Nordea Asset Management (NAM) has launched the Nordea 1 – Empower Europe Fund, a strategy it says will capture opportunities in the region sparked by the ongoing geopolitical environment and the response from European leaders in areas such as energy, industry and defence.
NAM says global markets face fragmentation, tariffs and uncertainty, but that amidst that Europe is “quietly building momentum”
“Public and private capital is flowing into energy resilience, industrial revival, and digital security. The result? A new generation of high-impact European businesses is gaining ground – fast.”
NAM sees three strategtic pillars emerging:
- Powering Europe forward: investing in future-focused energy players: the firms securing Europe’s energy independence and redefining infrastructure resilience.
- Europe’s industrial comeback: targeting underappreciated drivers of innovation in automation, robotics, and reshored manufacturing – essential to the continent’s industrial revival.
- European defence gets smart: from cyber intelligence to secure networks – and beyond – these are not legacy contractors; they are agile players positioned for relevance and revenue.
The high-conviction equity strategy it has launched will focus “on alpha at the intersection of public investment, private innovation, and geopolitical necessity”.
The fund is co-managed by René Møller Petersen and Hilde Jenssen. Petersen has experience lading NAM’s European equity strategies and Jenssen from leading the Fundamental Equities team.
Nils Bolmstrand, CEO of Nordea Asset Management, said: “Against a backdrop of shifting global dynamics and heightened focus on economic security, we see compelling investment opportunities emerging across Europe. Nordea’s Empower Europe Fund is designed to tap into this momentum by investing in companies at the forefront of energy, industrial, and cyber transformation – sectors we believe are poised for durable, long-term growth.”
Defence through passives
The defence element of government expenditure commitments have sparked a number of fund launches more recently, including in the ETF space.
An example is the HanETF Future of Defence Ucits ETF launched in July 2023, which claims a 120% return since inception.
Others include the likes of VanEck Defence Ucits ETF, Global X Defence Tech Ucits ETF, Invesco Defence Innovation Ucits ETF and First Trust Indxxx Aerospace & Defence.
A common characteristic, however, is adherence to EU SFDR Article 6 rather than 8 or 9, which may be an issue for certain end investors.
