A decade of delivery in the Nordics
This year, JPMorgan Asset Management's Stockholm office celebrates 10 years of providing solutions for clients in six distinct markets across the region
We are recognised across the industry as having the right products and expertise
This year, J.P. Morgan Asset Management's Stockholm office celebrates 10 years of providing solutions for clients in six distinct markets across the region
Originally launched as a country office back in 1998, JPMorgan Asset Management's Nordics business began its life in a room in an office hotel on the outskirts of Sweden's capital of Stockholm. A decade on, it has grown into a major retail and institutional market player in the region, with substantial assets under management and a city centre base staffed by a team of eight.
Retail strategy focuses on Sweden
The greatest advertisement for the business success in the Nordics over the past decade is the impressive client base and assets under management steadily built year on year.
Although some Nordics clients have relationships with JPMorgan Asset Management dating back almost 20 years, retail clients were historically managed from Luxembourg until the foundation of the Stockholm office.
"Our optimum target is for 50 to 55 per cent of our book of business to be in Sweden, but we also need to grow our Danish and Norwegian businesses as well," says Alessandro Svensson, Head of Sales Nordic Region. "While there has been an institutional presence in Denmark for some years, we only opened a retail business in 2007, so we're still at the early stages of our development there. In Norway we have a longer presence, in fact our oldest institutional client has been with us for 14 years, but again we have more work to do to establish ourselves in that market." JPMAM also markets products in Iceland and in the Baltic region, principally in Estonia, where the firm is able to leverage off relationships with Swedish banks that operate in the republic.
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A sophisticated and open client base
Francois Xavier Douin, who heads up the institutional business in the region, offers further insight. "We have enjoyed a high quality of products, consistency of coverage as we have had low staff turnover, and we strive for continuous innovation," he said. "Nordic clients are frequently ahead of the game and the first to buy new products. It's a very sophisticated market, with lots of natural growth potential which the business can respond to by pushing the right products."
"Nordic clients are very open to new ideas and having dialogue - many countries just won't accept cold calls but it's not an issue here," Douin explains. "Having said that, it's important to remember that while we may call the Nordics a region, it is made up of several separate countries and all need to be approached differently. While it makes sense to cover from one central platform, they all have different cultures, markets, currencies and regulatory systems."
Svensson agrees, but adds that although there are cultural differences and language hurdles, overall there are more similarities than differences. "It makes it fun and interesting to work with people from the other countries, and it's always with a twinkle in the eye that we tease one another when losing ice-hockey or football games against one of our local rivals."
What's next for the Nordics?
"From a wholesale point of view, we continue to broaden beyond our key bank relationships to maintain our growth. We are also looking at new products which appeal to niche markets, like our newly launched JPMorgan Funds - Africa Fund and JPMorgan Funds – Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund.”
“What’s special and unique to Sweden is that we also recently launched Swedish krona products," Svensson points out. "This includes hedged products, such as JPMorgan Investment Funds – Global Capital Preservation and JPMorgan Investment Funds – Highbridge Statistical Market Neutral."
"From an institutional perspective, we will continue to showcase our core offering, but in the alternatives space we need to work harder to push our solutions in sectors like private equity, real estate and infrastructure. This is even more essential in less rosy market conditions," Douin added.
"The reputation we've built for ourselves both in retail and institutional means that we're often invited to the table to negotiate," Svensson concluded. "We may not win the pitch every time, but we're recognised across the industry as having the right products and expertise to be a strong option for most clients."