Sweden’s $400 Billion Pension Shakeup Threatens Smaller Funds
- Firms pressured by tighter rules on who can run pension money
- Consolidation risks shrinking demand for small-cap equities
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Sweden’s smaller asset managers face a Darwinian struggle for survival as major reforms slash the number of funds that savers can choose after a fraud scandal rocked the country’s $400 billion pension industry.
The Nordic nation, where stock investing is more of a national sport than the preserve of brokers, is tightening up rules on which fund managers can run pension assets generated by a mandatory 2.5% salary contribution from all working Swedes — a pool that’s expected to double from the current level of $200 billion by 2040.