(Bloomberg) -- Ohman Fonder is looking to take part in a consolidation in the 4.4 trillion-krona ($445 billion) Swedish asset management business as smaller rivals feel the pressure from increased regulation.
“The industry will be in a consolidation phase for a few more years, and Ohman wants to have an active role as a buyer,” said Jamal Abida Norling, who became chief executive officer at Ohman Fonder in August. “At the same time, it's important that the business suits us.”
In 2015, Ohman Group acquired DNB ASA's Swedish fund and asset management operations, adding about 41 billion kronor in assets. Currently, Ohman Fonder oversees 100 billion kronor as part of Ohman, which traces its history back to 1906. It manages index funds as well as active pools of money focused on equities, fixed income and corporate bonds.
Read more: East Capital Says Its $3.4 Billion Deal Is Just the Beginning
According to Abida Norling, the need for mergers in the sector has sprung from regulatory pressure that acted as a kind of catalyst for the consolidation.
“It's not individual specific regulations, but rather the amount of regulations that require larger organizations to conduct asset management today,” he said. “This means that it's harder for smaller managers to become profitable.”
While it's difficult to give any exact figure for how many firms will be left on the Swedish scene once consolidation is done, “there will be significantly fewer companies than today,” Abida Norling said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Hanna Hoikkala in Stockholm at hhoikkala@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, Jonas Bergman, John Viljoen
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
