EUROPE - Erik Åsbrink, a former Swedish minister of finance, has joined Goldman Sachs as international adviser.

He will provide strategic advice to Goldman on business development opportunities in Sweden and the Nordic region.

Åsbrink is the chairman of Alecta, the pension and insurance provider; LightLab, a Swedish company that is developing a new eco-friendly lighting technology; the Stockholm School of Economics; and Svensk Hypotekspension, another pension and insurance provider.

He also serves as a director of Wallenstam, a company that builds, develops and manages properties for sustainable living and the Nordic Investment Bank.

He served as the minister of finance from 1996 to 1999 and prior to that held numerous positions including chairman of the board of the Swedish Central Bank, Sveriges Riksbank and secretary of state in the ministry of finance.

In other news, 70% of Swedes say they would like to be able to select the funds in which they invest their pension assets, according to a recent survey.

A same percentage of respondents, however, conceded that doing so would be "difficult".

More than 60% said they had actively selected their pension provider.

According to the survey, those over 65 are most satisfied with their choices and most often seek information before making a decision.

The survey was conducted by AMF, the pension and insurance provider, in conjunction with Novus, an opinion polling company.

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