Nils Petter Hollekim is an experienced fund manager who is responsible for three of ODIN’s eleven equity funds – ODIN Sverige, ODIN Eiendom and ODIN Norden. Since it was established 20 years ago, the Norden fund has achieved an average annual return of 12.6 per cent. In comparison, the fund’s benchmark has produced a return of 8.3 per cent. What has created this good return and what characterises the Nordic stock market?

“The good results are primarily due to the fact that the fund has always been managed according to a value-oriented, index-neutral investment philosophy. This has been crucial. In addition, the management skills must be given their share of the praise. As an investment region, the Nordic area is different in several ways. Thanks to good corporate governance, correct and relevant information and professional owners, the Nordic stock market is shareholder-friendly. The Nordic region’s economic framework conditions are stable. The countries also have long traditions of being exporting nations, which means that the companies are to a large extent global players.”

More than 100 days spent travelling a year
A ‘normal’ working day for ODIN’s managers starts off by them updating their information. Although the funds are managed with a long-term view, it is important to follow what is happening in the market in the short term too. Information that in some way or other influences the long-term investment choices is constantly popping up. Nils Petter usually also has daily meetings with analysts and various companies. Most of the time in the office is spent analysing various companies and discussing relevant portfolio candidates and incidents in the markets with ODIN’s other managers. A lot of the time is also spent visiting companies, which in Nils Petter’s case means more than 100 days spent travelling a year.

“Visiting companies is a very important part of the job,” he says. “That gives us greater insight into the companies’ business strategy, product development and way of working. In addition to conversations with the general manager and others in the company’s management, we try to meet other key personnel, such as factory managers and strategists, in order to obtain an even better picture of the company. We visit the companies regularly to see how they are developing. I dare to allege that we have gradually become quite good at extracting relevant information, which in turn allows us to make good investment decisions on behalf of the unit holders.”

Oil and oil service
In answer to the question of what the most important change in the region has been since ODIN Norden was established, he points to the strong growth in the Norwegian oil and oil-service sector. With its increasing number of oil and oil-related companies, Norway has become much more important. However, oil is not the only raw material the Nordic region has to offer.

“The area has a lot of raw materials that are in demand worldwide in addition to oil, such as iron ore, copper, nickel and timber. The Nordic region also has many strong service companies and classic old manufacturing companies, such as SKF and Sandvik,” says Nils Petter.

Goes against the flow
One question Nils Petter is often asked is why ODIN Norden has invested in so many Norwegian companies and so few Danish ones. According to him, the answer is quite simple.

“In the past, ODIN has gone against the flow as regards both geographical and sectoral distribution. Our investment choices are always controlled by the pricing of the companies. When the fund started up, Peter Edwall, who managed the fund at that time, found many low-priced companies in Finland. Today, Norway is the cheapest, which is why we have most of our investments in this country. We find many good companies in Denmark but most of them are too highly priced. However, there are some exceptions to this, including security company G4S and shipping company AP Møller Maersk.”

Knowledge is shared
He cooperates closely with ODIN’s other managers, especially the Nordic ones. Information is constantly being exchanged between Nils Petter and his colleagues Truls Haugen (ODIN Finland) and Jarl Ulvin (ODIN Norge). In addition to being responsible for individual funds, ODIN’s managers are also responsible for following up selected industries and sectors. This specialist expertise is shared across the funds. As the manager of ODIN Eiendom, Nils Petter monitors the Nordic real estate market closely and also carefully monitors the construction sector, investment companies and energy producers. In addition, he spends a lot of time on insurance companies and banks. So what does he do to relax from his job as an equity fund manager?

”In my spare time, I try to spend as much time as possible with my family and do completely normal things like walking the dog or going on family trips. I also like cars, especially modern, undervalued classic cars,” concludes Nils Petter.