted in the tender should be covered by confidentiality and describes in what way the Fund Manager would suffer harm if the information were disclosed. However, FTN will make an independent confidentiality assessment which in turn may ultimately be reviewed by a court. Further information can be found in the Procurement documents. Tenders: Submitted via the procurement platform e-Avrop: www.e-avrop.com A registration in e-Avrop is required to be able to submit a tender. The deadline for submission of a tender is 14-09-2023 23:59 (CET). Questions and answers in the procurement process are handled via e-avrop.com. Information on ongoing procurements will be published here

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency publishes clarifications in response to comments received on the draft fund agreement

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 09:48:00 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (the Agency) has reviewed all the comments received on the draft fund agreement with appendices published on the Agency 's website on May 8th 2023. The comments are valuable for the Agency 's design of the procurement material that will be used in the procurement of funds to the premium pension fund platform. In response to the comments received, the Agency publishes such clarifications that can be shared before the first procurement is announced. All comments and questions received have, however, been taken into account. Interpretation of the Fund Agreement The fund agreement will be customized for each procurement and will be identical for all fund managers in each procured category. The terms and conditions of the fund agreement will therefore not be negotiable on an individual basis. In accordance with customary contractual relations, the Agency cannot assess in advance exactly how the terms and conditions in all parts may be interpreted in each individual case. The Agency will therefore not respond to detailed questions received regarding the interpretation of the fund agreement. Obligation to provide information The Fund Agreement contains requirements for fund managers to provide information to the Agency. The scope of the obligation and what type of information the obligations aim at , has now been clarified in the fund agreement to the extent possible. The purpose of the obligation to provide information is to assure the funds' controllability and suitability for the premium pension system, i.e. that the funds have the capacity to participate in the continuous monitoring that takes place during the term of the agreement. Since the legislation may vary between jurisdictions, including legislation on information-sharing and confidentiality, the Agency will take limitations of mandatory law into account, as is detailed in the terms and conditions of the fund agreement. Clarification on AML For the procurement of funds for the premium pension fund platform, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency is the contracting party but the Swedish Pensions Agency is the unit holder. The Swedish Pensions Agency handles all transactions for the funds on the fund platform. All comments and questions received have been taken into account. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency does not answer questions to individual parties . The information is made available to the industry on the Agency’s website. Questions and answers during an ongoing procurement will be handled via the procurement platform e-avrop.com.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency decides on the first procurement

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 14:35:00 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has on June 14th 2023 decided on the first procurement of funds to the premium pension fund platform. The procurement encompasses actively managed European equity funds with primary focus on investments in large and mid cap. European small cap equity funds will be procured later in a separate procurement. The procurement documents are being finalized, and the final versions will be published when notice is made for the procurement, which will take place at the end of June via e-Avrop.com.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency appoints Style Analytics as a supplier of portfolio analytics

Tue, 30 May 2023 10:43:27 +0200

The Swedish Pension Agency has signed a strategic agreement with Style Analytics, a provider of portfolio analytics, on behalf of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. The system will be one of several tools used during the upcoming procurements of funds to the Swedish premium pension fund platform. The tools provided by Style Analytics to the Swedish Fund Selection Agency will not only be important during the procurements, but will also be used for the continuous monitoring of the funds on the platform. The system will among else be used to analyze the portfolio exposure, both regarding factor exposure, risk, liquidity and sustainability. Style Analytics, now a part of Confluence, is a global provider of portfolio analytics, reporting and data that helps institutional investors and advisors achieve better financial outcomes, grow assets, and retain clients. Their tools are used by Asset Owners and Fund Selectors to validate investment strategies and proactively manage asset pools utilising insights. Their products will be valuable in the Swedish Fund Selection Agency’s work to design, procure and monitor the funds on the premium pension fund platform, with the aim to provide funds of high quality that provide a safer and higher pension for the pension savers. The allocation decision was made 2022-12-06 and the implementation of the tools has been initiated. The system is expected to be place for the first procurement. Read more about Style Analytics here.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency thanks the industry for comments shared on the draft of the fund agreement

Thu, 25 May 2023 15:05:03 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) thanks fund management companies and their advisers, interest groups and academia for their questions and comments on the Agency's draft of the fund agreement. The work of analyzing the comments received has been initiated. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency will provide information when responses to questions of public interest are published on the website under Q&A. The draft of the fund agreement and appendices are available here.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency participates at the Swedish Investment Fund Association's Fund Market Day, 22 May 2023

