The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has announced the results of both its European and global equities tenders for the country’s premium pension fund platform.

For the procurement of European equity funds with a focus on large and mid-cap companies, a total of four fund managers have been awarded the opportunity to sign contracts.

These fund managers and funds are: Handelsbanken Fonder AB - Handelsbanken Europa Index Criteria, Skandia Fonder - Skandia Europa Exponering, Storebrand Fonder AB - Storebrand Europa and Swedbank Robur Fonder AB - Swedbank Robur Access Europa.

Approximately 180,000 pension savers have holdings in the funds affected by the procurement. The award decision means that just over SEK 16bn of premium pension savers' funds will be allocated to these funds. The average fee for the funds in the category will be reduced from 0.135 per cent to 0.046 per cent.

FTN executive director, Erik Fransson, said the procurement result shows that “we have a procurement process that ensures a high level of target fulfilment”.

“The significant reduction in the fee level, with lower fees for all savers, combined with the increase in quality is positively impacting pension savers,” he added.

In addition, FTN has also made award decisions in the procurement of global equity funds (index) for the premium pension fund platform. The fives successful candidates are: Handelsbanken Fonder AB - Handelsbanken Developed Markets Index Criteria, Handelsbanken Fonder AB - Handelsbanken Global Index Criteria, Mercer Global Investments Management Limited - Mercer Passive Sustainable Global Equity UCITS CCF, Skandia Fonder - Skandia Global Exponering, Storebrand Asset Management AS - Storebrand Global Indeks and Swedbank Robur Fonder AB - Swedbank Robur Access Global.

This award decision means that just over SEK 51bn of premium pension savers' funds will be allocated to these funds. The average fee for the funds in the category will also be reduced from 0.143 per cent to 0.046 per cent.

“Global index funds are an important foundation for many long-term pension savers and we welcome the outcome of the procurement that lowers the fees for all savers in the category. Premium pension savers will now have access to high-quality index funds at fees normally only available to large professional investors,” Fransson said.

Approximately 300,000 pension savers have holdings in the funds affected by the procurement.

“The Swedish Fund Selection Agency has now completed a total of three procurements, including the two recent awards, marking a significant step toward a fully procured fund platform,” FTN chair, says Mats Dillén, said.

The funds in both categories that have not been allocated will be phased out from the fund platform after the decision has become final. Savers with funds removed from the fund platform will be given the opportunity to make a new choice. However, if no choice is made, savers do not need to do anything and will be automatically moved to an equivalent procured fund.

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