CFA Society Finland held Activist Investing event 4th November

Our event on activist investing event was held in Helsinki at U14 Hotel on a Friday afternoon. The interesting topic gathered around 20 CFA members to listen to presentations and discussion by our speakers. CFA Society Finland board member Joonas Huttunen, CFA, acted as the host and moderator for the event.

We started with the presentation from Stockholm based Niko Pakalén, Partner at Cevian Capital, Europe’s largest activist manager. Niko has been with Cevian since 2011, and is active in large-scale companies board work. Niko gave us a thorough view into his company’s core investment strategy, track record, and what active investing looks like at Cevian Capital. Niko also elaborated on how factors in active investing may be affected by different market environments. Cevian invests especially in companies in the Nordics and UK, and every company is targeted with a thorough research phase before investing. Cevian’s work methodology is very hands-on and emphasizes value creation opportunities and positive influence dynamic between Cevian and the company.

Kai Tavakka, CFA, is Managing Director at Accendo Capital, and was our second speaker of the afternoon. Kai has lots of experience in working together with boards, nomination committees and management teams as an active owner. Accendo invests specifically in Nordic small cap companies, and accentuates the role of a great CEO. Smaller companies offer good opportunities to making bigger influence for an active investor, and many times also create quick results from strategic decisions. Accendo concentrates on the target company’s resource allocation, both capital and human talent, and tries to avoid financial stress or significant financial risks. Accendo has had great success among entrepreneur-minded investors who like to make a difference as an owner.

Lastly in the event we had a relaxed conversation with Joonas, Niko and Kai, spiced up by many questions from the audience. Joint features in active investing are long-only investing philosophy, genuine desire to create and increase value in the company, and active influence via board work/nomination committee or the company governance. Long-term value increase potential is pivotal in active investing, accompanied by a personal connection to the company.

Thank you to our speakers for a very interesting afternoon!