Norwegian fund boutique Sissener has long been associated with its flagship hedge fund, built around a flexible mandate and multi-sector expertise. Seeking to capitalize further on the breadth of its investment team, the asset manager has introduced a dedicated long-only “Best Ideas” strategy, Sissener Equity Opportunities, available for professional investors and aimed at delivering concentrated exposure to its highest-conviction equity investments.

Led by Fredrik Thoresen, who brings experience from both the buy-side and sell-side with a particular focus on the TMT sector, the fund is designed to distill the team’s collective insights into a focused portfolio of 10 to 15 holdings. While the strategy draws heavily on the same research platform as Sissener’s flagship fund Sissener Canopus, its structure and objectives differ in meaningful ways.

A Concentrated Expression of the Team’s Best Ideas

Sissener Equity Opportunities is built on the same investment framework as Sissener Canopus, leveraging the firm’s seven-member portfolio management team and its distinct sector-specific expertise. “Like Canopus, this is not a sector-specific fund but rather an opportunistic strategy that can adapt to different phases of the cycle,” explains Thoresen. “We are leveraging the investment team of now seven people, each with separate sector expertise,” says Thoresen. “That’s really the backbone of the process.”

“Like Canopus, this is not a sector-specific fund but rather an opportunistic strategy…We are leveraging the investment team of now seven people, each with separate sector expertise.”

Given this shared idea generation process, a high degree of overlap between the two strategies is expected. Approximately 90 percent of positions in the long-only fund are also represented in Sissener Canopus. “It would be unusual if our top ideas were not reflected in the flagship strategy,” notes Thoresen. The divergence, however, comes in portfolio construction: Sissener Equity Opportunities is more concentrated and maintains a purely global mandate, compared to Sissener Canopus’ global portfolio with a Nordic tilt.

Quality Growth with a TMT Bias

Despite Thoresen’s background in technology, media, and telecommunications, the fund is not positioned as a sector-specific vehicle. However, the TMT sector naturally represents a significant share of the opportunity set, currently accounting for roughly 50 to 60 percent of the portfolio. “It is difficult to ignore the earnings growth, cash flow generation, and capital allocation dynamics within the sector,” Thoresen explains. These characteristics align closely with the fund’s quality-growth bias, making TMT a structural exposure in the portfolio.

“We are looking for high return on equity, at least 10 percent earnings growth, comfortable leverage, and strong free cash flow generation.”

At its core, the strategy focuses on companies with established business models and strong competitive positioning, often within oligopolistic market structures. “We are looking for high return on equity, at least 10 percent earnings growth, comfortable leverage, and strong free cash flow generation,” explains Thoresen. Beyond financial metrics, qualitative factors such as corporate governance also play a key role.

Managing Concentration Through Themes

While concentration is central to the strategy, it also introduces higher volatility. The team at Sissener seeks to manage this through thematic diversification across the portfolio. “We try not to play just one theme,” says Thoresen. Current exposures include themes such as energy security, the K-shaped economic recovery, and artificial intelligence. This multi-theme approach provides a degree of diversification that helps dampen volatility without compromising return potential.

“Multi-sector and multi-theme allocation is what helps lower volatility. Even in a concentrated portfolio, you can still build diversification through how you allocate across themes.”

“Multi-sector and multi-theme allocation is what helps lower volatility,” he explains. “Even in a concentrated portfolio, you can still build diversification through how you allocate across themes.” At the same time, the fund’s investor base is aligned with the strategy’s philosophy, accepting interim volatility in pursuit of superior long-term returns. “Clients understand that concentration comes with volatility,” Thoresen notes.

Active Risk Management and Tactical Flexibility

Although the fund is long-only, it retains a degree of tactical flexibility in managing risk and optimizing returns. “We actively trade around positions,” says Thoresen. “For example, around earnings reports, capital markets days, or other events that can impact individual companies.” This includes adjusting exposures in response to broader market movements. “We also trade around non-idiosyncratic moves,” he explains. “That’s a way to capture additional upside while also reducing volatility.”

The investment process is further supported by data-driven tools. “We use AI to look at correlations within the portfolio, earnings revisions, and other aspects,” says Thoresen. “We have someone on the team running this on a weekly basis, and it also helps generate new ideas.” These tools act as a complement to the fundamental process. “It’s part of our overall screening framework for identifying new opportunities.” 

A High-Conviction Complement to Equity Allocations

Sissener Equity Opportunities is ultimately positioned as a focused complement within a broader equity allocation. “It’s designed to be the ‘spice’ of a long-only portfolio,” says Thoresen. “For investors who want more targeted exposure to current themes and our best ideas.”

“It’s designed to be the ‘spice’ of a long-only portfolio. For investors who want more targeted exposure to current themes and our best ideas.”

The strategy builds on the firm’s established track record in identifying long opportunities. “We believe the team has proven over many years that we can find strong long cases,” he notes. “This product is really about packaging those ideas in a more concentrated format.” In that sense, the fund represents a natural extension of Sissener’s core capabilities. “That’s where the idea stems from,” Thoresen concludes. “Taking what we already do well and offering it in a more focused and targeted way.”