Stockholm (NordSIP) – Catella, the Swedish financial advisory firm and asset manager with specialist expertise within property, fixed-income and equities, has changed the name of its equity fund previously known as the Catella Reavinstfond to Catella Sverige Aktiv Hållbarhet (“Catella Sweden Active Sustainability”) as of April 19 2017, following permission obtained from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.
Catella Sverige Aktiv Hållbarhet offers a concentrated portfolio of carefully selected Swedish shares with the potential to obtain better returns than the Swedish index for equities, and invests with a focus on large and medium-sized businesses. It is permitted to use derivatives. The recent change has enabled changes in the fund’s rules that will buttress the fund’s investment reorientation towards sustainable investments and companies observing the UN Principles for Responsible Investment. As such, it is intended for investors seeking active management of Swedish equities with an investment horizon of minimally five to seven years.
“The foundation of our investment philosophy and process is our belief that there is a link between a sustainable business model and sustainability in a company’s profitability and growth. We seek to achieve long-term good returns by actively incorporating sustainability criteria in our selection process in order to find companies whose long-term profitability and competitiveness are underestimated by the market,” a Catella press release announcing the change reads.
The Catella Sverige Aktiv Hållbarhet fund outperformed the Swedish equities market for the month of April 2017, returning 4.50% by comparison with 4.36% for the SIX RX, Portfolio Manager Anna Strömberg commented in the fund’s monthly report. This was due to a combination of high market expectations following Q1 earnings results, an increased appetite for risk in the wake of political stabilization, and strong contributions from the fund’s holdings.
The fund formerly know as the Catella Reavinstfond fund was incepted in 1998 with the objective of providing long-term returns exceeding the stock exchange as a whole. As of March 31 2017, the fund had generated over 9.72% in average annual returns. Upon becoming a signatory to the UNPRI in 2009, Catella has made a concerted effort to integrate sustainability into all its funds, climaxing in the makeover of the Reavinstfond fund into the Catella Sverige Aktiv Hållbarhet fund with the conviction that this will help it deliver even better returns. Its investment focus will consequently be adjusted by attributing more prominence to sustainability criteria in the investment process to complement its financial analysis.
The fund has also experienced the expansion of its team over the past year, which now consists of three experienced portfolio managers, including Henrik Holmer and Henrik Gripenvik alongside Ms Strömberg, who joined Catella last year from Nordea.
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