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

The Swedish Fund Selection Agency today, August 27, announces its decision on the procurement of the fund category passively managed Swedish equity funds with a focus on large and mid-cap companies. Three fund managers are awarded fund agreements for a total of five funds, two of which are new to the fund platform.

These fund managers and funds are:

• Cicero Fonder AB
Aktiespararna Topp Sverige

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB
Handelsbanken Sverige 100 Index Criteria

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB
Handelsbanken Sverige Index Criteria

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB
Handelsbanken Sverige LM Index

• Swedbank Robur Fonder AB
Swedbank Robur Access Sverige

The award decision means that SEK 65 billion of premium pension savers' funds will be allocated to these funds.

For pension savers, the procurement means that all the funds in the category have undergone an extensive evaluation and are of high quality.
“The index funds procured are those that, in the overall assessment, are considered to offer the best combination of high quality and low fees”, says Mats Dillén, Chairman of The Swedish Fund Selection Agency.

By law, the funds procured must be suitable, controllable, sustainable, cost-efficient, and high quality. In addition, the range on the fund platform must provide pension savers with freedom of choice. The Swedish Fund Selection Agency considers that a sufficient number of high-quality tenders have been received in the procurement process to enable a result that meets the legal requirements.
“It is easy to assume that all index funds are identical, but the differences are more significant than one might think at first glance, and the funds procured have demonstrated that they possess the expertise and processes necessary to provide value to investors“, says Erik Fransson, executive director of The Swedish Fund Selection Agency.

Approximately 450,000 pension savers have holdings in funds affected by the procurement. The funds in the category that have not been allocated will after a phase out period be deregistered from the fund platform. Savers with funds removed from the fund platform are given the opportunity to make a new choice. If the saver does not choose, the funds are automatically moved to an equivalent procured fund.

For further information, The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has published a procurement report which can be accessed here. pdf, 13.3 MB.

For questions, please contact:
Viktor Ström Head of Communication, the Swedish Fund Selection Agency, FTN.
+46 73 321 64 46 or viktor.strom@ftn.se