Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Exactly 15 years ago, Per Gramstrup founded the advisory firm Asset Advisor as a one-person boutique to focus on managing an opportunistic multi-asset risk-on, risk-off strategy. “My business plan was, and is, active dynamic portfolio management across asset classes,” Gramstrup reflects on the early days of Asset Advisor.
“What I hadn’t planned was for us to serve a string of local insurance companies,” acknowledges Gramstrup. “It was my meeting with John Andersen that was my entrance ticket to Carsten Møller Pedersen, CEO of NEM Forsikring, who became our first significant institutional customer already in the spring of 2009,” he continues. “Carsten introduced me to Jørgen Ladekjær, CEO of Vestjylland Forsikring, who throughout the years has been, and is, a valued customer.” Asset Advisor currently oversees DKK 2.5 billion in assets under management, with DKK 1.9 billion consisting of institutional mandates, primarily from local insurance companies.
“My business plan was, and is, active dynamic portfolio management across asset classes.”
Establishing Asset Advisor in 2009, Gramstrup later extended his strategy into a fund format with the launch of Asset Opportunities in late 2016. “In early 2016, I met Morten Holst who almost insisted on becoming a customer in our shop,” Gramstrup recalls the early days of Asset Opportunities. “This resulted in us launching Asset Opportunities in 2016, which has grown large over the years, and we have proven that we can yield our clients a very strong risk-adjusted return that beats our colleagues.”
The dynamic and opportunistic multi-asset strategy behind Asset Opportunities involves a continuous assessment of the risk-on, risk-off sentiment in financial markets. This evaluation combines both objective and subjective factors, taking into account long-term trends, economic cycles, monetary policy, investor sentiment, asset flows, and crucially, the behavior and biases of market participants. This dynamic and forward-looking approach contributed to Asset Opportunities achieving a 16 percent return in the challenging market conditions of 2022. Closing out 2023 with a 3.3 percent return, Asset Opportunities has generated an annualized return of 6.5 percent with a yearly standard deviation of 8.8 percent since inception.
From its origins as a one-person boutique, Asset Advisor has grown into a six-member team based in Aarhus. The current Asset Advisor team consists of Jesper Ehlers Laursen, Christian Munch Sand, Anders Bastholm Rasmussen, Frederik Flodgaard, and Mikkel Mølbak Christiansen, whom Gramstrup describes as the best team he has ever had. Reflecting on the past 15 years, Gramstrup expresses gratitude for the highly skilled and dedicated team members, especially Jesper Ehlers Laursen, who has been part of the team for almost 14 years.
“I am deeply grateful that my health, eternal curiosity, and eagerness get me out of bed every day, with the goal of succeeding for the next 15 years.”
To secure the long-term continuity of the firm and its strategy, Gramstrup recently sold a 10 percent stake in the company to portfolio manager Christian Munch Sand, making him a partner in the process. “It makes me so happy, as it is really important for me to find supporting and lasting team members who can ensure that Asset Advisor becomes an evergreen company – even after my working days expire,” says Gramstrup. “Then, of course, I am deeply grateful that my health, eternal curiosity, and eagerness get me out of bed every day, with the goal of succeeding for the next 15 years.”