Mon, 22 May 2023 17:03:37 +0200

Magnus Strömer and Nadine Viel Lamare spoke today, 22 May 2023, at the Swedish Investment Fund Association's Fund Market Day. This newsletter contains the content that was discussed, which has either not previously been published or was clarified during the presentation. The information below describes the ambitions and plans of the office of the Agency for the first procurement. The design of the procurement material will ultimately be made by the Board of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. Adaptation of procurement documents The revision of the procurement documents for the first procurement is still ongoing. Following the evaluation of the comments received on the drafts of parts of the procurement documents, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency has for example made the following adjustments: Clarifications and definitions will be included in the procurement documents for the first procurement. The first procurement will have a longer period to submit tenders than what was stated in the draft examples of the procurement documents, given the timing of the notice of the procurement (planned June 15-22, 2023) The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has reviewed the number of questions in the RFP. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has simplified questions where possible. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency will ask questions in the RFP about the DORA Regulation (cybersecurity), in accordance with Union law. The procurements include both mandatory requirements and award criteria. Controllability is an example of a mandatory requirement, where a minimum level defined in the procurement documents for each procurement must be achieved. Cost-effectiveness and high quality are award criteria, where the Swedish Fund Selection Agency will instead score the responses in the tenders based on these criteria. The interview phase of the procurement process The interview phase of the procurement process is designed to verify and validate the tenders received. The interview phase cannot lead to a higher score of the procurement assessment, only lead to a deduction of points. If a tenderer is revised downwards during the interview phase and thus scores lower than a tenderer who has not been invited to interview, the latter will also be invited to interview. Objectivity and equal treatment The work of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency shall be characterised by objectivity and equal treatment, like all other Swedish government authorities. Objectivity is central to the evaluation of all tenders received. Equal answers should receive equal points, regardless of who in the organisation has reviewed the tender. The procurement material is designed not to discriminate against any actors. Corporate governance The Swedish Fund Selection Agency’s task is to procure high-quality funds – which, as stated in the Act on Procurement of Funds for the premium pension fund platform, among other things means that the fund assets must be managed in an exemplary manner in terms of sustainability through responsible investments and active ownership. Active ownership is practiced in different ways in different markets. Sweden has a well-functioning system with A and B shares and with nomination committees consisting of the largest shareholders. The qualitative evaluation of active ownership will consider the corporate governance model(s) prevailing in the markets in which the fund invests, while at the same time complying with the requirements of equal treatment and non-discrimination as all tenders will be evaluated in the same way. All procurements cannot be based on the Swedish corporate governance model, as this could be seen as discriminatory or unauthorised state aid. This does however not prevent the Swedish Fund Selection Agency from taking the Swedish corporate governance model into account in the procurement of Swedish equity funds, in the same way that the Swedish Fund Selection Agency accepts funds that are subject to a different supervisory authority than the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, Finansinspektionen. Review procedure After the evaluation phase, when the contract award decision is announced, there is a contractual standstill of 10 days. It is during this period that requests for review can be made, neither before nor after this period. Only tenderers can request review. Termination of fund agreements According to the current working hypothesis, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency will, in close connection with the tender notification, terminate the fund agreements with the fund managers whose funds on the platform are subject to the same tender. The funds whose fund agreements have been terminated will remain on the platform and the duties that follows from the fund agreements will prevail until these funds have be unlisted from the platform. Savers will still be able to switch to or from these funds until the funds are replaced by the tendered funds. The transition to a fund platform with procured funds will be carefully prepared. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency will keep the fund managers, whose fund agreement have been terminated, continuously updated as new information exists. The saver will still have the opportunity to select another fund on the fund platform. The Swedish Pensions Agency will inform the savers affected.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency publishes a draft of the fund agreement and welcomes comments

Mon, 08 May 2023 21:35:00 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency publishes a draft of the fund agreement that will be used in the upcoming procurements of funds for the premium pension fund platform, along with draft of Instructions to the fund agreement and appendices. Publishing of the draft of the fund agreement is part of the Agency’s market dialogue, which is intended to give the market the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming procurements of funds and to comment and give feedback on the material. Draft of the fund agreement including its three appendices and instructions for the fund agreement are available in Swedish and English. The draft will be adjusted to suit the requirements of the first procurement, which will be European Large Cap Equities (active). The Swedish Fund Selection Agency welcomes written comments and questions on the draft examples of the fund agreement, instructions and appendices. Comments should be sent to procurement@ftn.se by 12:00 CET on May 22nd 2023. In order for the Swedish Fund Selection Agency to be able to set better and more suitable terms and conditions, and prepare the market for the upcoming procurements, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency recommends all fund managers intending to participate in any procurement to read the draft fund agreement and other procurement material carefully, whether their participation is planned for the first procurement or for a fund category at a later stage. Please note that the terms and conditions of the final version of the fund agreement will not be subject to individual negations. Please note that all comments received will be archived in accordance with the Swedish principle of public access to documents, and could therefore be subject to disclosure upon request. Information that is deemed confidential according to the provisions of the Swedish Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400) will not be disclosed. The draft examples of the Fund agreement, appendices and instructions are available here.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency publishes clarifications in response to comments received on the draft examples of parts of the tender documents

