For Fund Managers

Main document, section 2.1

To further ensure consumer protection, the agency is expanding the obligation to submit certain information during the application process, e.g. when the administration has been delegated or if the fund is a feeder fund. The contractual terms regulating provision of information in connection with application has, to be more transparent, to the extent possible been gathered in one single contract term.

Main document, section 2.2

The Swedish Pensions Agency amends the section in order to clarify that a fund manager is not expected to breach applicable legislation in order to comply with the terms and conditions of the fund agreement. Restrictions due to applicable legislation or other mandatory regulations shall be considered to the extent necessary.

Main document, section 3.1

The Swedish Pensions Agency clarifies that a fund manager shall comply with what is stated in the agency's from time to time applicable instructions for the fund agreement as well as other administrative instructions.

Main document, section 3.6.1

The Swedish Pensions Agency introduces a contract term with respect to the statutory requirement that business history shall cover a minimum period of three years. The condition, which does not deviate from the agency’s current position, means that a fund manager, in connection with the agency’s evaluation of the application, shall have been licensed to engage in fund activities and have managed one or more UCITS-funds during a consecutive period of at least three years.

Main document, section 3.9 and 3.11

The Swedish Pensions Agency’s right to collect information during the contract period is clarified and expanded for consumer protection reasons. In principle, the proposed changes mean that a fund manager shall provide such information as the Swedish Pensions Agency deems necessary for the agency to conduct the necessary reviews and check compliance with the fund agreement.

Main document, section 3.10 and 3.13

The conditions regulating the fund managers’ obligation to provide information regarding a change of circumstances are clarified. A clearer division of the regulation regarding information on changes related to the fund and to the fund manager’s organisation and activities is introduced. The agency also introduces examples of the type of information covered by the conditions and adjust the times upon which the time limit to inform the agency is based.

Main document, section 3.20.2

The agency’s change of the condition, which regulates certain requirements within the scope of sustainability, is a direct consequence of new EU rules on information related to sustainability and the national legislation conforming thereto.

Main document, section 4.4

A new wording is introduced in the fund agreement to inform fund managers of existing statutory provisions regarding fund managers’ obligation to pay certain special fees and costs.  

Main document, section, 7.1

The agency introduces a regulation on communication with the agency within the scope of the fund agreement, which shall primarily take place via email.

Main document, section 7.3

New grounds for termination of the fund agreement and more flexible notice periods are introduced, both for the Swedish Pensions Agency and fund managers.

Main document, section 7.6

The agency clarifies that a fund agreement cannot be transferred from one fund manager to another. A fund manager who takes over the administration of a fund that shall continue to be covered by a fund agreement must therefore apply to enter into a fund agreement regarding the fund. The Swedish Pensions Agency introduces an obligation to, jointly and severally with previous fund managers, fulfil obligations related to the fund and its management under the previous fund agreement.  

Appendix A. Price reduction, section 4.1

Fees in the funds where funds are invested shall always be included in the calculation of a fund’s ongoing charges, regardless of the size of the holdings. In other words, the current delimitation with respect to fund holdings greater than 10 percent is abolished.

Appendix A. Price reduction, section 6.2

The maximum levels (ceiling levels) for the total cost withdrawal quotient (TK) is lowered from 2.25 percent to 2.0 percent for equity funds and from 1.5 percent to 1.25 percent for other funds. For the part of TK exceeding the ceiling level, the price reduction is 100 percent. The ceiling level for fixed income funds remains unchanged.

Appendix A. Price reduction, section 6.3.2

The free cost withdrawal, which is not eligible for price reduction, is lowered for equity funds from 0.15 percent to 0.11 percent, for other funds from 0.15 percent to 0.09 percent, and for fixed income funds from 0.10 percent to 0.07 percent.

Appendix A. Price reduction, section 6.3.4

The discount level for holdings with each respective management group in the interval MSEK 0–1 000 is raised from 65% to 70%.

The reasons for the changes to the price reduction are primarily that the Swedish Pensions Agency deems that today’s levels are too low considering the development of fund fees on the market combined with the major increase of managed capital within the premium pension system over time.

Appendix B. Trading in Funds, section 5.2

Limitations in the current fund agreement regarding a fund manager’s application of ‘swing pricing’ are abolished.

