Invest

Main features

2020 was another strong year for the Nordic region’s stock markets and the VINX Benchmark Index ended the year up 25.3%

Ferd Invest delivered a positive return of 14.9%

Ferd Invest took advantage of the market turmoil seen in March and increased its exposure to the Nordic equity market by NOK 750 million

Ferd Invest’s total return for 2020 was NOK 645 million

In 2020 Ferd Invest built further on its new team with the appointment of André Buhagen

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Market

2020 was a strong, but unique, year for stock markets. The coronavirus crisis led to a very high level of volatility in commodities, currencies and the stock market. The measures that were implemented by central banks and politicians to keep national economies going until a vaccine was ready were historically large in number and significant in scope. The big fall in interest rates caused a significant rally for growth stocks in particular, while at the same time tech companies saw their earnings increase as a result of the coronavirus situation forcing people to change their behaviour. With a significant increase in unemployment across the world, politicians focused more on investing in green measures in order to meet the goal of the Paris Agreement, and this resulted in strong increases in the value of green companies.

Return

Ferd Invest’s portfolio produced a return of 14.9% in 2020. This is 10.4 percentage points less than the increase in the Nordic VINX Benchmark Index.

The investments that made the biggest positive contribution to Ferd Invest’s return were Vestas and Neste, each of which was up 100% and contributed a little over two percentage points of Ferd Invest’s return. Both Vestas and Neste are also contributing to the green shift by producing wind turbines and biodiesel respectively.

The companies that made the biggest negative contribution were Aker Solutions, ISS and Storebrand, with each reducing the business area’s return by between 1.5 and 3 percentage points. The coronavirus crisis had a negative impact on these companies due to the reduction in economic activity and lower interest rates it caused.

 

During the fall in the stock market in March, Ferd Invest increased its exposure to the Nordic region’s equity markets by NOK 750 million, which has proved to be a good investment.

The overall return delivered by Ferd Invest in 2020 was NOK 645 million.

In 2020 there were very large differences in the returns delivered by the Nordic region’s various stock markets and sectors.

Portfolio

The market value of Ferd Invest’s portfolio at 31 December 2020 was NOK 3.7 billion. The portfolio’s investments are divided between the three Scandinavian stock markets, as well as the Finnish stock market. The largest investments at the close of 2020 were Novo Nordisk, Lerøy, Vestas and Hexagon.

Organisation

At the end of 2020 the Ferd Invest team consisted of André Buhagen, Marius Therkelsen and Joakim Gjersøe.