Fri, 05 May 2023 15:55:00 +0200

The office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency has reviewed comments on the draft examples of parts of the tender documents received between February 24th and March 17th 2023. The comments are important for the Swedish Fund Selection Agency's design of the tender documents that will be used in the procurement of funds for the Swedish premium pension fund platform. In response to the comments received, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency is publishing clarifications and answers to the questions that can be communicated before notice is made for the first procurement. All comments and questions received have been taken into account. Procurement of funds within the Swedish social insurance system The Swedish Fund Selection Agency is responsible for procuring funds for the Swedish premium pension fund platform, which is part of the Swedish social insurance system. Therefore, special requirements must be set in the procurements to protect the interests of the pension savers. The premium pension fund platform should provide funds of high quality, with the aim to create a safer and higher pension for the pension savers. To enable this, international best practice for procurement of funds among else will guide the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. The scope of the tender documents is in line with established industry standards. Legal requirements To procure funds within the framework of the Swedish social insurance system, the Swedish parliament has enacted two new laws, Act (2022:759) on the Swedish Fund Selection Agency and Act (2022:760) on the procurement of funds for the premium pension fund platform. The activities of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency are also regulated by Chapter 64 of the Social Insurance Code. Since the mandatory pension savings within the premium pension system shall contribute to securing the future livelihood of pensioners and thus reduce the financial risk for the state, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency sets higher requirements on fund managers and funds in the procurements than the requirements set under other regulations. In the procurements, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency must treat fund managers in an equal and non-discriminatory manner and observe the principles of transparency, proportionality and mutual recognition. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has evaluated the comments received on the draft examples of the tender documents , including comments related to the processing of personal data. In its further work on the design of the documents, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency has taken these comments into account. Design of the tender documents The tender documents are intended to normally consist of a total of five documents: Procurement guidelines, Exclusion grounds and mandatory requirements, Request for proposal (RFP), Fund specification and a Fund agreement. Drafts examples of parts of the first four documents were part of the market dialogue conducted by the Swedish Fund Selection Agency in February and March 2023. However, which exact documents the tender documents will ultimately consist of can differ from procurement to procurement as the tender documents has to be adapted to each individual procurement. The comments received from the industry have shown the need to clarify the content of the tender documents . For example, when notice is made for the first procurement, the tender documents will include an updated list of definitions and, where appropriate, reference to international standards. The questions in the tender documents will be clear and fully explained. How each award criterion will be evaluated will be clarified in the tender documents . The number and category of funds to be procured in a particular procurement, the requirements applicable to the category, the current assets under management under the category and possible requirements of an understanding of how corporate governance is conducted in the markets covered by the procurement will be clearly stated in the tender documents for each individual procurement. Fees The fee discount model that previously existed for the funds on the premium pension fund platform will be removed, and replaced with procured fees. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has considered the comments regarding the possibility of adjusting the fee. The purpose of such a procedure is to safeguard the interests of savers. The process will be described in the tender documents and will follow the principles of Union law on equal treatment and more. Information provided by the fund manager in the tender The Swedish Fund Selection Agency’s will review and evaluate the tenders received. The interviews aim to validate the information submitted in the tenders and cannot lead to higher scores on the award criteria. In accordance with the Swedish principle of public access to official documents, documents received by an authority are public documents and may therefore be disclosed in their entirety if someone requests access to them. However, information protected by secrecy is not disclosed. It is therefore important that the fund manager indicates and motivates which information, if any, it considers should be covered by confidentiality when submitting the tender. All comments and questions received have been considered. Answers to the questions that can be communicated before notice is made for the first procurement are published here . The Swedish Fund Selection Agency does not answer questions to actors individually. The information is made available to the industry on the Agency’s website.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency informs that the first fund category to be procured will be European Large Cap Equities (active)

Wed, 03 May 2023 15:40:00 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency now informs the industry that the first category to be procured will be European Large Cap Equities (active). The information is shared to give the industry the opportunity to plan for the procurement as the period to submit tenders could be placed during the summer. The deadline to submit tenders for the procurement of which notice could be made later this spring, will be placed in late August, at the earliest. The exact date for the deadline will be communicated when notice is made for the procurement.

