Nordea Funds Ltd

Nordea funds and portfolio management

An extensive Nordic organisation, strong professional skills and a wide selection provide an important competitive edge.

Based in the Nordic countries, Nordea Investment Management (NIM) attends to the portfolio management of the Nordea funds and the individual asset management of institutional customers.

The surveys completed by institutional customers have indicated that NIM is among the best asset managers in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The results of the surveys particularly highlighted NIM's international expertise and the high quality of its investment services.

NIM has the entire group's investment expertise and resources at its disposal and employs around 250 investment specialists. NIM's extensive international organisation enables its portfolio managers to specialise in different sectors, such as small- and medium-sized enterprises or high-yield corporate bonds, which gives customers a very diverse range of investment funds. 

NIM's operating model has been fine-tuned through determined and long-term teamwork. To support the process of selecting investments, the portfolio managers carry out extensive research and analysis covering different sectors and companies across the world.

The official fund prospectusOpens new window contains information on all Nordea funds registered in Finland.

Read more about Nordea funds' best execution policyOpens new window and responsible investments policyOpens new window.

Corporate Governance and active ownership policy

Nordea funds promote sound corporate governance.

Nordea Funds Ltd* has already exercised active ownership on behalf of the funds it manages since 2001. 

Nordea Funds Ltd together with the Nordea funds is an active owner that influences the companies in which the funds invest. Active ownership is exercised by participating in nomination committees to nominate board members and by voting at annual general meetings.

The purpose of active ownership is to promote the long-term development of the companies in which the Nordea funds invest. This benefits the shareholders, employees and other stakeholders.

Learn more about the corporate governance principlesOpens new window applied by the Nordea funds.

Corporate governance focuses on four areas:

• Nomination of board members.
• Comments on restructurings, often in connection with acquisitions and mergers.
• Events related to capital structure, such as share issues, borrowing money in need of capital, buy-backs of own shares and dividend policies of companies with strong balance sheets.
• Questions related to incentive schemes and principles for remuneration paid to the management.

* Nordea Investment Fund Company Finland Ltd up to 11.12.2013.

Members of the board, auditors and contact information

The Nordea funds are managed by Nordea Funds Ltd, the leading management company in the Nordics. Nordea Funds Ltd manages a total of 249 funds in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (December 2022); of these 102 funds are registered in Finland. The company employs 47 people, out of which 21 in Finland (December 2022).

The aggregated assets managed in the Nordea funds is 127.6 billion euros (December 2022). This means that Nordea Funds Ltd and its funds are one of the largest institutional investors in the Nordics.

Nordea Funds Ltd is part of the Nordea Group, the largest financial services group in the Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea region. The management company has the entire group's investment expertise and resources at its disposal.

• The operations of the Nordic fund management companies in Nordea have been restructured in 2014. In the Nordics, the management of UCITS and alternative funds was centralised to one fund company with domicile in Finland, Nordea Funds Ltd. At present, the fund management operations are conducted through a branch structure in the other Nordic countries.
• Nordea Funds Ltd operates under a licence granted by the Finnish Ministry of Finance in accordance with the UCITS directive. The management company is engaged in investment fund operations and other activities materially related to them.
• The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority has granted the management company a licence to act as an alternative investment fund manager pursuant to the Finnish act on managers of alternative investment funds in March 2014.
• The management company invests assets acquired from the public on behalf of the funds' unitholders in accordance with the fund rules. The management company acts in its own name on behalf of each fund and exercises the rights related to the assets in the fund. The management company is entitled to outsource certain functions to agents.

