Investment consultancy Kirstein has opened its first office outside Denmark, branching out into the US in a bid to improve links with US asset managers as well as its grasp of the US market for the benefit of clients.

Martin Nielsen, Kirstein’s former head of search and selection, is leading the new office in the role of president of Kirstein US.

Nielsen told IPE: “The main purpose is to serve our clients better through a closer dialogue with American asset managers and to achieve a greater understanding of the US market.”

He said the large number of highly qualified US managers covering a range of different asset types represented a strong proposition to Kirstein’s clients.

Because of this, he said, it had been very important that the firm strengthen its local presence there.

“Furthermore, being directly positioned in one of the world’s key financial centres will also contribute to our ability to advise our clients on trends in the US market,” he added.

Kirstein first started looking into the possibility of opening a US office at the beginning of this year, after seeing solid growth in all three of its business area – search and selection, investment and pensions and financial market research – in 2014.

Nielsen said pension fund clients in Denmark would benefit from the firm’s having a new foothold in the US by getting “unique” access to the US market and asset managers. 

“Clients will get an even stronger monitoring of the US asset managers, identification of investment tendencies amongst the American investors, along with insights and investment opportunities previously hampered by the physical distance,” he said.

This is the first time Kirstein has opened an office abroad, but as yet, it has no plans to open any more outside Denmark.

In its 2014 results released in May, Kirstein said total revenue increased by around 65% over the last three years.

It attributed this growth to its consultancy work with a small number of institutional investors, which had combined assets of about €2.5bn, and the fact its financial market research department – which analyses investor behaviour in Continental Europe for big Danish and international asset managers – had continued to expand.

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