Per Johansson is set to leave his role as Co-Chief Investment Officer and partner at Origo Fonder at the end of the year after submitting his resignation during the summer. Origo founder Stefan Roos has already resumed investment decision-making responsibility for the hedge fund Origo Quest, effective July 1, while Johansson continues to support the analysis and coverage alongside the analyst team through the transition. After leaving Origo, Johansson plans to focus primarily on his own investments, alongside further activities in sports sponsorship.

Johansson’s arrival at Origo in 2024 marked a significant addition to the Stockholm-based investment boutique. He joined as Co-CIO, partner and portfolio manager, taking responsibility for Origo Quest alongside founder Stefan Roos, as well as the firm’s small-cap strategy, Origo Seleqt.

Johansson brought more than two decades of experience in fundamental equity investing. He began his career in 2004 as an equity research analyst at Fidelity in London, later becoming co-portfolio manager of the Fidelity Series Emerging Market Fund and sole portfolio manager of the Fidelity Nordic Fund. He left Fidelity in 2014 and subsequently founded Bodenholm Capital in Stockholm in early 2015, building the firm around a fundamental European equity long/short strategy. His move to Origo brought one of the Nordic hedge fund industry’s better-known long/short equity managers into partnership with Roos.

Roos Resumes Responsibility for Quest

Johansson has now decided to leave Origo and pursue other interests, according to Origo CEO Peter Eliasson. While Johansson remains formally employed through the end of his notice period, responsibility for investment decisions in Origo Quest has already shifted back to Roos. “Per has been working during his notice period, which runs until year-end, but the formal decision-making in Quest has been Stefan’s since July 1,” Eliasson tells HedgeNordic. “Per has instead supported with analysis and coverage together with the analyst team to make a smooth transition.”

“Per has been working during his notice period, which runs until year-end, but the formal decision-making in Quest has been Stefan’s since July 1.”

Peter Eliasson, CEO of Origo Fonder.

The transition marks a return to the structure that preceded Johansson’s arrival. Roos managed Origo Quest from its launch in 2013 until 2024, when Johansson joined the firm and assumed portfolio management responsibilities alongside him. “Running Quest is not a new thing for Stefan, who ran it from 2013 to 2024,” Eliasson says.

Origo’s investment process is centered on fundamental analysis, with a focus on company quality, underlying fundamentals and the potential for change and transformation. That framework has underpinned Origo Quest since its launch in 2013 and was later extended to Origo Seleqt, the firm’s long-only small-cap fund launched in 2022.

Quest Faces a Difficult 2026

Johansson’s departure comes as Origo Quest is going through a difficult period of performance. The low-beta long/short equity fund is designed to generate market-like returns with lower volatility and greater downside protection. The fund contained its decline to 6 percent in the challenging market environment of 2022, before returning 6 percent in 2023, 15 percent in 2024 and 10 percent in 2025. Performance has deteriorated in 2026, however, with Origo Quest down approximately 16 percent year-to-date through the end of August.

Eliasson has rejected any connection between the fund’s recent performance and Johansson’s decision to leave. “All fund managers have their slumps, and here it is a slump that has lasted eight months. That is not a very long time, and this is entirely on his own initiative,” he told Dagens Industri. According to Eliasson, Johansson’s decision reflects a desire to pursue other activities, with his own investments set to remain his primary focus. 

Johansson has also developed an interest in sports sponsorship, having previously sponsored several handball teams and now looking at opportunities in other areas of sport. But his primary focus will remain investing. “Investments are primarily what I will be focusing on,” Johansson told Dagens Industri.