With regards to questions received about the timing of the first procurement

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 13:38:25 +0200

In response to questions received around the first procurement, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency would like to inform that the deadline to submit tenders, for the procurement of which notice could be made later this spring, will be placed in late August. The exact date for the deadline will be communicated when notice is made for the procurement.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency thanks the industry for comments shared on the draft examples on parts of the procurement material

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 14:03:15 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) thanks fund management companies and their advisers, interest groups and academia for their questions and comments on the Agency's draft examples of parts of the procurement material. The work of analyzing the comments received has been initiated. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency will provide information when responses to questions of public interest are published on the website under Q&A. The draft examples of parts of the procurement material are available here.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency publishes draft examples of parts of the procurement material in Swedish and extends deadline for comments to March 17th 2023

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 12:59:13 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency now publishes draft examples of parts of the procurement material in Swedish, that will be used in the upcoming procurements of funds for the premium pension fund platform. The procurement material that is now published consists of: Procurement Guidelines: This document describes how the procurement will be carried out, and describes among else the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, the background to the procurement, definitions of terms relevant to the procurement, the various stages of the procurement process, the time plan, how the verification of the set requirements is made as well as how the evaluation is made, in both cases based on the exclusion grounds, mandatory requirements and award criteria of the procurement. Fund Specification: this document describes and specifies, among else, the fund category to be procured. Request for proposal (RFP): The questions in the RFP aim to provide a description of, among else, the fund's, the fund manager’s operations, organization, strategy, investment philosophy, processes, team and resources, sustainability, performance, administration, asset management fees and other costs. This draft of the procurement material has been prepared for the procurement of equity funds, which means that the procurement documents for other categories may differ slightly from this example. The material published is available in English and Swedish. In order for the Swedish Fund Selection Agency to be able to set better and more suitable terms and conditions, and prepare the market for the coming procurements, it is important that the fund managers thoroughly goes through the procurement material before the notice is made for the first procurement. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency therefore recommends all fund managers intending to participate in a procurement to carefully read the procurement material, whether their participation is planned for the first procurement or for a fund category at a later stage. The fund agreement is not included in the draft of the procurement material that has been published now. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency welcomes written comments and questions on the procurement material. These should be sent to procurement@ftn.se by 2023-03-17. Please note that all comments received will be archived in accordance with the Swedish principle of public access to documents, and could therefore be subject to disclosure upon request. Information that is deemed confidential according to the provisions of the Swedish Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400) will not be disclosed. The published draft examples of parts of the procurement material are available in Swedish here . The published draft examples of the procurement material are available in English here.

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency publishes draft examples of parts of the procurement material and welcomes comments

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 16:55:00 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency publishes a draft example of parts of the procurement material that will be used in the upcoming procurements of funds for the premium pension fund platform. The material provides an overview of the design and scope of the procurement material. Publishing the material is part of the Agency’s market dialogue, which is intended to give the market the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming procurements of funds and to comment and give feedback on the procurement material. In a procurement, the tenders submitted will be evaluated based on the answers to the questions asked in the procurement material. A limited number of tenderers will be chosen for due diligence meetings. To ensure that the Swedish Fund Selection Agency is able to make an assessment based on the requirements in the procurement, it is of utmost importance that the responses in the tender describe the fund manager and the fund well. The procurement is governed by the Act (2022:760) on procurement of funds for the premium pension fund platform. The aim is to provide funds of high quality that provide a safer and higher pension for the pension savers. The procurement material published today consists of: Procurement Guidelines: This document describes how the procurement will be carried out, and describes among else the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, the background to the procurement, definitions of terms relevant to the procurement, the various stages of the procurement process, the time plan, how the verification of the set requirements is made as well as how the evaluation is made, in both cases based on the exclusion grounds, mandatory requirements and award criteria of the procurement. Fund Specification: this document describes and specifies, among else, the fund category to be procured. Request for proposal (RFP): The questions in the RFP aim to provide a description of, among else, the fund's, the fund manager’s operations, organization, strategy, investment philosophy, processes, team and resources, sustainability, performance, administration, asset management fees and other costs. This draft of the procurement material has been prepared for the procurement of equity funds, which means that the procurement documents for other categories may differ slightly from this example. The material published today is available in English. Versions in Swedish will be published during next week. In order for the Swedish Fund Selection Agency to be able to set better and more suitable terms and conditions, and prepare the market for the coming procurements, it is important that the fund managers thoroughly goes through the procurement material before the notice is made for the first procurement. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency therefore recommends all fund managers intending to participate in a procurement to carefully read the procurement material, whether their participation is planned for the first procurement or for a fund category at a later stage. The fund agreement is not included in the draft of the procurement material that has been published now. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency welcomes written comments and questions on the procurement material. These should be sent to procurement@ftn.se by 2023-03-10. Please note that all comments received will be archived in accordance with the Swedish principle of public access to documents, and could therefore be subject to disclosure upon request. Information that is deemed confidential according to the provisions of the Swedish Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400) will not be disclosed. The published draft examples of parts of the procurement material is available here .

