Jenny Askfelt Ruud new head of Alternatives at AP4

Stockholm (HedgeNordic)  – AP4, one of the buffer funds in Sweden’s state pension system managing a total of SEK357bn (€34.4bn) , has newly appointed Jenny Askfelt Ruud as head of Alternative Investments. Askfelt Ruud would assume her role, currently held by Tobias Fransson,with effect from September,  and gradually strengthen the fund’s alternatives team in order to take advantage of revised guidelines for the AP-funds.  Tobias Fransson will going forward, act as head of strategy and sustainability.

AP4 prepares for the new investment guidelines for the AP Funds that are expected to be implemented during 2019. In a first step, the AP Funds will be given increased possibilities to allocate to illiquid investments, and take effect as of January 1, 2019. The second step, which aims to enable the AP Funds to invest in unlisted instruments directly, is planned to take effect on July 1, 2019. These changes are a welcome modernization of the current investment guidelines that are almost 20 years old by now to AP4, the fund says in a press release

”We are very happy to have recruited Jenny Askfelt Ruud as head of Alternative Investments at AP4. Jenny has a long background from unlisted direct investments, long-term ownership and sustainability from inter alia the investment company Ratos, McKinsey and Morgan Stanley. These are experiences that we seek going forward now that we get an increased and broader investment mandate.” comments Niklas Ekvall, CEO of AP4.

”I am looking forward to the opportunity to develop AP4’s strategy and position within alternative investments together with Niklas and the team at AP4. Given the new investment regulations, this gives AP4 the opportunity to think wide and new. Together with the ambition to integrate sustainability, this is an exciting opportunity. I hope to contribute with my experience and grow the portfolio of unlisted, sustainable investments.” says Jenny Askfelt Ruud, incoming Head of Alternative Investments at AP4.

In financial results, AP4 reported it made a 9.1% net return on investment in 2017, on the back of “generally favourable performance for the global equity markets”.