Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Swedish multi-boutique asset management group Carneo Asset Managers plans to increase its asset base of alternatives from SEK 10 billion to SEK 30-40 billion in five years. This plan is part of a broader push by Carneo Asset Managers to double assets under management to SEK 500 billion over the next five years, according to Roger Johanson (pictured), head of alternative investments at Carneo.

“Many investors realize that their portfolios are not performing well in the current low-interest-rate environment and are saying that they want exposure to alternative investments,” Johanson tells Realtid.se. “We see a huge interest there,” he adds. Carneo’s asset base of alternatives currently stands at SEK 10 billion, with the unit of alternatives aiming to add SEK 20 to 30 billion in new assets through organic growth and acquisitions.

Stockholm-based Carneo Asset Managers houses five investment firms as affiliates under one roof. The asset manager’s existing affiliates include C Worldwide Asset Management, Carnegie Fonder, Optimized Portfolio Management, Nordic Cross Asset Management, and Carneo Alternative Solutions. Hedge funds and private equity account for most of Carneo’s assets under management in the alternatives segment. Real estate also accounts for a small portion of the asset base of alternatives.

Carneo’s acquisition of Optimized Portfolio Management (OPM) in 2017 increased the asset manager’s presence in the segment of alternative investments. OPM, which manages two hedge funds part of the Nordic Hedge Index, currently oversees about SEK 4 billion in alternative investments. The majority of the SEK 4 billion is managed by OPM Listed Private Equity, a fund that aims to bring private equity returns to investors by investing in publicly-listed private equity firms.

Infrastructure represents another asset class in the alternatives space that can complement Carneo’s product offering. “We have a number of discussions with potential partners, some of whom are focused on infrastructure, private equity, and others with a broader focus,” Johanson tells Realtid.se. “I hope something will happen there by the end of the year,” he says.