This is a marketing communication.
Before making any final investment decisions, please read the prospectus, its Annual Report, and the KID of the relevant Sub-Fund here. Note that the information below describes the share class (R SEK), which is a share class reserved for private investors. Investments in other share classes generally have other conditions regarding, among other things, fees, which affects the share class’ return. The information below regarding returns therefore differs from the returns in other share classes.
Nordic Investment Grade advanced by 0.30% during December. Since year-end, the NAV per share has thereby increased by 3.67%. The year ended with positive sentiment in the financial markets and 2025 may be summed up as a strong year where most of the leading equity indices in Sweden, the US and the rest of Europe reached new record highs. The Swedish krona continued its strong trend in December and has made a remarkable recovery against all G10 currencies during the year. Slightly falling credit spreads were noted in the corporate bond market.
In December, the ECB and the Riksbank decided to leave their respective key interest rates unchanged at 2% and 1.75%, respectively, which was in line with market expectations. Both banks are considered to be close to or at the bottom of the interest rate cycle. The Riksbank does not forecast any changes in the coming year, while the statement from the ECB did not contain any guidance but emphasized that future decisions depend on incoming data.
On the other hand, the Federal Reserve, as expected, lowered the interest rate by 25 basis points to the range 3.50-3.75%. Somewhat surprisingly, it was announced that the program for asset purchases was restarted with the aim of strengthening liquidity in the financial system. The Fed's forecast indicates a further slightly lower interest rate by a total of 0.50% over the next two years. However, the long-term forecast must be interpreted cautiously as a new chairman is to be appointed in the spring, and the election of the chairman may have a significant impact on the central bank's credibility and its position as an independent and self-contained authority.
Longer government bond yields rose marginally during December. Over the year, the yield on ten-year government bonds in Sweden and Germany has risen by about 0.4% points, while the American equivalent has fallen by about the same magnitude.
The largest contributors were also found this month among the financial companies, insurance continued to develop strongly with fine contributions from, among others, Storebrand and Protector. Storebrand held a capital markets day and then presented updated financial targets that aim for high growth and improved profitability. Among the fund's holdings of bank bond, NOBA performed the strongest, supported by a rating report that raised the outlook to positive. Corem Property Group announced continued property sales and a declaration of intent to divest a project property in New York; overall, a significant improvement in the company's liquidity is expected when the transactions are completed.
Some negative impact on the result was also seen this month from fixed-rate bonds as long-term market interest rates rose slightly.
Relatively few transactions were carried out for the fund during December as market activity decreased ahead of the closing holidays. Some minor changes were made, including the divestment of bonds from the real estate company Platzer.
