We were joined by Kevin T. Carter for an insightful webinar on global digitization, held on Zoom. Kevin T. Carter, Founder & CIO of EMQQ Global, has spent over 20 years investing in this evolution alongside Princeton economist Dr. Burton Malkiel. Their work helped pioneer fractional share trading and direct indexing before shifting focus to China and emerging markets ETFs.
You can find the presentation here.
Stockholm, 9 May 2025 – Each year, CFA Society Sweden honors outstanding contributions to the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability considerations in the investment industry through the CFA Sweden ESG Award. The 2024 award was presented to Institutionella Ägares Förening (The Institutional Owners Association – IÄF) during the Society’s Annual Forecast Dinner on May 8 in Stockholm. Anna Magnusson, Chief Active Ownership Officer at Första AP-Fonden (AP1) and member of the board of IÄF attended the event to receive the prize on behalf of the association.
John Howchin, member of CFA Society Sweden’s ESG Committee and responsible for the Award’s nomination process, commented on the decision to honor IÄF: “The Institutional Owners Association has demonstrated clear and actionable leadership in integrating sustainability into financial decision-making. By uniting major Swedish institutional investors around a shared expectation that corporate boards link executive compensation to material sustainability goals, IÄF is advancing long-term value creation. Their insistence on relevance, transparency, and alignment between sustainability targets and financial performance sets a new standard for responsible ownership and corporate governance in Sweden. IÄF’s initiative serves as a model for how investors can drive positive change and promote sustainable development across the business sector.”
IÄF is a non-profit association founded in 2003 by major institutional investors in Sweden. Its purpose is to safeguard its members’ interests as institutional owners in the Swedish equity market by promoting the sound development of self-regulation within the market. IÄF fulfils this role primarily by participating in Sweden’s self-regulatory market bodies when appropriate, and by nominating or appointing representatives to boards and other governance functions.
The members of IÄF are Alecta, AFA, AMF, Första AP-fonden (AP1), Andra AP-fonden (AP2), Tredje AP-fonden (AP3), Fjärde AP-fonden (AP4), Carnegie Fonder, Folksam, Handelsbanken Fonder, Lannebo, Länsförsäkringar, Nordea Fonder, SEB Investment Management, Skandia and Swedbank Robur Fonder.
Previous recipients of the CFA Sweden ESG Award are:
For media inquiries, please contact:
President: David Krook, CFA
Vice President: Alexandra Voss, CFA.
CFA Society Sweden: info@cfasweden.se
About CFA Society Sweden:
CFA Society Sweden is a not-for-profit organisation of investment professionals based in Sweden, founded in 2003. It aims to promote a high level of professionalism among its members and the broader investment community. The organisation has 165 members who are CFA Charterholders. A CFA Charterholder is a person who has successfully completed the CFA program, which is considered amongst the most challenging financial exams in the world. There are currently over 150,000 CFA Charterholders worldwide. The CFA program is administered by the CFA Institute.
About CFA Society Sweden’s ESG Committee:
The CFA Society Sweden’s ESG Committee is composed of engaged members of CFA Society Sweden who have a strong interest in the promotion of high-quality education and in supporting sound ESG standards in the analysis of financial investments. The ESG Committee is chaired by Simone Hirschvogl, CFA. The committee’s longest-standing member is John Howchin, former Secretary-General of the Council on Ethics for the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Swedish National Pension Funds. Currently, he oversees sector strategy for the work on the Transition Decade project with a focus on the hard-to-abate sectors at IIGCC and for the Climate Action100+ project, among many other engagements. Howchin is responsible for the ESG Award’s nomination process.
During the breakfast seminar we had on March 11th, Trevor Pugh from Capula Investment Management shared valuable insights on structuring relative value trades and managing the associated risks. He also provided important market context on fiscal policy and bond issuance outlooks, highlighting the opportunities and challenges within the strategy.
We would like to sincerely thank everyone who attended and contributed to the discussion. We hope you found the session insightful and look forward to welcoming you to future events!
The seminar on credit analysis in the bond market was recently held, offering attendees an in-depth look at how credit analysis is performed in practice. Generously hosted by Danske Bank, the session was led by Louis Landeman, Head of Credit Analysis, and Christian Svanfeldt, CFA, Senior Credit Analyst at Danske Bank.
During the seminar, they provided practical insights into evaluating bonds and highlighted key considerations, including:
The seminar covered both theoretical concepts and practical applications.
For those who missed the event or would like to revisit the content, the presentation used in the seminar is available for download here.
We hope to see you at future events!
CFA Society Sweden is pleased to announce that Linköping University Team C has won the Swedish CFA Research Challenge 2025. The winning team members, including Mattias Sellin, Erik Löfman, Filippa Hermansson and Hannes Martinsson have delivered a written hold recommendation on Truecaller AB and presented it to a panel of distinguished graders and judges from the investment community. The winning team was mentored by Pontus Ferno, CFA (Infranode) and had guidance from their faculty advisor Öystein Fredriksen, Senior Lecturer in Economy.
This year’s CFA Research Challenge was hosted by David Krook, CFA, President of CFA Society Sweden and Tanja Raassina Harrison, CFA, Treasurer of CFA Society Sweden. The Board of CFA Society Sweden would like to thank all the volunteers and sponsors that made this year’s competition a great success:
• Mentors: Andreas Brink, CFA; Elena Shatrova, Erick Mokaya, CFA; Marcela Klang, Margot Jacobs, Mark Shay, CFA; Pontus Ferno, CFA; Sebastian Haq, CFA; Xuli Qian, CFA; and Tetiana Soviak, CFA.
