Storebrand Asset Management Q4 2023 business update

Strong finish to the year with positive signs across all Nordic markets.

Business Highlights

• Net revenue of NOK 779 million
• Net inflow of NOK 29 billion in Q4 (NOK 70 billion YTD)
• AuM of NOK 1.212 billion

Storebrand Asset Management recognized net revenue of NOK 779 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, including performance revenues realized at year end. The positive trend in inflows continued in the fourth quarter, totalling NOK 29 billion, with a net positive flow of NOK 70 billion for the full year 2023. Strong financial markets also contributed to growth in Assets under Management (AuM) for both Q4 and full year. At year-end, our total AuM was NOK 1.212 billion, a 12-month of increase of NOK 193 billion.

"We closed the year with a record-high AuM and strong inflows in the Nordics. Building on our Nordic home market strengths, product offering and sustainability pedigree, we will continue to push on in our international journey”, says Jan Erik Saugestad CEO Storebrand Asset Management.

Across the Nordics, institutional demand showed indications of adaptation to the new interest rate environment, with clients initiating new procurement processes, and showing increased appetite for portfolio changes in our dialogues.

Infrastructure is increasingly on clients' radar; due to the role it can play in the sustainability transition. In addition, infrastructure is resilient in the new high-interest-rate context, and benefits from inflation protection characteristics.

Local strength and long-term commitment
Across the Nordic markets we saw a consistent patten of positive signs and adaptation to new market conditions.

In Sweden, Storebrand Fonder recorded the second-best inflow in the market for 2023, according to data from the Swedish Investment Fund Association. Our net inflow of SEK 18.8 bn made up 19.4 per cent of the market's total net inflows of SEK 97.2 bn. We also reached a milestone in December when Storebrand Fonder exceeded SEK 400 bn in AuM. Furthermore, Storebrand Asset Management in Sweden moved up to and was ranked as second-best manager by distributors and held its first place position in the sustainability rankings of Kantar Prospera’s Fund Distributors & Selectors 2023 Sweden. Already ranked number one by Swedish institutions in general and on sustainable investments.

In Norway, we recorded the highest full-year inflow in the market for our mutual fund products Storebrand, SKAGEN and Delphi, according to data from Norwegian Fund and Asset Management Association. Our Norwegian inflow of NOK 17.5 billion corresponds to a market share of 25.8 per cent for the year.

Bucking a tough market for fundraising in alternatives, we experienced strong interest from Norwegian institutions, for Cubera’s Nordic secondary strategy as well as the global primary strategy. We had positive fixed income and index flows and secured several new discretionary fixed income mandates.

The total new commitment from Danish institutional investors to PE funds offered by Cubera amounted to EUR 123 million (NOK 1.300 million NOK). We have further increased AuM in our conventional offering, with net inflows of NOK 2.1 billion from Danish clients, of which NOK 0.6 billion was booked in the fourth quarter.

In Finland and Iceland, we recorded positive flows of NOK 1.6 billion into Swedish funds offered by Storebrand Fonder and NOK 1.8 billion into Norwegian-domiciled funds respectively.

Continued international commitment
We see strong incoming demand for sustainable investments, including Article 8 and 9 funds, the emergence of alternative asset classes as essential building blocks in portfolios, and the revival of interest in active strategies. Our outgoing efforts are generating results in terms of growth and new income through our fund domiciles in Luxembourg and Ireland. Reinforcing our commitment to client service, Spiros Alan Stathacopoulos stepped up into the role as of Head of International Distribution in the quarter.

Our strategy of functioning as a gateway into the Nordics for international clients has seen positive results in private equity, as we raised an annual record amount of investment into our private equity funds this year.

There are dislocations in the private equity markets and one of the beneficiaries of the market dislocation has been secondary fund managers. Transaction volume in the secondaries market reached $114 billion in 2023, according to Evercore. This was the second biggest year on record, with Cubera also benefiting having completed the investment of Cubera IX following a flurry of deals in Q3 & Q4 last year. Furthermore, we have now signed our first deal out of Cubera X with many more in the pipeline expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

In December, Cubera closed its 23rd global fund of funds (CIPE 23) on EUR 241m, while simultaneously holding a first close of CIPE 24 which will be in fundraising mode during 1H of 2024.

Real estate revenues at all-time high
Market sentiment shifted cautiously towards a positive trend in the fourth quarter, as we saw more real estate transactions driven by expectations of reaching the top of the inflation curve. In Norway, we experienced a very active letting market, renting out more than 140,000 sqm through the course of the year.

SNRE, our new Nordic Core Plus fund, is in operation as of January 1 and has entered into a SPA regarding its first property acquisition. Capital Investment, our Danish real estate boutique, continued to increase its AuM during Q4, taking AuM growth for the full year to 30 percent. Despite value reduction across portfolios, due to high interest levels and increased yields, we managed to increase revenues within real estate to a new all-time high.

Ever-rising importance of sustainability
Sustainable investment showed continued appeal to clients, as we saw in NOK 34 billion of net inflows, including internal shifts, in our products offerings where sustainability as an explicit strategy, such as our Plus and Solutions funds.

With biodiversity loss rising as an issue of critical importance, we have implemented the TNFD methodology in our portfolios to better understand our nature-related risks and opportunities, and are committed to publishing our first TNFD disclosures from 2025, based on 2024 data. TNFD has named us early adopters for our work on the issue.

There is continued positive external feedback on our sustainability efforts with high rankings in several new assessments of sustainability overall by the Dow Sustainability Index, for deforestation by the Global Canopy, and in the GRESB real estate assessments in Sweden and Norway.

Get our Q4 2023 Sustainable Investment Review, see related documents below

Read Jan Erik Saugestad's ESG outlook: "Looking back on 2023, here's what I see for ESG investing"