Almost two years have passed since DNB AM opened its office in Madrid, with Lorenzo González Menendezdirector for Southern Europe, leading and supporting Amra Koluderresponsible for International Clients and Distribution. As both acknowledge, in these 19 monthshave shown that the Spanish market has potential for the Norwegian manager for two reasons: due to its connection with Latin America y Europa; and for the reception that his offer of themed backgrounds.
As part of the celebration of his IV Edition of the DNB Nordic Investment Daysboth managers shared their vision about the role that the firm is playing in Spain. “In a 2026 that has given us greater clarity about the forces and trends that are shaping and will shape the world, despite the turbulence experienced, we believe that DBN has a lot to contribute from its experience, its 200 years of history and the banking support it has. We are entering a very different world where resilience and security, energy and technology are more important than before,” he commented. Koluder by making a brief diagnosis about what we are facing.
In this sense, he pointed out that many of the trends observed in Spain -economic, social and financial-, are similar to those of the rest of Europe and, therefore, the entity feels comfortable and satisfied with its business here. “It is one of the best decisions we have made in our international strategy. Spain is for us one of those dynamic markets. The country has a mature investment ecosystemwith great autonomy and significantly developed; In addition, it has a lot of value because it is connected to international markets, especially with Latin America and the rest of Europe. That is why we are very grateful for the trust we have achieved among investors,” said Koluder.
Fit in the puzzle
For his part, González highlighted that, in a market in which there are more than 280 management companies and more than 4,200 investment funds established, what has differentiated DNB has been “going where we really believe we can provide added value.” “For us, a first phase has been to see how we could fit into the puzzle of investors’ portfolioswhere different types of funds and assets coexist. “We wanted to find that piece that would allow us to offer something different and attractive, that’s why we started with thematic funds, but in those areas in which we have experience and provide added value,” he explained to an audience made up of managers, selectors, financial advisors, private bankers and distributors. For the head of the firm’s southern Europe, what is really important is that they have not let themselves be dazzled by the “beautiful stories”, but have focused on looking for those themes that have a future, economic foundation and possibilities of offering interesting profitability in the long term.
“Another thing that we can provide quite differentially is that we are not simply an independent manager, we are a manager of a large Norwegian banking group with more than 200 years of history. A manager with many decades behind us means that we have clients that are funds of funds, pension plans, institutional, but we also have high net worth clients and pure retail. And, in the end, all this type of clients when the markets become volatile, demand a clear long-term vision, agility to adapt the portfolios to an environment uncertain, but, above all, being transparent and offering all the necessary information,” he added.
Four themed backgrounds
Within the firm’s theme offering in Spain, four strategies stand out that, during the event, explained Eivind Grøver AukrustHead of Indexed & Thematic Investments, y Marius WennerstenPortfolio Manager, DNB Fund Technology. The first of them is DNB Technology, which is probably the longest-running technology strategy with the same founding management team, with 25 years of history consolidated through different market cycles. It is a background actively managed equity investment that invests in the technology and communication services sectors. Stock selection is based on four pillars: trend identification; value creation by focusing on capital allocation; the momentum of company profits; and the medium and long-term assessment. According to the managers, we are facing a theme whose investment universe continually changes with the appearance of new business models. “This creates a solid foundation for an active and opportunistic approach to stock selection,” they noted.
The second strategy is DNB Nuclear Energythe first fund specialized in nuclear energy, with exposure to the entire value chain of the sector. The vehicle provides specific thematic exposure to the nuclear sector, investing in companies across the global nuclear energy value chain, including generation, technology, services and infrastructure, as well as fuel supply. In the opinion of the firm’s managers, nuclear energy offers stable and predictable production, reducing foreign dependence and reinforcing the resilience of the energy system, “something decisive if we take into account Europe’s need for energy independence.”
Thirdly, the manager highlights its fund DNB European Defencewhich is “the first European actively managed fund specialized exclusively in defense.” It consists of an actively managed equity strategy that invests in the 35 – 45 most promising European companies in the defense, security and aerospace sectors. As the manager highlights, the investment is not limited to the military field. The protection of civil infrastructures, defense against cyber attacks and the development of dual-use technologies, including the aerospace sector, are also promoted.
Lastly, the firm has the fund DNB Global Enhancedits enhanced global indexed strategy. “The strategy introduces selective deviations within the indexed framework to take advantage of changes in the index, corporate operations and valuation opportunities, combining the efficiency of indexed investment with the potential to generate alpha. In addition to replicating the index, the strategy overweights and underweights companies according to profitability, financial strength and valuation, with the objective of generating alpha consistently,” the manager explained.
Source: www.fundssociety.com
