Stockholm (NordSIP) – Swesif, Sweden’s Sustainable Investment Forum, held its Annual General Meeting on 29 March, summarising another busy and eventful year. As the organisation is getting ready to celebrate its twentieth anniversary this autumn, it is evident that change is in the air. Both the Board of Directors and the Nomination Committee have been adequately reinforced to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving sustainable finance landscape.
Joining and leaving
During the next mandate period, the Board of Swesif is set to benefit from the sustainability expertise and vast network of five new members: Per Josephson from Harvest Advokatbyrå, Victoria Lidén from Storebrand Fonder, Edson Fonseca from Schroders, Allan Emanuelsson from Danske Bank, and Alexandra Bartholdsson-Frenander from Folksam. They will join forces with the Board’s remaining members, who will ensure continuity: Jennie Ahrén from Tundra Fonder, Anette Carmelius from Öhman Fonder, Cecilia Cisana from Sustainalytics, and Lingyi Lu from Söderberg & Partners.
Following the decision by Swesif’s long-serving Chair, Susanne Bolin Gärtner, to step down, the AGM appointed Jennie Ahrén to head the work of the Board going forward.
“I look forward to developing the board’s work and creating a common vision together with the board members, who all have broad and strong expertise,” comments Ahrén. “This year, Swesif celebrates twenty years as an association, having accumulated an impressive legacy of knowledge and experience. We aim to build on that platform. At the same time, we need to pay attention to the present day and the transformation the financial sector is undergoing to adapt and remain relevant to our members.”
Alongside Bolin Gärtner, several other members are exiting the Board: Lill Larås Lindgren from AP3, Peter Sandahl from Nordea Life & Pension, and Anna Strömberg from Carnegie Fonder. Rebecka Elkert from Carnegie Investment Bank and Fredrik von Platen from SEB Debt Capital Markets resigned from the Board earlier in 2023.
Upon exiting the Board, Strömberg will join Kristofer Dreiman from LF Liv and Fredric Nyström from AP3 on Swesif’s Nomination Committee. Gunnela Hahn is taking her leave after many years serving on the Nomination Committee and, previously, on the Board.
All those present at the AGM expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the efforts and inexhaustible enthusiasm of the long-serving members of the Board and the Nomination Committee.
An eventful 2022
The AGM acknowledged that several significant milestones had been reached during the past year. One of these is launching the updated version of Swesif’s proprietary fund classification framework, the Sustainability Profile (Hållbarhetsprofilen, or HP). The project’s purpose has been to adapt HP to the new EU regulation and make it more user-friendly.
Another significant development during the past year was Swesif’s full membership in Eurosif, the European Sustainable Investment Forum. The Swedish forum has previously had an observer role in Eurosif. After carefully evaluating potential membership benefits, a specially appointed working group submitted a favourable recommendation to the Board. Swesif’s membership application was approved in November 2022.
The forum also continues to organise a variety of well-attended seminars. During 2022, many of these focused on the year’s themes – Climate Commitments, Sustainable Regulation and the S in ESG, yet other topics and current developments were also discussed.
The new year has already kicked off with a number of events and activities on the agenda. As Swesif enters its third decade, it will hopefully keep adding value to its members and Sweden’s larger sustainable investment community.
