At Swedbank Robur, gender equality and diversity are business priorities and a strategic advantage that strengthen our operations. For several years, we have actively worked with clear goals, consistent follow-up, and an inclusive corporate culture to reach where we are today, and we are very proud to receive the Citywire Gender Diversity Award.

We can both handle sustainability risks effectively and find good investment opportunities through our work with sustainability and corporate governance. We continue to work systematically to create long term and sustainable return to our savers.

Our ambition is to be the market leader in sales to institutions and third-party distributors, and we are very pleased that Britta Rosenqvist wants to join us driving this work forward. She will make a strong contribution with her inspiring leadership and solid knowledge of the Swedish fund and savings market.

This strategy helps us handle climate risks and to identify good investment opportunities that support the transition and create value to our shareholders in a sound way. Thanks to hard work, dedication, and extensive know-how, we are on track with our trajectory targets to ensure that our combined fund capital is aligned with the Paris Agreement 1.5°C target by 2025 and placed in carbon-neutral investments by 2040.

I am delighted to receive this award and immensely proud of the strong commitment demonstrated by everyone at Swedbank Robur. I share this recognition with my great colleagues at Swedbank Robur, who, like me, firmly believe that sustainability will create financial return in the long run. As the largest mutual fund company in Sweden, we aspire to lead the way and although we have come far, there is always more to be done, sustainability is not a project with an end date.

To end and help turn this development around, it is essential to find pathways that support, drives, and enables companies to engage to nature preservation. It's also crucial to initiate and facilitate dialogues between investors, company leaders, and board members.

Sustainability is an ongoing work and not a project with an end date. We have chosen to take an active role in issues that are important to our customers. The core of that is that we must dare to try and have the courage to follow through. I am very proud of what we have achieved so far, although I am humbled by the fact that much still remains to be done,

We are happy to note the increased interest from both large and small international companies. We have, for many years, continuously built up a strong internal competence in the management. We are very positive that companies take initiative to contact us and give us possibilities to inspire others, share our experiences, support and take an active part in driving the companies' sustainability work forward.

We are extremely proud and honoured. This is a solid receipt of Swedbank Robur's strong internal expertise and engagement in sustainability issues. Our dedicated teamwork takes us step by step closer to our vision of becoming a world leader in sustainable value creation.

We can't wait for everything to be in place but start working with what we do have if we are to drive the development forward. By developing this method and publishing our first estimates, we have taken yet another important step in being able to measure the carbon footprint of traditional fixed income funds. We see that an initial estimate is already feasible today, and it also gives us a good indication of how large the carbon footprint of this asset class is.

Households will keep a tight grip on their wallets as high inflation and rising interest costs take their toll on purchasing power. The labour market is still showing resilience, but the situation is expected to deteriorate as employment-intensive industries such as retail and construction are affected

By investing in H2 Green Steel, we support an efficient production of green hydrogen and green steel and thereby enable a cost-competitive decarbonized industry development. The company’s ambition to take a driving role in the European green hydrogen transformation to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries, is well aligned with our mission to support disruptive, transformational companies with strong management and customer propositions, and long-term sustainable competitive advantage.

So far, Swedish growth has been a positive surprise. But now we expect a clear deceleration in the wake of high inflation, rapidly rising interest costs and a deterioration in household purchasing power. High energy prices are hurting Swedish households

With the investment in Instabox, we support an internationally expanding Swedish technology company that is driving more efficient, faster, and sustainable deliveries, thanks to a strong concept. We see that Instabox has the most advanced solution to continue revolutionizing a previously traditional industry; this is emphasized by the company's high growth and customer influx both in Sweden and internationally.

With the investment in Northvolt, we support a sustainable industrial high-tech transformation to contribute to future-proof Swedish industry and commerce. We believe in the company's strong competitiveness today and tomorrow thanks to, among other things, its vertical integration, advanced digitization, modular approach and focus on research and development. Northvolt's quality and ambition to become a world leader in sustainable battery production is an ingredient in Europe's transition to renewable energy and will contribute to positive environmental effects globally.

I am very proud of what we have done in 2021, it is a strong and dedicated team effort behind every step we take to achieve our climate goals. During the year, we also set new subgoals and published how we will work, and what methods we use, to ensure that our managed capital reaches the net zero-emission target already in 2040.