The office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency continues to recruit

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 16:28:36 +0100

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency continues to grow the organization in preparing for the start of the procurements during the spring, and is now recruiting to five new positions within legal, communication as well as qualitative and quantitative investment analysis for the agency’s office. The new competence will be important for the Swedish Fund Selection Agency to be able to deliver on its task – ensuring that the funds offered to savers on the premium pension fund platform are cost-effective, sustainable, suitable, controllable and of high quality. The office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency is now looking to fill the following positions: Fund lawyer: The Swedish Fund Selection Agency is looking for a lawyer with experience in fund regulations who wants to be involved in the work of procuring and reviewing funds for the premium pension fund platform. You will work with complex legal issues that may arise in the contractual relationship with the fund managers, investigate legal issues and review contractual and regulatory compliance. Apply here Fund procurer : For the unit for procurement and product strategy, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency is looking for a structured and process-oriented fund procurer, with good analytical skills and knowledge of fund management, who wants to be involved in preparing procurements and producing procurement documents. You will drive the procurement process in close collaboration with the agency’s other units and communicate with external suppliers and fund managers. Apply here Communicator : The Swedish Fund Selection Agency is looking for a communicator who wants to be involved in shaping the external and internal communication and implementing the authority's communication strategy. You should have very good writing skills and a great interest in conveying messages through words, sound and image. Apply here Qualitative analyst: The Swedish Fund Selection Agency is looking for a person with deep knowledge of the international asset management industry, various business models, regulations and internal processes that affect the fund industry. You will work with advanced analysis of both funds, fund structures and underlying fund companies, but also with evaluating how the managers integrate sustainability into their management and how they work with active ownership. Apply here Product strategist : For the unit for procurement and product strategy, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency is looking for a product strategist to work with the evaluation and design of the range of funds offered on the market. With a business-oriented approach, good analytical and communication skills and knowledge of fund management, you will help meet savers' needs for a wide and high-quality range of funds. Apply here With the aim to give savers a higher and safer pension, the employees are given a great opportunity to influence and develop the business and to contribute to a socially important function in a growing organization with a dynamic and developing work environment. Organizationally, you will be employed by the Swedish Pension Agency, where you are part of the special organization that works for the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. See all available positions here.

The office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency presents new hires and strengthens the organization to prepare for the procurement start

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 10:37:02 +0100

The office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency grows at a fast pace as new professionals have joined during the winter, in preparation for the procurement start during the spring of 2023. The agency will procure around 30 categories up until 2025, and is therefore strengthening all units, to ensure a qualitative and quantitative monitoring before, during and after the procurements – with the aim of creating a fund platform of high quality that provides a safer and high pension for the pension savers. During the fall, the office of the agency has taken big steps in its’ operational development, and a number of key positions has been filled. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency can now proudly present another seven employees that have been recruited. With their combined skills, the new hires will be instrumental in delivering on the agency’s assignment. Nadine Viel Lamare will take on the important assignment as sustainability strategist and communications officer. She joins from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and has many years of experience working with sustainability, communications and investments in different organizations such as the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), AP1 and the Council on Ethics of the Swedish AP Funds as well as the EU Platform of Sustainable Finance. ” I look forward to being part of a strong procurement team that focuses on sustainability as a central success factor for good returns, and thus a safer and high pension for the savers”, says Nadine, who will be joining the office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency on January 30th 2023. A number of new colleagues have already joined the Swedish Fund Selection Agency’s office, where the unit for Operational due diligence have new professionals in Marek Loutfi , who joined in early October, and in Fredrik Olofsson who joined in early December. Marek has previous experience from both state and municipal authorities and has most recently worked with examination of financial reports provided by appointed legal guardians. Fredrik, joining to work as a fund analyst, has many years of experience from the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, and has a background from operational work with private equity as well as investment management. To further strengthen the Operational due diligence unit, Claes Alvin will join in January 2023. With a background of more than 20 years within banking and investment management, and with extensive experience of monitoring and surveillance from his 13 years at Sweden’s Financial Supervisory Authority and the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, Claes will contribute with valuable insights on monitoring, to both the unit and the agency. Two other important recruitments are the additions to Legal, both with an extensive background in procurement law. Lars Paulsson , who has worked with procurement and contract law as well as general public and business law for around 30 years, joins the agency’s office in January, most recently from Region Stockholm. He has experience from both the public and private sector, from the Riksdag Administration, The Swedish Social Insurance Agency, Lernia, AcadeMedia as well as from law firms. Rita Helawi , who starts her position in February 2023 has a broad competence within public procurement. She joins most recently from The City of Stockholm, and will contribute with her knowledge of reviews, quality-assurance, advisory services and development, from large, procuring government authorities. She also has previous experience of tax law, from The Swedish Tax Agency. To the Administration function, Dilan Botrous has been recruited to support the office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency in its work to prepare for Board meetings and to contribute to the collaborative work with the Swedish Pension Agency. She has previous experience from banking, within customer service and as a private advisor, and looks forward to working with tasks that can make a difference for the Swedish pension savers when she starts in her position in January 2023. The office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency looks forward to welcoming the new professionals, and to the continuous work with developing the agency and the procurement process.

