CEO's review
CEO's review
On this page, you can find the latest review of the CEO.
CEO's review Q1 2026
CEO Petri Niemisvirta
Once again, the investment market sentiment was mixed in the first quarter. Geopolitical tensions, such as the escalation in the Middle East, sent clear ripples across the financial markets. Yet, compared to last year, the markets’ resilience to volatility has undoubtedly grown. The nervousness became more apparent towards the end of the quarter, and it was reflected in a decline in our client assets under management in March. However, confidence in the markets has since mostly recovered. Overall, investors need to have nerves of steel with the constant influx of news and rapidly changing circumstances. What is needed is a long-term investment strategy coupled with the ability to leverage market movements.
For Mandatum, the first quarter was successful despite the unstable environment. The profit of the capital-light business at the core of our strategy grew 35 per cent year-on-year and was EUR 26.8 million. In my view, this is a particularly strong indication that our operations are progressing as planned and that the quality of the result is moving in the right direction. The fee result increased 10 per cent year-on-year, supported by the growth in client assets under management.
New sales remained at a good level and the quarter’s net flow was
EUR 248 million. The greatest net flow came from asset and wealth management, but also the net flow from the corporate client business increased thanks to good personnel fund sales. Client assets under management rose by one per cent during the quarter despite the negative market impact and 10 per cent year-on-year to EUR 15.4 billion in all client segments. The main driver of growth was once again asset and wealth management, and specifically private wealth management where client assets under management grew 17 per cent from the previous year. It is encouraging to see our efforts in this area delivering results.
International client assets grew 12 per cent from the year earlier. International investment capital is often fast-moving, and market uncertainty is typically evident – especially in institutional asset management – in higher outflow rates and delayed investment decisions. On the other hand, when the market situation eases, cash flows often return quickly. With that in mind, I am happy with the performance of our international business in the first quarter.
Continued success in Mandatum's funds
The successful raising of assets for the new opportunistic MAMCO II credit fund was a spectacular achievement considering the market environment. The fund’s investment commitments totalled more than EUR 300 million already at the start of April in connection with its first closing. The fund’s investment operations were launched in an exceptionally interesting market environment, and the fund has benefited from the recent price volatility in the credit markets. The best investments are, in fact, often made in exceptional circumstances. We also gained some well-deserved attention when Mandatum’s Managed Futures fund secured second place in the Best Nordic Managed Futures / CTA Fund category in late April at Nordic Hedge Award in Stockholm. The hedge fund, which uses e.g. AI in its investment decisions, has been extremely successful in the Nordic competitive landscape, and earlier this year, it was recognised as the Best Performing Fund in its category at the 2026 UCITS Hedge Awards.
Mandatum’s profit before taxes, excluding the technical discount rate curve inversion impact, was EUR 10.1 million in the first quarter, and it was weighed down by a lower net finance result arising from unfavourable market movements. Especially with regard to the return on our own balance sheet investments, we fell short of our targets during the quarter. It is worth remembering that investment market and interest rate movements in particular can occasionally manifest as significant volatility in the net finance result. This is typical of the life insurance business. It is at least as important to understand that the earnings volatility caused by the net finance result does not impact the company’s cash flows, solvency or dividend payout capacity.
Mandatum’s already strong solvency improved significantly during the first quarter. The solvency ratio increased from the start of the year by 34 percentage points to 203 per cent as a result of the sale of Saxo Bank’s shares, which supports our cumulative shareholder payout target of over a billion euros for this strategy period. Dividend payment will remain a key component of capital management and shareholder value creation for Mandatum going forward.
All in all, we are well-positioned for the rest of 2026. The core of our strategy – profitable growth of the capital-light business – is proceeding as planned, and positive client activity has remained at a good level even in an up-and-down market. As a top-tier fixed-income asset manager, Mandatum will continue to benefit from the rising interest rates also going forward.
Petri Niemisvirta
Chief Executive Office