Saxo Bank Acquires Capital Four and Global Evolution

COPENHAGEN - Saxo Bank has purchased the entire share capital of Capital Four Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S and 51 % of the share capital of Global Evolution Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S. This is in line with its commercial strategy of developing the bank’s activities within the field of asset management. Its goal is to become a Nordic powerhouse within asset management.

The purpose of the acquisitions is to strengthen the companies’ distribution power and long-term positions as leading suppliers of asset management products in each of their niche areas. The expertise of Capital Four lies within European corporate bonds, with a focus on the High Yield market, while Global Evolution primarily operates within emerging market fixed income and FX. The acquisitions mean that portfolios (AUM) worth around DKK 14 billion are managed by Saxo Asset Management.

The director for Saxo Banks Asset Management activities, Bjarne Thorup, states: “We regard Capital Four and Global Evolution as among the leading European asset managers in their own sectors. The companies are therefore eminently suited to our strategic purposes in asset management. Asset management is a question of trust, and it must create value for clients. This is totally in line with Saxo Bank’s online profile.”

Bjarne Thorup points out that both Capital Four and Global Evolution enjoy a very strong investment culture and impressive results. Their client lists consist of both Danish and, not least, international institutional clients. “Both companies have a core of key employees who have worked together as a team over a long period of time, and by doing so have developed a unique investment process with a fairly robust return on its investments as a result. This has led to both companies enjoying great recognition among institutional investors in Europe,” explains Bjarne Thorup.

Saxo Bank will exercise its ownership in such a way that the two teams can retain their own character and autonomy in the investment process.

The CEO of Capital Four, Sandro Naf states: “Saxo Bank has just completed its most successful year ever and posted record revenues and profit. In times of heightened customer awareness of financial stability, we are particularly happy to have found a sponsor with deep resources and solid recognition. During the last ten years, we have built a disciplined and robust investment process and developed a wide range of long-term relationships with domestic and international clients. This transaction will allow us to continue to offer our services in a seamless fashion and will strengthen our organisation going forward.”

The CEO of Global Evolution, Soren Rump states: The company’s goal is to be a Nordic power house within asset management, and we are pleased to play an active part in the achievement of this ambition. Saxo Bank’s international profile and very high level of ambition is something that is really attractive for us. In distribution terms, we anticipate gaining much from Saxo Bank’s commercial platform and the bank’s wealth of offices around Europe, Asia and the Mid East.

Saxo Bank acquired Sirius Kapitalforvaltning earlier this year. The asset management activities of the bank now include management expertise for Danish bonds, Danish equities, corporate bonds and emerging market bonds. In total, AUM amounts to DKK 14 billion. In addition to this, Saxo Bank has DKK 11 billion in AUM through its global activities in investment banking and online trading of a number of different asset classes.

About Capital Four Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S

Capital Four Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S is an independent player in asset management and was founded in 2007 by Sandro Naf, Thomas Rudbeck, Henrik ostergaard and Torben Skodeberg. The four founders all have a solid background in asset management and credit mandate trading. The four partners will continue in the company after the acquisition. Capital Four manages more than DKK 5 billion in European High Yield bonds. The company has a 9 strong workforce.

About Global Evolution Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S

Global Evolution was founded by Soren Rump and Morten Bugge in 2007, and is a specialist in management of emerging markets fixed income, FX and equities. Both of the two founders will still make up senior management and own shares in the company. Currently, the company manages assets worth around DKK 2.5 billion on behalf of both institutional and private clients in Denmark and abroad. Global Evolution’s head office is in Kolding and the company is represented in London and Luxembourg. The company offers a broad palette of products from traditional mutual funds to FX managed accounts and hedge funds. The company has an 11 strong workforce.

About Saxo Bank

Saxo Bank is an online trading and investment specialist, enabling clients to trade Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives, as well as providing portfolio management via SaxoWebTrader and SaxoTrader, the leading online trading platforms. SaxoTrader is available directly through Saxo Bank or through one of the Bank’s global partners. White Labelling is a significant business area for Saxo Bank, and involves the Bank’s online trading platform being customised and branded for other financial institutions and brokers. Saxo Bank has more than 120 White Label Partners and boasts thousands of clients in over 180 countries. Saxo Bank is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices in Australia, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, UK, and the United Arab Emirates.

Source: Saxo Bank

Media enquiries: Kasper Elbjorn, Head of Group PR, Saxo Bank A/S, Tel: +45-3065-4300, press at saxobank.com; Bjarne Thorup, Co-CEO, Sirius Kapitalforvaltning Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S, Tel. +45-2467-9971, bjt at siriuskapital.dk; Sandro Naf, CEO, Capital Four Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S, Tel. +45-8880-7760, sandro.naef at capital-four.com; Soren Rump, CEO, Global Evolution Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S, Tel: +45-2320-8066, rump at globalevolution.com