Strong performance and steady inflows have propelled alternative fund boutique Atlant Fonder past the SEK 10 billion milestone in assets under management. Its flagship fund, Atlant Opportunity, approaching its 10-year anniversary at year-end, represents SEK 7.6 billion of the total across the firm’s eight-fund range.
Atlant Fonder’s assets under management have grown steadily in recent years, rising from SEK 4.7 billion at the end of 2020 to SEK 7.2 billion a year later, SEK 9.4 billion by the end of 2024, and reaching SEK 10.5 billion as of August this year. Beyond the solid and consistent performance across its funds, CEO Peter Beckman attributes the strong asset growth to “our dedicated work with financial advisers and a continuous effort to ticking all the boxes required by the fund platforms and fund evaluators.”
Adviser-Focused Distribution Strategy
Atlant Fonder has long focused on working closely with financial advisers to distribute its funds. Beckman points to two main reasons behind this approach. “Number one is that retail fund investors do not usually look for funds in risk category 2. The low-risk products are more often used in portfolio construction and model portfolios that focus on total risk and diversification,” he expains. “The second reason is that although our funds fall into a low-risk category, our investment strategy may be considered complicated at a first glance.” For that reason, the Atlant team has found it more effective to educate financial advisers rather than every end client on how the funds are managed and what investors can expect in different market environments.
Rising Importance of Compliance and Sustainability
Compliance and sustainability have taken on growing importance in recent years, particularly in the Nordics, and Beckman notes that these areas have become key criteria in fund evaluations by both distributors and institutional clients. “This is also something we’ve worked hard on,” he says. Rising demands in RFPs and due diligence processes have prompted Atlant Fonder to strengthen its governance, including changes to the board of directors, the development of formal processes and documentation, and the use of new external providers for auditing, IT, and other services. “All of our funds are classified as Article 8 under SFDR, and we publish quarterly sustainability reports to ensure transparency around our sustainable investment efforts,” Beckman adds.
A Diverse Fund Range
Atlant Fonder today manages a lineup of eight funds: two corporate bond strategies (Atlant Stability and Atlant Högräntefond), two market-neutral funds (Atlant Opportunity and Atlant Edge), the fund-of-funds Multi-Strategy, the thematic fund Green Tech Metals, as well as Atlant Sharp and Atlant Protect. The range spans defensive, income-oriented, and more aggressive strategies, all designed to deliver steady absolute returns with low volatility. The strongest driver of asset growth has been Atlant Opportunity.
“Almost ten years later, this is exactly what the fund has delivered, especially in turbulent markets.”
Peter Beckman, CEO at Atlant Fonder.
Launched on January 1, 2016, the fund has been running a market-neutral, absolute-return approach with a performance target of the risk-free rate (90-day T-bills) plus 5 percent annually. “Almost ten years later, this is exactly what the fund has delivered, especially in turbulent markets,” notes Beckman. He adds that a large number of fund platforms and life insurance companies use Atlant Opportunity both as a stand-alone product and within model portfolios. Atlant Opportunity manages about SEK 7.5 billion. The firm’s second-largest product is Atlant Stability, a corporate bond fund with SEK 1.5 billion under management and a lower risk profile. Atlant Högräntefond, launched four years ago, has also contributed to growth and now manages SEK 700 million. “Both of these funds are not alternative strategies but corporate bond funds with an ‘Atlant twist,’ and both have earned a five-star Morningstar rating,” Beckman highlights.
Looking Ahead
Having surpassed the SEK 10 billion milestone, Atlant Fonder is looking ahead to continued growth and more of the same. “We aim to be recognized as one of the top-performing funds in risk category 2 (SEK, daily traded), with an investment philosophy that allows us to step in as buyers in the Nordic corporate bond market during stressed situations when others are forced to sell,” says Beckman. “We will continue working hard to earn the trust of both investors and financial advisers to support ongoing growth across our funds.”
“Once we’ve set our portfolio view and made our investments, the real management work begins. We’re always looking for what could go wrong.”
Anders Kullberg, CIO at Atlant Fonder.
The boutique’s investment team continues to explore new strategies and refine risk-adjusted performance, including the use of derivatives. “More is to come,” says Beckman. “The Atlant steamship is rolling on.” As Founder and CIO Anders Kullberg says, “Once we’ve set our portfolio view and made our investments, the real management work begins. We’re always looking for what could go wrong.” That vigilance, he notes, is the daily routine of an absolute-return, market-neutral fund manager.