• Graders: Anders Gustafsson, Carlos Guevara, CFA; Magdalena Högberg, Mats Waldemarsson, CFA; Oleg Pavlovskyy and Peder Du Rietz, CFA.
• Judges: Andreas Brock, Erik Karlsson and Simone Hirschvogl, CFA.
Finally, we would like to thank all the students who took part in this competition.
The following Swedish universities were represented in the CFA Institute Research Challenge:
• KTH
• Linköping University
• Luleå University
• Stockholm School of Economics
• University West
• University of Gothenburg
• Umeå University
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and professional ethics. The students are tested on their analytic, valuation, report writing, and presentation skills. They gain real-world experience as they assume the role of a research analyst. www.cfainstitute.org/researchchallenge.
On November 20, CFA Society Sweden’s ESG Committee arranged the first event of a series of educational sessions to promote the ESG Certificate and provide an opportunity for investment professionals to update their sustainable investing knowledge.
As ESG considerations become increasingly pivotal to investment decisions, the demand for high-quality, actionable data has soared. However, the road to reliable ESG data is fraught with challenges, from inconsistent standards and fragmented data sources to the complexities of measuring qualitative impacts. Together with three experts, this in-depth session was an opportunity to delve into these issues, discuss emerging solutions, and share insights on the future of ESG data in investment.
Karoline Hatlestad, SKAGEN Funds (a part of Storebrand Asset Management) held a presentation on the topic “ESG data in investments decisions – Why we need figures and how we use them”. The slides are available here.
Yinka Kalliokoski, ISS ESG talked about “ESG provider challenges – The Upcoming regulation and codes of conduct for ESG ratings and data products providers”. The slides are not available but information is available here.
Cecilia Cisana, Morningstar Sustainalytics presented “The future of ESG data in practice – How regulation is changing the work of companies & investors”. The slides are available here.
CFA Society Sweden and the ESG Committee would like to extend their gratitude to the speakers and in particular to SKAGEN and Storebrand for hosting this successful event!
This event qualified for 1.5 PL Credit. If you would like to track this achievement, you can do so in your PL Tracker on the CFA Institute’s website.
If you would like to provide feedback, you can do so here.
Stockholm, September 4, 2024 — The CFA Society Sweden is pleased to announce that the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program officially welcomes the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE). This recognition highlights the academic rigour and relevance of SSE’s MSc program in Finance, which has been acknowledged for incorporating at least 70% of the CFA Program curriculum. Furthermore, the program emphasises the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct, reinforcing its commitment to preparing students for professional excellence in the global finance industry.
“This affiliation is a strong signal to prospective students that we offer a comprehensive and internationally relevant finance program,” said Anders Anderson, Program Director of the MSc program in Finance at SSE. “It aligns our curriculum with the highest standards of professional ethics and conduct in the investment industry, providing our students with a significant competitive advantage.”
Participation in the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program allows SSE to offer a limited number of CFA Program Student Scholarships each year. These scholarships will support students in pursuing the globally recognised CFA designation, further enhancing their career prospects in the competitive field of finance.
About CFA Institute
CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals, setting the standard for professional excellence and credentials in the investment industry. As an advocate for ethical behavior in investment markets and a respected source of knowledge within the global financial community, CFA Institute strives to create an environment where investors’ interests are prioritized, markets function optimally, and economies grow. With more than 200,000 CFA charterholders across 164 markets, CFA Institute is a leader in fostering the highest standards of education, integrity, and professionalism. The organization operates through nine global offices and is supported by over 160 CFA Societies worldwide.
About CFA Society Sweden
CFA Society Sweden is a member society of CFA Institute, dedicated to promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence in the Swedish investment community. Through a range of initiatives, including educational programs, networking events, and industry advocacy, CFA Society Sweden supports the professional development of investment professionals and contributes to the advancement of the investment industry in Sweden.
This press release highlights SSE’s achievement, aligns it with the values of the CFA Institute, and emphasises the benefits for students and the wider finance community.
Earlier this year, CFA Society Sweden’s Women in Finance Committee took the initiative to start a series of intimate gatherings of female CFA Charterholders in Stockholm. Did you know that there are only just above 30 of them?
The result has been so far two highly inspiring lunch gatherings hosted at SEB Asset Management’s office in central Stockholm. A wide range of practical topics was discussed, from how to teach women to invest their money to what the key skill set is for everyone’s job. The lunch concludes with a key question from the chair of the Women in Finance Committee, Alexandra Voss, CFA: “How can we help you?” (and here is how you can help me…)
We look forward to more sessions this autumn!
This spring CFA Society Sweden took a proactive step to recruit new members to its ESG Committee and the interest was very high among the holders of CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing.
The newly formed committee has met twice and proposed a new strategy that was accepted by the board at its last board meeting before the summer.
First of all, the committee reshaped its mission to include a more proactive outreach to the community of analysts and other ESG specialists locally. The aim is for the committee to also continue in the tradition of designating the winner of the CFA Society Sweden’s annual ESG Award.
The new mission is the following:
The CFA Society Sweden’s ESG Committee aims to promote and improve ESG analysis within the investment community in Sweden by:
The work of the committee is driven by Simone Hirschvogl, CFA (chair) and Aline Gustafsson, CFA (executive officer).
Other members include
The committee now has its work cut out for the autumn and aims to arrange two to three events around relevant themes and to open these events to a community of highly engaged ESG analysts and experts. Stay tuned to these upcoming opportunities and pleae do reach out if you are interested in finding out more about the work of the ESG Committee.
CFA Society Sweden
Brunnsgatan 21 A, 3 tr
111 38 Stockholm
Sweden
email: info@cfasweden.se
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