One year ago, in February 2024, we launched our new ambitious Danske Bank Asset Management strategy. With this strategy, we intend to turbocharge our growth in assets under management (AUM) and further expand our unique position in the Nordics measured in terms of product offering.
So, where are we today?
“We have taken some very significant steps forward in the last year and are ahead of the curve both in terms of AUM and investment performance,” says Christian Heiberg, Head of Danske Bank Asset Management.
Both our institutional and retail distribution organisations did a great job, we had excellent investment performance, and we strengthened our product offering even further.Christian Heiberg, Head of Danske Bank Asset Management.
Strong growth in AUM
The overall target for our new growth strategy is an increase in AUM from around DKK 770 billion (EUR 103 billion) at end-2023 to around DKK 1,100 billion (EUR 148 billion) by 2028.
During the past year, we increased AUM to DKK 880 billion (EUR 118 billion) at end-2024.
“The strong growth in AUM is – of course – partly on the back of rising asset prices, but also due to a strong development in net sales in the institutional and private banking segments. Furthermore, we are pleased to report an increasing market share in Danske Invest,” notes Christian Heiberg.
New strategic partnerships and stronger focus in our internal asset management are some of the key components of our new growth strategy.
“Throughout the year, we have matured our strategic partnerships with Goldman Sachs and Blackrock, and positive responses from our clients are some of the first proof-points for our new strategy with a more focused value proposition,” he says.
In line with our overall strategy, we are among the best in our core areas and continue to create tangible value for our clients.Thomas Otbo, CIO at Danske Bank Asset Management.
Strong performance across our strategies
As part of the strategy, we focus our asset management capabilities and resources intensively on portfolio solutions, alternative investments and our flagship strategies, where we enjoy a prominent Nordic or international position of strength. Across all our investment strategies, 79% of them beat their benchmark in 2024, which is significantly above our own 60% target.
Danske Bank Asset Management CIO, Thomas Otbo, highlights several of our internally managed strategies as some of the top performers last year.
“Our portfolio solutions, hedge funds, and the majority of our fixed income and Nordic equity flagship strategies in particular performed strongly relative to both benchmarks and peers. In line with our overall strategy, we are among the best in our core areas and continue to create tangible value for our clients,” he says.
Thomas Otbo further highlights our quantitative equity strategies as well as our tactical asset allocation (TAA) as significant contributors to the strong performance in our portfolio solutions in 2024.
“In our portfolio solutions, 83% of the portfolios outperformed their benchmarks,” he notes.
Focus on alternatives and responsible investments
Consistent with our new growth strategy, we have further developed our alternatives business in 2024 in areas such as CLOs and tailor-made solutions within private equity and infrastructure for larger institutional clients. We also took over the management of the 9.4 billion-kroner Dansk Vækstkapital funds, which invest in startups and growth companies through venture funds, buyout funds, and co-investments.
Finally, Thomas Otbo emphasises that we continued to develop our competences within responsible investment in 2024.
“In a world that has become even more complex in the past year, it’s extremely important to incorporate sustainability-related considerations into investment processes to manage risks and optimise returns. Furthermore, increased regulation and more complex requirements from clients make it imperative that we continuously strengthen our competences in this area, and with more than 100 CESGA-certified investment specialists at Danske Bank Asset Management, we remain a Nordic leader,” he says.
Grounds for optimism for 2025
In 2025, Head of Danske Bank Asset Management, Christian Heiberg, expects further AUM growth in both the institutional and retail segments. He still sees great untapped potential in both segments and is confident that the combination of a strong product offering and a robust distribution setup provides a solid foundation for continued positive net sales in the coming year.
“Increasing our market share is a substantial part of our growth strategy, and I hope that we can further reap the benefits of the strong momentum we enjoyed in 2024. Both our institutional and retail distribution organisations did a great job, we had excellent investment performance, and we strengthened our product offering even further, especially towards retail customers as one of the key growth segments. All in all, it provides grounds for optimism,” says Christian Heiberg.
This post is marketing communication and not investment advice. Always consult with professional advisors on legal, tax, financial and other matters that may be relevant to assessing the suitability and appropriateness of an investment. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Future returns may be negative. There is always a risk that our strategies underperform their benchmark, depending – among other factors – on market development and the allocation decisions of our portfolio manager. Performance is calculated gross of costs. Performance data includes strategies managed by our own portfolio managers as well as by external managers that we have selected.
