SWEDEN - The 142 billion-crown (15.2 billion-euro) Third Swedish National Pension Fund, AP3, has appointed a new nine-strong executive management team that includes two new members.

The move follows the departure of a number of top executives recently. Chief executive Tomas Nicolin, deputy CEO and chief investment officer Niklas Ekvall, equities head Magnus Eriksson and fixed income and foreign exchange head Lennart Nordkvist have all left.

New chief executive Kerstin Hessius – who joined in August from the Stockholm stock exchange - said the management team gave continuity and “new expertise to the organisation”.

The team includes Kerim Kaskal in the new role as head of asset management for internal management. He joins on December 1 from Brummer & Partners, where he co-founded the Nektar hedge fund.

The head of asset management position involves overall responsibility for the fund’s management of equities, bonds and currency risk.

External Management, which includes supervision of hedge fund investments, remains with Bengt Hellström, who has been in the role since 2000.

Erik Valtonen, head of quantitative analysis and risk control since 2000, will work with Kaskal to cover the tasks previously undertaken by Ekvall, who has not been directly replaced.

Lars Orest, appointed head of fixed income and FX management in May, is also part of the team. Orest and the head of equities management, a post for which AP3 is still recruiting, are both expected to report to Kaskal.

AP3 hopes to appoint by an equities head by the end of the year, communications manager Pernilla Klein told IPE.

Klein, who has managed communications since 2000, has been appointed head of corporate governance. Her place will be taken by Christina Kusoffsky Hillesöy.

The management team also includes Sven Askenberger, chief operating officer since 2000.

Hessius said: “I am pleased to have put together a strong team that together possesses the skills and expertise that AP3 needs to advance its status as a leading asset manager.”

“Together with the new executive management team, I will pursue a strategy aimed at making AP3 even better at meeting its objective of generating a high return on Swedish national pension fund capital with a low level of risk.”

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