Part 3 of series "Personal Insights": What we can expect in the future...
In the third part of our series, our three experts deal with the question of what the future of asset management will look like from various perspectives. How will the sustainability debate change, how will the asset management industry in general develop and how is DNB positioned for this? Here are the exciting answers.
Knut Hellandsvik, Head of Equities
I think that both we and the rest of the industry will increasingly be looking for solutions-driven companies, which are truly "future-proof". The asset management industry will play an important role as we steer capital into companies that help solve problems and punish companies that do not take proper care of the environment, their employees and their stakeholders. These companies will have higher capital costs and will be forced to improve their practices. As interest in ESG is increasing, there is a potential risk of bubbles being created as a result of too much investment capital chasing relatively few investment ideas. This trend is also exacerbated by the fact that an increasing share of ESG funds is being passively managed. Since we, as active investors, focus on generating alpha for our clients, there are opportunities as well as risks.
Given the ongoing global pension reform, which requires workers to take more responsibility for their own investments, combined with a world of low returns, I believe that the asset management industry will play an even more important role in providing solutions for both individuals and institutions.
I believe DNB AM will be able to score in these areas. Having one of the largest teams of active fund managers in Norway with an office in a liveable city like Oslo is a good starting point in being a preferred employer. Furthermore, we believe in specialization to generate alpha over time - and therefore focus on sectoral and thematic funds as well as on specific regions. Last but not least, it is important to be able to take advantage of the synergies that arise from a large team of specialists. This is an aspect we are working on every day.
Svein Aage Aanes, Head of Fixed Income
The increased focus on sustainability will not significantly change our work as we have been dealing with these issues for a long time. It is obvious that the content of this term will evolve and change over time. It will also improve access to data that can be evaluated more objectively by the ESG teams of individual companies. Therefore, as asset managers, we are constantly challenged to further develop our ESG analysis and our work. It is hard for me to see anything else but positive effects in our fixed income markets. First and foremost because I believe that companies that take sustainability seriously are better able to survive and thrive (and pay back the money they borrowed). In this sense, an increased focus on sustainability by our customers, ourselves and the issuers will create stronger companies together, while helping to create a better future for all of us.