List of board members, auditors and contact information

Nordea Funds Ltd – Board of Directors

Nordea Funds Ltd – Auditors and contact information

Managing Director, CEO Josefin Degerholm Finnish citizen Board of Directors Jukka Perttula*, chairperson Finnish citizen Board Professional Søren Thorius Mølhave Andresen Danish citizen Head of Integration Management Office (IMO), Nordea Lotta Bourgoin Swedish citizen Deputy Head of Business Banking Sweden, Nordea Miriam Grut Norrby* Swedish citizen Partner, Alfvén&Didrikson AB Per Långsved  Swedish citizen  Head of Personal Banking Sweden & Country Senior Executive, Nordea Vesa Ollikainen Finnish citizen Head of Investment Center, Nordea Asset & Wealth Management Marianne Philip*, vice chairperson Danish citizen Attorney-at-Law, Partner, Kromann Reumert Henrika Vikman Finnish citizen Head of Nordea Asset Management Governance * an independent board member

Management company Auditors of the management company and of the Nordea funds registered in Finland   PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy, Firm of Authorised Public Accountants principal auditor Taru Mäenpää, Authorised Public Accountant Deputy auditors  Jukka Paunonen, Authorised Public Accountant The auditors are Finnish citizens. Nordea Funds Ltd  (Nordea Investment Fund Company Finland Ltd up to 11.12.2013) Visiting address Aleksis Kiven katu 7, 00500 Helsinki  Postal address Satamaradankatu 5, FI-00020 NORDEA, Helsinki Business identity code 1737785-9 VAT code FI17377859  Telephone +358 200 3000  Supervisory authority The management company and its investment fund activities are supervised by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority. Visiting address Snellmaninkatu 6, 00170 Helsinki or Mikonkatu 8, 00100 Helsinki. Postal address PO Box 103, FI-00101 Helsinki Telephone 010 831 51 Fax 010 831 5328  E-mail  Opens new window Homepage www.finanssivalvonta.fiOpens new window

About Nordea Funds Ltd's Remuneration Policy

Nordea Funds has adopted the remuneration policy of Nordea Group with fund management company regulation specific adjustments. Nordea Funds has a total remuneration approach to compensation that recognizes the importance of well-balanced but differentiated remuneration structures, based on business and local market needs, as well as the importance of remuneration being consistent with and promoting sound and effective risk management not encouraging excessive risk-taking or counteracting Nordea’s long-term interests or the interests of the funds managed by Nordea Funds.

In Nordea Funds, ESG is a  part of our remuneration models to cater for commitment and engagement in sustainability among our employees. ESG is integrated in our remuneration polices  in the design and long termism of the remuneration structure, but also in relation to how we govern remuneration policies and decisions internally in a sustainable way. 

Nordea Funds' Remuneration Policy shall

• Support Nordea Funds’ ability to recruit, develop and retain highly motivated, competent and performance-oriented employees and hence support the Group strategy;
• Ensure that employees are offered a competitive and market aligned total reward offering;
• Support sustainable results and the long-term interests of the shareholders; and
• Ensure that remuneration in Nordea Funds is aligned with efficient risk management, Nordea Funds’ Purpose and Values and applicable regulations

All employees on variable pay scheme are measured against both qualitative as well as quantitative targets suitable for their position and tasks. All employees have performance goals linked to risk and compliance performance which require adherence to high standards to our internal policies. Goal setting and/or performance assessments support the efforts to integrate the risk that environmental, social or governance events or conditions could cause, if they occur, an actual or a potential material negative impact on the value of the investment.

Nordea Funds’ remuneration components - purpose and eligibility

Nordea Funds' remuneration structure comprises fixed remuneration and variable remuneration:

Fixed remuneration

Fixed Base Salary which should remunerate for role and position and is impacted by: job complexity, responsibility, performance and local market conditions.

Allowance is a predetermined fixed remuneration component. Fixed base salary is, however, the cornerstone for all fixed remuneration. Allowances are not linked to performance or otherwise incentivising risk taking.

Pension and Insurance aims at ensuring employees an appropriate standard of living after retirement as well as personal insurance during employment. Pension and insurance provisions are in accordance with local laws, regulations and market practice either collectively agreed schemes or company determined schemes, or a combination thereof. Nordea aims to have defined contribution pension schemes.

Benefits in Nordea are awarded as a part of the total reward being either individually agreed or based on local laws, market practice, collective bargaining agreements and company determined practice.

