Sweden’s AFA Försäkring takes a more tactical and opportunistic approach

It has been a year since Mikael Huldt took on the role as chief investment officer of the Swedish insurance company AFA Försäkring. Having joined already in 2015 as head of alternative investments, he is, however, far from a veteran within the organisation. “I’ve been at the firm for nine years but that still makes me something of a rookie,” Mikael Huldt says as he sits down for the interview at the company office in central Stockholm. He notes that people tend to stay a very long time at AFA Försäkring and that the average tenure is more than 11 years.

AFA Försäkring, which is jointly owned by the employers’ organisation Svenskt Näringsliv and the trade union organisations LO and PTK, currently has some SEK 205 billion (EUR 17.8 billion) in assets and are also responsible for managing money for some related foundations, which is another SEK 35 billion. Asked about his new tasks since taking on the role as chief investment officer, Mikael Huldt says that apart from having the overall responsibility of the portfolio, it includes being part of the corporate management team, being involved in the operational part of the organization and help driving the strategic development. ”There