Appendix C. Code of Conduct in the Premium Pension Sector, section 2.2

The agency amends the existing condition regarding business history for external investment managers and introduces a limited possibility to deviate from the condition to, for example, enable transfer of a business for the purpose of internal restructuring.

Appendix C. Code of Conduct in the Premium Pension Sector, section 3.2 first paragraph, iv

The agency introduces additional examples of what may constitute an inappropriate fund within the premium pension system in the form of certain company law structures (UCITS) that may lead to complex conflicts of interest.

Appendix C. Code of Conduct in the Premium Pension Sector, section 3.4 second paragraph, vi

The Swedish Pensions Agency introduces examples of which holdings in own funds the agency may accept for the purpose of increasing predictability and clarifying which requirements the agency imposes.

The Swedish Pensions Agency will not leave any prior notice on specific questions or specific application cases if it is considered as general information and relevant for the application process. Then the question will be on the Q&A –section.

The answers in the Q&A-section is for guidance only. The final interpretation and decision will be made by the Swedish Pensions Agency in connection with the assessment of an application for a Fund Management Agreement from a Fund Manager.

If you can't find the answer to your question below you can contact us at fundselection@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Questions and answers about the new requirements

How will the application process take place?

The application process complies with Swedish administrative law. If the Pensions Agency approves the application, a Fund Agreement with the fund will be concluded. There will be one Fund Agreement for each fund.

What terms will be included in the Fund Agreement?

Main terms of the Fund Agreement:

·  minimum managed capital outside the Premium Pension Fund Platform
·  minimum of relevant and representative track record for each fund
·  minimum of relevant fund management activity by the fund- and investment manager
· New minimum requirement for Sustainability in the management of the funds
· The maximum number of funds per manager is 25 funds

How will the Pensions Agency act if a fund at one point in time does not meet the requirement of SEK 500 million in managed capital outside the premium pension scheme?

If the fund, at any point in time, does not meet the requirement it’s a breach of contract. The fund manager should then inform the Swedish Pension Agency without delay. Given that it constitutes a material breach of contract, the fund agreement will be terminated. Other actions will only be taken if the Pension Agency assess that they are clearly in the best interest of the pension savers.

What about mergers of funds?

A merger of funds need to have been decided and approved upon by a financial supervisory authority for the application to be treated as a merged fund. However, the merger does not need to have been implemented by the time of application. The application can only be approved once the merger is completed. In case of a merger, it is important to indicate in the application, for all funds involved, if a fund is subject to a merger.

What are the sustainability requirements?

The requirement on sustainability in fund management is designed as a minimum level of requirement. The Pensions Agency will regulate it in the Fund Agreement and it will cover all funds in the Premium Pension Platform. UN PRI will be the minimum requirement for sustainability. The requirement for sustainability information will follow the guidelines of the Swedish Investment Fund Association, see English translation below starting on page 17.

Standard For Sustainability Information

What requirements are there for minimum fund management activity by the fund- and investment manager?

A fund manager shall, when applying for the new Fund Agreement, show that it has managed one or more funds for a continuous period of three years before entering into the agreement. The fund manager must have been authorized to conduct fund operations by the relevant regulatory authority throughout this period.

Acceptance of new “Code of Conduct”, assessing suitability for the Premium Pension Fund Platform, what does that mean?

The Pensions Agency will review the suitability of the fund manager, its representatives and its affiliates, such as, but not limited to: personal conduct and reputation, ability to put pensioners' interests first, and not cause damage to the confidence for the Premium Pension System.

Good practice within the Premium Pension Fund Platform is, for example, that the fund does not use:

·  inappropriate business practices or hidden fees
·  misleading marketing or sales through other products
·  inappropriate investments (considering complexity etc.)

Good practices also includes responsibility for closely related business partners.

What fees do the Pensions Authority impose?

The pension authority shall, by law, charge each fund a fee for:

·  application processing – SEK 75 000 for the first application for a fund agreement of a fund manager, and SEK 10 000 for subsequent fund agreement applications of a fund manager
·  ongoing review and follow-up – SEK 32 000 per year for each fund agreement 

Payment of application fee from Sweden must be made to Bankgiro 5298-3772 or directly to account number 12810123152 in Danske Bank. Foreign payments are made to IBAN number SE1812000000012810123152, BIC / SWIFT address: DABASESX.