We need to get used to the thought of higher interest rates. Our forecast shows that higher inflation will cause the Riksbank to tighten Sweden’s monetary policy considerably faster than it previously expected and raise its repo rate in April. At the same time, we can’t rule out the possibility that the Riksbank will clearly signal a rate hike in April and that it will raise rates by 0.5 percentage points at its June meeting.

Swedbank targets and supports financing in sectors that are adapting to a more sustainable society. Green financing enables Swedbank to meet our customers’ growing demand and need for green loans. It also contributes to the realisation of Swedbank’s strategy.

We have had since long a strong focus on sustainability, and in particular the climate issue. Our sustainability work is today well integrated into the investment management and our ambition is to continuously develop and refine it over time. We continue to build an ever-higher minimum level of sustainability in all of our fund’s step by step. In 2021, we took several positive steps forward, but at the same time we are humbled that a lot of work remains to be done.

Business and product development in close cooperation with our customers is an important part of continuously developing our offering to all customers. With this partnership, we are taking the cooperation with our largest customer Folksam to a new level. We are very much looking forward to working together with Folksam to create sustainable and long-term value for customers.

We are extremely happy and proud to be appointed Fund Company of the Year 2021 by fondmarknaden.se. It is a very fine proof of Swedbank Robur's long-term perspective, solid management expertise and dedicated teamwork in creating returns for our customers through investments in companies with sustainable business models.

I am very happy to welcome Britta to Swedbank. Her extensive knowledge and experience will prove very valuable when the Compliance function continues to proactively secure the bank’s important work in this field.

Economic activity in Sweden is back at the level it would have reached if the pandemic had not struck. The labour market has also recovered quickly. Unemployment has fallen back to the levels seen before COVID-19. The effects of the pandemic will, however, remain noticeable in some sectors, such as in the consumer-related service sector, where a complete recovery will take longer due to the increased spread of infection.

The continuous reviewing of our guidelines is an important part of our work. By sharpen and clarifying our policies and strategies step by step, we can also give our customers a greater understanding of how we work and what we as asset managers stands for.

We have set tough climate targets for our managed capital, and now we are taking yet another step towards achieving them. Transparency and comparability are important parts of the sustainability work, and ensuring a broad customer offering within pension savings, secured to be in line with the Paris Agreement, is a central part of our ambition to continuously work to create long-term and sustainable value for our customers.

We are very pleased with this recruitment. Fredrik has both a wide-ranging and deep knowledge of the technology sector, and his experience from portfolio management in combination with equity analysis will bring further value and expertise to our portfolio management organisation.

Toward the end of the forecasting period, inflation will be around 2 per cent. This is considerably higher than the historical average since the year 2000. The Riksbank will therefore begin to reduce its balance sheet during the second half of 2022. We now expect a first rate hike from the Riksbank in 2023, which is considerably earlier than the Riksbank itself has forecasted.

We strive to constantly develop our work with sustainability. This is the core of Swedbank’s business strategy. Our vision is a financially sound and sustainable society.

We strive to offer our savers products that are well in the market in terms of price, and continuously review our funds' fee levels to ensure our competitiveness. One of the central starting points in this work, among other things, is product characteristics and the customer's expectation, and that it is a price level that is sustainable over time. In the last two years, we have made 12 fee reductions and are now taking the next step and implementing yet another 10, which has a positive impact on over half a million of our savers.

I am extremely happy and proud to take on the role as CIO. On top of the agenda is our work to achieve our vision, our climate goals and our long-term strategy linked to sustainable value creation. Together with our more than 80 highly skilled portfolio managers, sustainability analysts and governance specialists, we will continue to work to drive development in the industry, further develop our product offering and create customer satisfaction and good returns.

The climate is the greatest challenge of our time and is being debated extensively. As it should be. However, the debate must not be at the expense of action, and here initiatives such as Net Zero Asset Managers are an important key in driving development forward. The climate issue must stand alone above short financial objectives, corporate and national borders.

We have had a strong focus on the climate issue for many years and want to take a clear stance in issues that are important to our customers and investments. The growing interest in saving sustainably and with the climate in focus, are central and positive drivers in our dedicated work to continue to shift capital in a more sustainable direction. As Sweden's largest fund company, it is our responsibility to dare to think new and go first, and to meet customer demand in a clear and hands-on way.

