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 QandA@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Background to changes in the Premium Pensions Fund Platform 2018

On May 31, 2018, the Swedish Parliament decided to introduce certain legislative changes for a safe and sustainable premium pension scheme.

The new rules imply, among other things, that all funds on the Premium Pension Fund Platform need to re-apply, and must meet the new requirements for inclusion.

The first step in this process took place on June 4^th, 2018, when the Pensions Agency sent out notices of termination. All existing Cooperation Agreements will be terminated.

The Fund Agreement will replace all previous agreements and Fund Managers with an existing Cooperation Agreement will need to re-apply to be able to enter a Fund Agreement, and maintain their funds on The Premium Pension Platform

The amendment of the law will be effective on November 1^st, 2018.

Some of the new requirements that need to be met are:

-   A minimum of SEK 500 million in investments in each fund from investors outside of the Premium Pension Platform

-   A minimum of 3 years of relevant and representative track record for each fund
-   A minimum of 3 years of relevant fund management activity by the fund- and investment manager
-   New minimum requirement for Sustainability in the management of the funds
-   Acceptance of new “Code of Conduct”, assessing suitability for the Premium Pension Platform
-   Ongoing monitoring and reporting

Another change is that there will be one Fund Agreement for each fund, unlike today's cooperation agreements, which may include several funds.

As of July 1^st, 2018, it is forbidden to market or sell services and products in the premium pension over telephone.

Application

Last day for application for a seamless transition from the current agreement to new Fund Agreement is December 28^th, 2018, at 16:30 CET.

Funds that have not submitted an application by the last application date will be deregistered. A fund, whose application has been rejected, will be deregistered. The fund will be able to apply again.

Questions and answers about the new requirements

When does the termination of the old cooperation agreement take place?

The notice of termination was sent out in June, 2018. The existing Cooperation Agreement is valid until further notice. If the application to enter into a fund agreement is approved, the existing Cooperation Agreement will be replaced by a new Fund Agreement. If the application is rejected, or if the fund manager has not submitted an application, the fund will be deregistered.

When can you apply for a fund agreement and when is the final application date?

A fund manager can submit an application, using the Pension Agency’s application form, from November 1^st, 2018. Last day for application for a seamless transition from current agreement to a new Fund Agreement is December 28^th, 2018, at 16:30 CET.

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 new terms will be included in the Fund Agreement?

The new 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 new 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.

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 will 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 

What happens to existing fund management companies with more than 25 funds?

Existing exemptions will be terminated and the Pensions Agency will only allow 25 funds per Fund Company.

What minimum requirements will you 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 will you make 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.

What happens to the capital of an existing fund on the Premium Pension Fund Platform if the fund company does not choose to apply for a Fund Agreement?

The capital of an existing fund on the fund market will be transferred to AP7 Såfa if the fund company does not choose to apply for the new fund agreement before 16:30 CET, on December 28^th, 2018.

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.

The fund manager already has access to Secure-ID token. Does the fund manager need to apply for new Secure-ID token? 

No, if all information previously submitted is still valid, please state in the application form thay you already have a token and kindly confirm all information is still valid. 

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.

 

The co-operation agreement provided by the Swedish Pensions Agency is a standard agreement, available in both Swedish and English. The fund managers who want to enter into agreements with us can order the co-operation agreement in original from us.

The co-operation agreement consists of

• A contact form
• Legal clause (if the fund is domiciled in Luxembourg)
• General terms and conditions for the co-operation (including appendices A, B and C, 2015-01-01)
• Instructions to Co-operation agreement

To be part of the premium pensions system an agreement need to be entered and the fund must be registered with the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority and fulfil the requirements of the latest UCITS directive (2009/65/EG).

• Each fund manager can have no more than 25 registered funds at any one time.
• Several fund managers who together form a single management group can have a combined total of 25 registered funds.
• Fund managers or group may count their lifecycle funds as one.

Procedure for enrolment of a fund

To enrol a fund at the Swedish Pensions Agency, the fund manager needs to complete an enrolment.

