Rush to register funds in Denmark

Fund manufacturers are exploiting new distribution models in Europe, where savings are migrating from banks and insurance companies to government-sanctioned fund selection platforms.The new Danish government-sponsored pensions savings scheme, the SP Valg-Folkebörsen, is allowing foreign fund managers to gain visibility in the region.The scheme, launched in January with around DKK43bn (€5.8bn) in assets and an estimated 3.3m members, gives investors access to a platform of around 200 Danish and foreign funds.Janus Capital Group has so far registered 12 of its Dublin-based Janus World Funds with the platform and will add two more at a later stage.“This new unit-linked platform gives us the opportunity to raise our profile in the Nordic market,” said Henrik Rox Hansen, Janus regional director for Northern Europe. “Danish investors really understand the benefit of diversification and they will look at Janus because within a global portfolio you can’t really ignore the US equity market,” he added.Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) has also announced the registration of nine of its Luxembourg-domiciled funds with the platform. Kristoffer Lind, vice-president of Nordic Sales at CSAM, said that even though the importance of this type of schemes as distribution channels was limited, “on a long-term basis they could actually be very interesting, because through them, you get to the end client.”

Rox Hansen: ‘diversification benefits’