Status update with the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, November 18th 2022

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 16:46:28 +0100

Today, November 18th 2022, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency arranged a status update event for fund managers at Garnisonen in Stockholm. Executive Director Erik Fransson along with the Unit Heads Majdi Chammas and Magnus Strömer, presented the status of the organization. They also shared the status of the process of forming the procurement process, the fee model, the first categories to be procured and the way forward to create a reliable premium pension system of high quality. Watch the pre-recorded version of the presentation held during the status update event here . The main information shared during the status update is presented below. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency is a government authority with a mandate to procure, monitor and quality-ensure the funds in the Swedish premium pension system. The aim is to provide funds of high quality that provide a safer and higher pension for the savers. The work to establish the new government authority started in 2017 with the pension agreement. It was decided that the future range of funds on the fund platform should be of high quality and be secured by a thorough procurement, with the aim to procure the best funds and fund managers to the platform. After this, a consultation phase followed where legal requirements where evaluated. New legislation regarding i.a. how the procurement should be conducted where passed, and on June 20th, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency commenced its operations. The laws that govern the authority and the future procurements aim to create a reliable range of funds of high quality. The procured funds on the new fund platform should be suitable for the system, cost-efficient, sustainable, controllable and of high quality. The premium pension system and the fund platform should be characterized by freedom of choice, where the saver has the option to choose the level of risk and investment strategy. The interest of the savers is the main focus when the new fund platform is procured. The new legislation means higher requirements on both funds and fund managers when taking part in the procurement process. Reliability will be of utmost importance – with focus on high-quality investment processes, the reliability and the investment results will be improved. A strengthened monitoring process will also enable the quality to be maintained over time. The premium pension system The premium pension is a part of the national public pension and the national Swedish social insurance system. It can be described as a mandatory defined contribution system where every year, 2.5 percent of your pensionable income and other taxable benefits are allocated to the premium pension, to a mandatory savings account administered by the Swedish Pensions Agency. The funded system means that the saver has the option to choose the level of risk and strategy for the savings. If no choice is actively made, the savings will be allocated in the state preselection AP7 Såfa. The premium pension system was launched in the late 90’s, and the assets today amount to around 200 billion euros. It is a system with inflows larger than outflows, and in 2040, the assets are expected to amount to around 400 billion euros. The organization The start of building the organization has been successful, with hired professionals in all key positions. The organization consists of the Board of the Swedish fund selection agency and its’ office. The office is organized in three units; Procurement and product strategy led by Majdi Chammas, Investment due diligence led by Tina Rönnholm and Operational due diligence and monitoring led by Magnus Strömer. They all have long and extensive experience from the industry and within the fields that the organization will be active in. Four cross-functional teams work across all units. The gathered competence of the Board covers all major parts of the operations. The Board makes all larger strategic decisions, such as on the business plan, the procurement plan, the procurement design, start of procurement, award decisions and steering documents. The phases of the procurement process To be able to deliver on all dimensions of the assignment – suitability, quality, cost, sustainability, and controllability, the three units have created a procurement process divided into phases, with extensive evaluation and monitoring, both before, during and after the procurement. The process is designed to procure, evaluate and ensure high quality in the most suitable funds for the platform. To be able to maintain quality, the controllability is crucial for a successful monitoring process, both before and after the procurement. A holistic method is applied throughout the process, that will be conducted in project form. Participating members from all three units will evaluate the submissions, ensuring the process from both a quality and a reliability perspective. The final result is a product of the competence and work of all units. In the first phase, the different categories are analyzed; the range and the quality on the platform today, market trends, the availability of funds, investment strategies, the suitability for the platform, among else. The RFP is designed together with other parts of the government authority, such as legal and the Swedish Pension Agency’s trading unit, the Investment due diligence team and the Operational due diligence and monitoring team. The qualification criteria and award criteria will be decided by the Board, after which a notice for the procurement is announced. In the RFP, questions will be asked that aim to ensure transparency and availability of data and information, which constitutes qualification criteria and award criteria. It will be an extensive and detailed material to answer, with the purpose to ensure the quality of the fund manager’s organization. As soon as a notice of the procurement is announced, it will be published on e-Avrop. To be able to ensure a correct evaluation based on the legal requirements, it is very important that the material submitted is of high quality, well written, correct and completed: Even if you as a fund manager do not intend to participate in the first procurement, download and look through the material to gain an understanding of the procurement process. Answer all questions to enable a fair evaluation. Answer the questions correctly – not based on ambitions or expected future accomplishments. Everyone in the organization affected by the questions should look through them, to anchor the information on the organization submitted in the material. When the material is submitted via e-Avrop, a qualification process is initiated where only the fund manages meeting the criteria will pass on to the next step. After the first qualification phase, the evaluation phase is initiated, where an extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis is conducted. Quality is a word that is emphasized in the law on the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. In the preparatory work, emphasis is placed on the fact that no support in research has been found for