Danske Invest Sverige Småbolag celebrates its anniversary with a sustainable return
The Danske Invest Sverige Småbolag equity fund can look back on a successful first year thanks to a special focus on companies with sustainable, solid business strategies.
When the Danske Invest Svenske Småbolag equity fund was launched in late summer last year, the timing was not the best. The fund was launched on 27 August 2018, the day before the top listing for the Småbolag index last year. By the end of the year, the Småbolag index had fallen by about 14 per cent, as was generally true for the majority of the stock markets, which experienced a downturn in the second half of 2018. However, this development was quickly reversed in 2019, as the fund has so far delivered convincing absolute and relative returns.
"First year since its launch in 2018, the fund has returned 10.3 per cent and is about 5 per cent ahead of the index. We can therefore conclude that our investment philosophy has paid off well. It involves investing in long-term sustainable companies that have the potential to grow their profits faster than the stock market and competitors", said Senior Portfolio Manager Petter Löfqvist of Danske Invest Svenske Småbolag.
Sustainable active dialogue with the invested companies
It may also be appropriate to highlight the portfolio's integrated sustainability work, which contributes not only to an increased understanding of the companies' opportunities and risks, but also to closer collaboration with the companies on company-specific sustainability issues. During the past year, Petter Löfqvist and his team conducted more than 130 dedicated sustainability meetings with the Fund's portfolio holdings and companies within the Fund's investment universe.
A further interesting aspect is that there were no high-risk bets taken to achieve this excess return, and it was not the choice of sectors, but almost exclusively the shares selection that contributed.
