Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Norwegian conglomerate Aker ASA has appointed Yngve Slyngstad as CEO and senior partner of its newly-created asset management arm, Aker Asset Management (AAM). Norges Bank Investment Management’s former CEO will assume the new position on March 1 next year, embarking on a journey to build, develop and take Aker’s asset management arm on par with its industrial holdings.
Aker and its portfolio company Aker Horizons, a growth platform for technology and knowledge-based enterprises with a positive environmental impact, “have worked together to develop opportunities within active asset management and have made great strides in a short period of time,” commented Aker’s CEO, Øyvind Eriksen, and Aker Horizons’ CEO, Kristian Røkke, in a joint statement. “To succeed, a skilled leader is needed. Yngve Slyngstad is a leading expert in active asset management, with an impressive track record,” the statement continues. “We are pleased that Yngve has agreed to take the helm of the new business area in its entirety, and we are inspired by his ambitions.”
“We are pleased that Yngve has agreed to take the helm of the new business area in its entirety, and we are inspired by his ambitions.”
Aker’s active asset management arm was launched as a new business area in early November, with Yngve Slyngstad tasked to mobilize private capital to invest in businesses and projects both within and beyond Aker’s sphere. The new asset management firm, which has Aker ASA as majority owner, key people as co-owners and Slyngstad as a minority owner with a five percent shareholding, will invest in companies through private equity firm OrbeNovo, venture capital companies Clara Venture Labs and Axis, and start-up investor RunwayFBU. Slyngstad, who was responsible for managing Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global – the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund – from 2008 until 2020, and his team at Aker Asset Management will aim to establish funds dedicated to infrastructure and the energy transition totaling €100 billion.
“In the years to come, good returns for investors will primarily be generated by bringing financial capital closer to industrial expertise. The ability to deliver high, long-term returns through asset management is strengthened by having an industrial knowledge base,” comments Yngve Slyngstad. “Through its companies, Aker represents Norway’s largest and most significant industrial knowledge environment. I look forward to leading the work of building and developing AAM to become a global organization that delivers investment strategies based on deep industrial insight.”
“I look forward to leading the work of building and developing AAM to become a global organization that delivers investment strategies based on deep industrial insight.”
“We are facing an energy transition that presents enormous investment opportunities. Realizing big projects that can accelerate the transition to a net-zero society requires that leading industrial companies and major global investors come together,” adds Slyngstad. “This is why AAM is ideally positioned to make a difference. The goal is to establish funds totalling 100 billion euros that will invest in profitable climate solutions that create value. Green energy, green industry and green cities will be our prioritized investment areas.”