past performance being a guidance of future returns and the quality of the funds. The government is therefore of the opinion that thorough analysis of both funds and fund managers is needed to be able to determine the quality of the funds. When quality is evaluated, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency’s focus will among else be on these four areas: Investment philosophy: The investment philosophy should be clear and describe how the fund manager works to create added value. The philosophy must be adopted by the entire organization and must be reflected in your daily work. Investment process: The investment process describes how the work has been done, where each step and their order should be described – all the way from idea to portfolio construction. Who that does what, and with what mandate should be described, as well as proof of discipline, structure, repeatability and that the process is implemented in practice as it is described. All members of the organization should be prepared to take part of the process. Investment resources: The investment resources describe who does what in the portfolio management. Here, not only the fund manager and the deputy fund manager are should be described, but also the wider team and the firm wide resources that the fund manager can draw upon. The organization, diversity, turnover, talent management, and the culture are evaluated. Investment results: Performance is not an indication of future returns, but it will be a receipt that the processes of the fund manager work – that they will be able to deliver on what has been described. During this evaluation, a lot of quant analysis is done, to verify the work that has been done and has been submitted to the Swedish Fund Selection Agency throughout the process. Sustainability The new law and the new fund agreements put emphasis on sustainability and on investment processes with an integrated sustainability perspective, where active ownership is practiced. An evaluation will determine how well the investment philosophy is adapted to sustainability and how integrated the ESG dimensions are in the process, what resources the fund manager has dedicated to sustainability work as well as how this is reflected in the results. The legislation states that the fund agreements should contain terms and conditions stating that the assets should be managed in an exemplary manner with regards to sustainability. An extensive work of forming a sustainability strategy for the fund platform is underway, where a recruitment of a professional responsible for sustainability is ongoing. The sustainability strategy will be communicated as soon as possible. Sustainability will be evaluated on two levels. The minimum requirements, or the qualification criteria within sustainability, will apply to all funds on the platform. In addition to this, each procurement will have specific sustainability requirements, that may be the base of the evaluation of the award criteria. The individual saver has then the final decision to choose between funds of different sustainability levels, however with a high base level on the platform. The interview phase consists of a meeting on site at the fund manager’s office. After the evaluation process a final decision will be made by the Board on which fund managers will be awarded fund agreements. An award decision will be made public, which is the start of the implementation phase. Together with the fund managers and internal teams, such as legal and the Swedish Pension Agency’s trading unit, the government authority will start preparing for the transition to the new, procured platform. Monitoring The monitoring of the funds on the platform will be initiated as soon as the procurement is done. The law stipulates that the term of the fund agreements cannot be longer than twelve years, but the term of the fund agreements can be shorter. Like on the platform today, a breach of contract can lead to termination of the contract. Making sure that the funds maintain high quality will be monitored more extensively than today – a decline in the quality that the fund manager initially showed at the time of the award can lead to a terminated contract. External factors can also create a need for a new procurement of a category. Transparency Transparency is crucial during the procurement process. Before the procurement, an open dialogue with the market is held where as much information as possible is shared. The information that is made public will be available on the website, which is continuously updated to ensure equal treatment. No party will have access to more information than any other. During the procurement process, a structured dialogue will be maintained, which means limited communication with the fund managers or the participants of the procurement. Clarifications may be requested at certain times. Questions that is submitted during the procurement process will be gathered and answered to the market on chosen occasions, to ensure equal treatment. When the results of the procurement process have been made public, feedback on the procurement results will be offered upon request. The feedback process will ensure a structured, disciplined and well-documented process. The fee model The organization is to be financed outside the state budget, in order to secure long term targets and independency. The organization will therefore be financed by fees, paid by participating fund companies. The old model will cease to exist and be phased out over time when new fund agreements are being signed. The new fee-model, that is currently a proposal subject to referral, is two-fold. It consists partly of a participation fee that will be paid by all fund companies taking part in each procurement. It’s designed to cover all costs, and is estimated to be SEK 18 000. This is to be paid before a submission can be processed. The second part of the fee-model is an annual fee covering running costs among else, either 0.5 basis points for passive funds or 1.5 basis points for actively managed funds. These fees will be charged all fund companies that have been awarded with a fund agreement. The fee model will be known up front for all participants and could be factored in when submitting the tenders. Over time, the level of these fees will be reviewed to ensure that they are targeting the actual costs, and might therefore be adjusted. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency is also followed up on its operational efficiency in order to ensure efficiency. The procurement pace The transition to the new fund platform will done gradually in a process during which all existing fund agreements will be replaced by new ones as the categories are. The searches and procurements are planned to commence in the spring 2023 with the aim to complete around 30 procurements up until mid-year 2025. It is an ambitious pace, but the focus will always remain on quality, which is prioritized over the time plan. The categories that will be procured first, without mutual order, are: European equity: active and index Global equities index Nordic equities, active Global Fixed Income The first category will be announced when the notice is made. Watch the pre-recorded version of the presentation held during the status update event here.