The climate issue is central when it comes to sustainability. Limiting warming is an important prerequisite and key to achieving virtually all of the UN's global development goals. I am really looking forward to working with Swedbank Robur to continue to pursue these issues, and to be involved in developing the standards and methods that can help shift investments in a more sustainable direction.

Politicians need to do more in terms of adaptation to climate change, where the challenges are great. Both private and public investments are needed, and Sweden’s fiscal surplus target should therefore be reviewed in relation to climate change. Fiscal policy should also focus on the structural problems that have worsened during the pandemic, particularly in the labour market. Unemployment is high among foreign-born residents, and long-term unemployment has increased rapidly.

I am proud and simultaneously humbled by the challenge of becoming Deputy President and Deputy CEO of the bank.

In the fund's yearly report, we strive to quantify positive effects on the environment and social areas from the fund’s investees.

I’m very much looking forward to joining Swedbank and to promote the growth of both people and businesses.

”During the last year, the bank has undertaken several measures to strengthen processes for the disclosure of information. Today’s decision means that yet another issue concerning the bank’s historical shortcomings, is closed.

''The price confirms that Robur New Technology has continued to deliver a very good return to our customers over both five and ten years. The Nordic region offers an attractive ecosystem for technology investments and a strong breeding ground for new technology companies. These days, it is even more obvious that the world needs new technology.''

The COVID-19 pandemic has not yet loosened its grip on Sweden and healthcare remains under tough pressure, but vaccinations are underway. Restrictions are expected to be eased gradually in the coming months, so long as the spread of coronavirus has declined significantly by then. Sweden is at the beginning of a considerable recovery where we expect household consumption to be one of the driving forces. The recovery will also get an extra boost from strong global growth.

The climate issue is a central part of Swedbank Robur's strategy and business. We have a total of 80 sustainability analysts, governance specialists and portfolio managers working together to ensure that the asset management processes steer towards our overall ambitious and tough climate goals. As part of this, each portfolio manager has documented and clarified how the climate goals should be taken into account in their respective investment process during the past year.

Although gender equality and health constantly are high up on the public agenda, there is unfortunately still much to be done. That is why we are very pleased to invest 400 MSEK in the World Bank's new Sustainable Development Bond while raising awareness of gender equality and health. These issues are important parts of a sustainable development and are also well in line with Swedbank Robur's long-standing work to improve gender equality in our investee companies through our role as large owners.

We see our work with sustainability issues as a continuous and active process, not as a project with an end date. During the year, we further processed and sharpened our Policy for responsible investments and clearly defined our value foundation, what methods we work by and what is important to us when we make an investment.

Not to sue is the best decision for the bank and for the bank’s owners.

We want to send a big and warm thank you to all those who have chosen to save in Swedbank Robur's Humanfond, together we make a concrete and positive difference. It is just as overwhelming every year to be able to participate and convey the savers' more than SEK 40 million to all fantastic organizations.

The changes aim to ensure a simple and transparent governance structure with clear decision making that supports the bank's long-term strategy in all four of Swedbank’s home markets – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden.

The Nomination Committee’s opinion is that Swedbank's Board of Directors is functioning well. For this year, the Committee has looked for expertise within agriculture and forestry, as well as knowledge within the savings area for private customers.

We are extremely happy and proud to be appointed Fund Company of the Year 2020 by fondmarknaden.se. It is a very nice proof receipt that Swedbank Robur's long-term perspective, solid asset management skills and forward-looking teamwork are creating value for our customers. I am also very pleased that our sustainability work is highlighted in the winner motivation, as our focus is to invest in companies with sustainable business models. As an asset manager, we want to take a clear position in issues that are important to our customers, the companies we invest in and society at large.

As an increasing number of Swedes are vaccinated, restrictions will be lifted gradually. As a result, the economic outlook for this year and the next have been revised up. However, fiscal policy needs to ensure that support reaches the service sector. If not, there is a risk that the economic recovery will be delayed and happen at a slower pace.  

We have for quite some time advocated an increased exchange of information between banks and with authorities in order to further strengthen our capabilities to combat and prevent money laundering and other financial crime. SAMLIT is a very promising initiative and we look forward to continuing to develop the collaboration which will be of great benefit to society.