Variable remuneration

The following variable remuneration programmes are offered to selected Nordea employees, and you can read more about them on under Variable remuneration programmes.

Bonus schemes is offered only to select groups of employees employed in specific business areas or units as approved by the Board of Directors. The aim is to ensure strong performance and to maintain cost flexibility for Nordea.

Recognition Schemes is offered to employees to recognize extraordinary individual or team performance. Identified Staff and employees eligible for other variable remuneration components (excluding Profit Sharing Plan and Recommendation Programme) are not eligible for Recognition Scheme awards.

Profit Sharing Plan (PSP) is offered group-wide to all Nordea employees but not to Identified Staff and employees who are eligible for any of Nordea’s other formal variable remuneration plans. For eligible employees, the Profit Sharing Plan is offered irrespective of position and salary, and aims to reward employees based on achievement against pre-determined financial goals as well as goals relating to customer satisfaction.

The link between performance, risk and variable remuneration

• Nordea Funds’ remuneration components are assessed annually to ensure business relevance, that all risks are addressed appropriately as well as compliance to applicable international and local regulations.
• Risks are addressed through the regular reviews of both remuneration structures as well as individual remuneration components, participants and potential size of potential awards, and by disclosing relevant information.
• Also, Nordea Funds has processes to align business and individual goal and target-setting across Nordea Funds with the overall strategy, and predefined risk adjusted criteria.
• When assessing performance against the pre-determined set of well-defined goals and target, Nordea Funds applies an aligned structure with clear expectations for people leaders. Individual performance is assessed on not only ‘what’ is delivered but also ‘how’ it is delivered. A key aspect is performance against specific risk and compliance targets as well as general compliance and risk conduct, which must be appropriately considered when determining variable remuneration awards.
• The following principles are examples of what is further applied to ensure sound risk management:
• There is an appropriate balance between fixed and variable remuneration
• Relevant Control functions are involved in and give input to the design of variable remuneration plans and associated processes.
• The maximum ratio between the fixed and the variable remuneration for employees who are identified as having an impact on Nordea’s risk profile under CRD IV (Identified Staff) is 200% as approved by the Nordea Bank Plc’s shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in 2019. The maximum ratio shall apply for the performance year 2019 and onwards.
• Payments related to early termination of employment should reflect performance achieved over time and should be designed to not reward failure or misconduct.
• Nordea Funds ensures that a substantial part of variable remuneration, as a minimum for Identified Staff, is deferred and afterwards retained over an appropriate period. This means that 40%–60% of variable remuneration awards are deferred for three to five years with vesting and subsequent disbursement over the deferral period on a pro-rata basis. The Board of Nordea Funds has decided that on basis of proportionality deferral is applied only to persons whose variable remuneration exceeds 50.000 EUR. At least 50% of vested awards are also subject to 6–12 months’ retention.
• Deferred amounts relating to performance are subject to indexation against the development of funds’ performance during both the deferral and retention period. General provisions for malus and claw-back in Nordea are set out in Nordea Funds’ Board Instruction on Remuneration. The Consequence Management Committee (“CMC”), constituted of the heads of Control Functions, provides governance and oversight of risk performance related adjustments of selected staff in scope in the first line of defense.
• Employees must not use personal hedging strategies to undermine or eliminate the effects of deferred variable remuneration being partly or fully removed.

Audit of the Remuneration Policy

At least annually, the Board Remuneration Committee follows up on the application of the Nordea Funds’ Remuneration Instruction and supplementary instructions through an independent review by Group Internal Audit.

Remuneration Committee

The Nordea Funds’ Remuneration Committee evaluates the remuneration policy and practices. The committee is responsible for the preparation of recommendations to the Board of Directors relating to the remuneration policy that may have an impact on the risks and the risk management of Nordea Funds and the funds managed by Nordea Funds. We believe that this solid governance structure is an important piece in building and maintaining a sustainable remuneration policy.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nordea Funds Jukka Perttula and the board members Søren Thorius Mølhave Andresen and Miriam Grut Norrby have been appointed as members of the Nordea Funds’ Remuneration Committee.