Invite - Status update event with the Swedish Fund Selection Agency

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 12:57:29 +0200

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency now invites fund managers (a maximum of two participants per company) to a status update event held in Stockholm, Friday November 18th at 08.30. Executive Director Erik Fransson will present the organization and share the status of the process of setting up the operations, the initial procurement framework and related areas. Agenda 08.00-08.30 Coffee and registration 08.30-09.30 Presentation 09.30-10.00 Questions Click here to register. The event, that is reserved for fund managers, will be held in Swedish. However, it will be recorded, translated with English subtitles and published on the Swedish Fund Selection Agency's website during the week following the event. Welcome!

Executive Director Erik Fransson participates in minPensionsPodden

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 11:40:31 +0200

Erik Fransson participates in episode 178 of minPensionsPodden, where he informs about the Swedish Fund Selection Agency and discusses the new procured fund platform. You can find the episode here (in Swedish).

New recruitment to the office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 09:09:20 +0200

We are pleased to welcome Martin Groth, Ph.D. , who on 3 October takes up the position as head of quantitative analysis at the Swedish Fund Selection Agency's office. Martin comes most recently from a position as a fund manager at Quartile Fonder AB.

Recruitment to the office of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 13:52:37 +0200

During the summer, the agency's office recruited the following staff: Magnus Strömer steps in as Head of Operational Due Diligence for the new unit Operational Due Diligence and Monitoring on 1 September. Magnus most recently came from a role as Head of Fund Management at Länsförsäkringar Fonder AB. Helene Långström takes over as Head of Administration on 12 September. Helene comes most recently from the Swedish Pensions Agency, where she was Finance and Operations Controller. Maria Strömqvist takes over as Chief Strategy Officer and Deputy Executive Director on 1 October. Maria has served as a consultant at Secoria/Arkwright and has been engaged with the Fund Department at the Swedish Pension Agency since 2018. In October, Majdi Chammas takes over as Head of Procurement and Product Offering, and Tina Rönnholm steps in as Head of Manager Research. Both Madji and Tina come from Första AP-Fonden, both working with fundselection within the unit External Partnership Management and Innovations. Together with Executive Director Erik Fransson , these new additions will complete the management team of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency’s office.

Allocation decision

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 14:29:40 +0200

The Swedish Pensions Agency has signed an agreement with PPCmetrics AG on behalf of the operations of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. The agreement concerns consulting services for the procurement of funds for the premium pension's fund selection. PPCmetrics AG has its legal headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and according to the agreement, will assist the Swedish Fund Selection Agency with the methods, processes and tools needed to prepare and implement fund procurement in accordance with the new legislation (in Swedish) i.e. Lag (2022:760) om upphandling av fonder för premiepensionens fondtorg . PPCmetrics AG are experts in the public procurement of fund management and have extensive experience in initiating and implementing the public procurement process.

Procurement of the first fund category to commence in the autumn

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 15:00:00 +0200

The various fund categories are procured successively during the period from autumn 2022 to and including May 2025. The first fund category procurement is expected to commence by year-end 2022.

The government has appointed the board members

Tue, 31 May 2022 15:00:00 +0200

The institution of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency is the result of the Swedish Riksdag's decision of 31 May 2022 to reform the premium pension system. The purpose of the reform is to lock untrustworthy actors out, make the premium pension system safer and make it generate better returns at lower cost to savers. Newly appointed chair of the Swedish Fund Selection Agency is Mats Sjöstrand, former Director-General of the Swedish Tax Agency. Newly appointed as deputy chair is Maria Rydbeck, Deputy Director-General of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. Also appointed are Åsa Edman, Chief Legal Officer at Adda AB , Hans Lindblad, formerly Director-General of the National Debt Office, Katarina Staaf, President of the Seventh AP Fund , Mikael Westberg, Legal Counsel at the National Insurance Agency and Anna Nilsdotter, Secretary-General of WaterAid, as members. All appointments apply as of 20 June 2022 to and including 31 May 2025. Read more on the Government website

The Swedish riksdag has decided to institute the Fund Selection Agency

Mon, 30 May 2022 15:00:00 +0200

On 30 May 2022 the Swedish Riksdag decided to institute the Swedish Fund Selection Agency. Read the decision and related information on the website of the Swedish riksdag.