The procedure for the enrolment is found in detail in the Instructions to the co-operation agreement. A form need to be filled in and together with the requested appendices mentioned on the form. You are welcome to start the process by contacting us.

How the enrolment is proceeded and ongoing administration

When the Swedish Pensions Agency has received an enrolment a review process is started, where the earlier co-operation, the new fund, and administrative management is reviewed.

The funds historical NAV and fund information is registered in our system. This process may take various times, depending on workload and how extensive the review is.

When the fund is approved the administrative parts will be tested and the Swedish Pensions Agency expects these parts to run without problems according to the co-operation agreement. Most of the daily trades are handled through our Fund communication system Focus, which the fund manager will get access to. This is described in detail in the instructions to the co-operation agreement.

Form for notification of changes for the fund

If the manager wishes to make changes for how the fund is set up in the system the form below should be used. It must be signed by authorized signatories.

Change of payment instructions

In order to have the payment instructions changed you need to send in the form Change of payment instructions to the Swedish Pensions Agency. The form must be signed according to the signatories list for the fund management company. The signatories list must be sent together with the form. 

The Swedish Pensions Agency’s fund information is designed to give the pension savers knowledge to make conscious long-term decisions for their premium pension.

Fund categories divided depending on investment policy

For identification purposes, all funds are provided with a randomly selected fund number. The Swedish Pensions Agency divides the funds into categories based on their investment focus. There are approximately 30 categories. The fund manager can suggest a category, but the Swedish Pensions Agency retains the right to place the fund in another category than the one suggested by the fund manager.

Information quality audit

The Swedish Pensions Agency collects, processes, and ensures the quality of the fund information. The data is collected through our Fund communication system Focus, where the information is entered by the fund managers themselves.

The Swedish Pensions Agency monitors the data that is registered regularly for control and verification. The fund manager is responsible for the fund information presented on our web site and can themselves verify it through visiting the web site.

Updating of fund information

Fund information should be updated regularly, details about which information that need to be updated and the frequency see the directions to the co-operation agreement. Information about the registration process is available in the Focus user manual which can be found logged into our Fund communication system Focus.

The following information shall be submitted by the fund management company via www.fundinfo.nu

Notes

1) Description of the fund manager´s "management style"

• The description should be written in Swedish. Avoid jargon.
• The description must not include more than 300 characters, including spaces.
• The description must be objective and informative and relate to the current fund manager. Descriptions such as "manager of the year", "we have access to the best information on the market", or "offers the best/largest selection" will not be allowed.

2) Includes all the company´s funds, also funds not registered with the Swedish Pensions Agency

3) The information is presented in the Swedish Pensions Agencys fund catalogue

The following information shall be submitted about each individual fund via www.fundinfo.nu

Notes

1) Price history information

Only to be submitted initially. Thereafter, prices will be reported on a daily basis through the Swedish Pensions Agencys trading system, FOCUS.

2) Requirements for the texts

All texts should be written in Swedish. Avoid jargon.
Any descriptions must be objective and informative and concern the current fund. Descriptions such as "fund of the year", "managed by the best manager", or "best value growth" will not be allowed.

Examples of suitable texts:
The fund invests in Chinese equities, including equities from Taiwan. Swedish fixed income securities with low risk. Duration is 0-360 days. The fund invests in the developing economies in Central and  Eastern Europe . Equity fund investing in European and North American technology companies.

3) Short description of the fund´s investment focus

The description will only be published in the Swedish Pensions Agencys fund catalogue.
The description should not include more than 95 characters, including spaces.

4) Long description of the fund´s investment focus

The text should describe how the fund allocates its investments in various regions or industries, or how it makes its selection of securities.
The description should not include more than 300 characters, including spaces.

5) Description of the type(s) of securities that the fund invests in

The description should clearly indicate the type(s) of securities that the fund invests in.
The description should not include more than 300 characters, including spaces.