What minimum requirements are there have regarding sustainability work in the fund management?

A fund manager must have signed the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investments (PRI), or be subject to the signing of PRI principles made by the fund manager's Group. The requirements for sustainability apply both during the contract signing period and during the contract period.

· If the fund manager delegates the management to an external asset manager, the fund manager shall ensure that the external asset manager has signed the PRI principles.
· If the fund invests in other funds, the fund managers of these funds must also have signed the PRI principles.
· When merging into another fund, the receiving fund must also have signed the PRI.

However, this should not be interpreted as a prior notice. Further guidelines are under development.

What requirements are there regarding relevant and representative track record for each fund?

Swedish law stated that each fund shall have at least three years of coherent return history by the time of the application and throughout the term of the agreement.

In order to fulfil good practice in the premium pension area, the Pension Agency’s current assessment is that the return history should also be relevant and representative of the investment strategy the fund intends to have during the agreement period. This means that the Pensions Agency will likely not allow any significant changes to the Fund's investment philosophy, investment orientation or general strategy at the time of application or during the term of the agreement.

However, this should not be interpreted as an advance ruling. Further guidelines are under development.

Who can apply for a fund agreement?

The Swedish Pension Agency will enter into fund agreement with fund managers. A fund manager, according to Chapter 64, § 3 second paragraph 1 of the Social Insurance Code, is a collective investment undertaking, UCITS fund provider or management company entitled to conduct fund operations in accordance with Chapter 1, § 1, of the Swedish UCITS Act (2004:46). Fund managers can be Swedish as well as foreign fund managers. The fund manager may delegate investment management (to an “external investment manager”) or fund distribution as long as the fund manager comply with the fund agreement’s definition of “fund manager”. 

Regarding the application, may fund managers submit their document regarding conflicts of interest in English?

Yes, given that all questions in the application form regarding conflict of interest are answered in Swedish.

Does all applications for the fund manager’s funds have be submitted at the same time?

No, you apply for one fund agreement per fund and hence, may choose to submit the individual applications at different times. However, if the fund manager wishes to submit applications for more than one fund at the same time, please follow the instructions given in the application form.

What requirements are there for minimum fund management activity by the fund- and investment manager?

A fund manager shall, when applying for the new Fund Agreement, show that it has managed one or more funds for a continuous period of three years before entering into the agreement. The fund manager must have been authorized to conduct fund operations by the relevant regulatory authority throughout this period. 

External investment management may only be conducted by an external investment manager with authorisation to administer securities funds or conduct discretionary portfolio management with regard to financial instruments and who has managed capital for at least three years.

Who does the "Document stating which representatives that may represent the Fund Manager in trading" refer to, especially when the fund manager has outsourced fund trading?

It refers to the representatives that may represent the fund manager in trading, does not have to be within the fund manager's organisation. Will to some extent be the same representatives that apply for Secure-ID token.

Do the appendices constitute contractual content and thus, should be submitted with the application to enter into a fund agreement?

Yes, appendices A, B and C constitute contractual content according to 2.1 and should be submitted, initialled on each page, when applying for a new fund agreement.

Address information

Pensionsmyndigheten, Att: Fondtorgsavdelningen, Box 38190, 100 64 Stockholm

Visit us: Hornsgatan 168, Stockholm

E-mail: registrator@pensionsmyndigheten.se

For sending post by Express Service to Fund Unit please use this address: Pensionsmyndigheten, Hornsgatan 168, 117 28 Stockholm, Sweden

Fund department

Director of department: Erik Fransson 
Telephone number: +46 10 454 29 14
E-mail: erik.fransson@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Fund selection and compliance unit

Head of unit: Christian Lundström Tjurhufvud
E-mail: christian.lundstrom.tjurhufvud@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Queries regarding fund agreement, enrolment of funds and legal issues:
fundselection@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Fund information unit

Head of unit: Estrella Zarate
E-mail: estrella.zarate@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Fund administration

Head of unit: Rasmus Bjälkeson
E-mail: rasmus.bjalkeson@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Queries about daily trading, Focus, contract notes, NAV reporting, payments etc:

fundadmin@pensionsmyndigheten.se

fundinvoice@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Fax: +46 8 658 13 30