 6) Additional information

Can include an explanation of a special fee structure or other important information about the fund. The information should not concern the fund´s investment focus or type of securities.
 The text should not include more than 150 characters, including spaces.

7) Rate of turnover

The following formula should be used for the calculation of the rate of turnover:
T = Min.(A,B)/C
T = Rate of turnover, number of times per year
A = Sum of purchased securities during the year
B = Sum of sold securities during the year
C = Average fund value during the year  

IMPORTANT! The rate of turnover should be provided in times per year and should accordingly not be multiplied by 100.

A new fund catalogue is compiled by the Swedish Pensions Agency at the end of March every year. All fund companies must therefore submit their annual data between 1-10 January each year, at  www.fundinfo.nu

Some annual data will also be included in the fund catalogue. 20 January is the last date to update any additional information for the fund catalogue.

The following information should be submitted for inclusion in the fund catalogue:

• Country of registration of the fund management company
• Total number of funds managed by the company
• Total fund value managed by the fund management company (in SEK M)

In addition, you should ensure the accuracy of the descriptions of the fund management company and the individual funds, before 20 January.

Further information about the contents of the descriptions is provided in the following documents:

Supplement 1 — Information to be submitted about the fund manager
Supplement 2 — Information to be submitted about each individual fund

Fund fees

the Swedish Pensions Agency also requires information about fees in order to report on fund fees and TKA (total expense share) in the fund catalogue. However, this information shall not be submitted via  www.fundinfo.nu. Instead, a pre-printed form should be returned to the Swedish Pensions Agency, which form is sent out in December.

Fundinfo.nu

Price reduction

The Swedish Pensions Agency uses Lipper´s definition of TER ,Total Expense Ratio, as the basis for the calculation of price reductions. TER includes all the fund´s costs for the previous year, except transaction and interest costs, foreign exchange losses and coupon (dividend) tax.

The size of the price reduction depends partly on the fund´s TER, partly on the Swedish Pensions Agency´s total holdings in the fund manager´s funds.

The Swedish Pensions Agency calculates and invoices the price reduction quarterly, in arrears. the Swedish Pensions Agency then distributes the money to the pension savers once every year.

When the Swedish Pensions Agency reports the discounted TER in its fund information to the pension savers, it is referred to as a fund fee.  

In order to support those pension savers who wish to take environmental and/or ethical considerations when making investments via the premium pension system, the Swedish Pensions Agency presents such funds with special markings. The markings are both in the form of a green symbol, M/E, and as a link to Swesif´s fund fact sheet (Hållbarhetsprofilen) which will give extended information. Swesif in an independent forum that brings together the forces working for and with sustainable investment in Sweden.

In order to get the green symbol, M/E, by the Swedish Pensions Agency the fund management company needs to, besides filling in the Hållbarhetsprofilen:

1. have a clear description of and a well defined process making sure the fund takes environmental and/or ethical considerations when investing
2. the direction to take environmental and/or ethical consideratoins must be explicit in information about the fund and when marketing the fund
3. the fund management company must also have a systematic and regular review of this direction (in the annual report and the semi annual report) and
4. the fund management company must, of course, in reality follow this direction when the fund is making its investments.

Hållbarhesprofilen

The Hållbarhetsprofilen gives the fund management companies with M/E-marking the possibility to describe how they, when making investments,

• Choose – what type of company the fund invests in
• Opting out – what type of companies the fund does not invest in
• Influence – how the fund does influence companies
• Follow up – how the fund reassures that the criteria are being followed.

In order to have a fund marked with M/E by the Swedish Pensions Agency the fund management company must, to the Swedish Pensions Agency, send in the registered texts describing the fund at Hållbarhetsprofilen. 

The fund management company must turn to Swesif in order to get the log in to Hållbarhetsprofilen.

More about Swesif

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
E-mail: christian.lundstrom@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Queries regarding co-operation agreements, enrolment of funds and legal issues:
fundselection@pensionsmyndigheten.se

Fund information unit

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

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