Mandatum initiates change negotiations to streamline its operations.
The change negotiations will begin on December 3, 2024, and are based on production-related, financial, and reorganization-related reasons. The aim is to enable more efficient and thus more productive business operations than before. Additionally, by streamlining operations, the company aims to secure competitive pricing in the future and simultaneously enable scalable growth.
A total of approximately 150 employees are within the scope of the negotiations. The negotiations primarily concern the group’s support functions. They do not concern customer service, portfolio management, or salespersons responsible for client accounts.
However, the savings or costs brought by the change negotiations were not disclosed in the release, so the final cost impacts will only become clear later. Therefore, we are not making any changes to our forecasts based on the release for now.
According to our preliminary estimate, however, the impacts will remain relatively limited, reflecting the scale of the change negotiations, but we will review potential forecast impacts in connection with the negotiation outcomes.
Excellent results for Mandatum in the PRI assessment measuring the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.
Mandatum performed excellently in the 2024 assessment of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), which covers the 2023 operating year. Mandatum achieved the highest star rating in several categories.
The PRI’s annual assessment measures responsible investment practices. The assessment informs organizations and their stakeholders how well the principles of responsible investment are implemented in investment activities by asset class, and in which areas of investment activity operations can still be developed.
Mandatum participated in a total of eleven assessable areas, achieving the highest star rating in seven. These included direct private equity, direct real estate investments, direct listed equities, direct corporate bonds, active indirect fixed income, indirect private equity, and indirect real estate investments.
Mandatum performed well in the latest Sustainalytics ESG rating aimed at investors and is now placed in the low ESG risk category.* *Among companies in its own industry, Mandatum’s result ranked among the top two percent.
Mandatum’s three ESG ratings have now been updated, and most recently, the company achieved a score of 13.6 (on a scale of 0–100) in Sustainalytics’ assessment. With this result, the company is placed in the low ESG risk category. Mandatum’s result ranked among the top two percent of companies focused on asset management.
In the MSCI assessment updated in November, Mandatum achieved an ESG rating of “AA” (on a scale of CCC–AAA). This rating category reflects an industry-leading company in managing ESG risks and opportunities. ISS ESG, in turn, granted Mandatum Prime status in October, meaning that the company’s ESG rating is at the forefront of its industry. In addition to high-quality ESG ratings, Mandatum recently achieved excellent results in the UN PRI assessment, which evaluates the UN Principles for Responsible Investment.
Here is Salkunrakentaja’s article about Mandatum. The article quotes, among others, OP’s thoughts.
OP’s calculated sum-of-the-parts valuation and dividend discount model give Mandatum’s stock a fair value of approximately 4.8-4.9 euros, which exceeds the current share price of 4.44 euros.
”In our opinion, the markets do not sufficiently value the company’s strong and growing asset management operations,” the bank states.
Altor increased its ownership in Mandatum twice on Monday, exceeding the 10% threshold again. The company’s direct ownership is now 10.01%, and through financial instruments 6.58%, bringing the total ownership to 16.59%. The ownership was briefly below the disclosure threshold, but rose back above through a change in swap agreements. Altor is also considering the acquisition of Danish Saxo Bank, in which Mandatum is a major shareholder.
Mandatum awarded the Future Workplaces certificate for the fourth consecutive year.
Mandatum once again earned the Future Workplaces certificate, which is awarded as proof that the company culture is managed with exceptionally good employee understanding.
The Siqni employee satisfaction survey measures the most important things for employees in their work and how well they are realized. Mandatum was one of seven organizations with over 500 employees in Finland that earned the certificate. A total of 121 companies sought the certificate, and it was awarded to 35 percent of them.
High employee satisfaction has been one of Mandatum’s key objectives for over a decade. In 2020 and 2021, Mandatum was chosen as Finland’s best workplace in the Great Place to Work Institute’s study in the large companies category. In addition, Mandatum has previously earned the Future Workplaces certificate in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Nordea julkaisi päivitetyn Mandatum-analyysinsä. Suositus pysyy OSTA-tasolla, tavoitehinta nousee 4,90 euroon (edellinen: 4,80 €).
Key downside risks: Mandatum’s earnings are dependent on financial markets, and its solvency position is also dependent on financial markets. Capital repatriation is also dependent on: 1) a sale of Mandatum’s ownership in Saxo Bank; and 2) a successful refinancing of Tier 2 debt, while large-scale M&A could mean lower payouts.
Mandatum initiated change negotiations on 3 December 2024, the aim of which was to enable more efficient and thus more productive business operations than before. The streamlining of operations also aimed to secure competitive pricing and scalable growth.
The negotiations have now concluded, and as a result, the company will centralize similar functions and eliminate redundancies. Functions directly supporting business operations will be brought closer to the business. In the personal customer business, Mandatum will increasingly focus new customer sales on its distribution partners.
A total of approximately 150 employees were within the scope of the negotiations. The biggest impacts were related to the reorganization of functions, but the negotiations also resulted in a change in the essential terms of employment for seven employees and the termination of 17 employment relationships.
Mandatum reports its Q4 results on Thursday, February 13th, and here are Kasperi’s comments regarding it.
We expect Mandatum’s investment product sales to have continued at a good level, similar to the beginning of the year, and assets under management to have continued their growth. However, we have lowered our Q4 net financial income forecast before the earnings release, which led to our full-year pre-tax profit forecast decreasing by approximately 7%. Consequently, we expect Mandatum’s Q4 result to have decreased from the comparison period. On the earnings day, our main focus will again be on the development of new sales of investment products and on the growth outlook for the current year.
Here is the official press release published by the company today on the matter.
Mandatum rose to the OMXH25 ESG ResponsibleTM index, which emphasizes the responsibility of the most traded shares on the Helsinki Stock Exchange, in connection with its latest update on February 3, 2025.
The OMXH25 ESG Responsible index tracks the most traded shares listed on Nasdaq Helsinki that meet certain ESG responsibility criteria. The fulfillment of the criteria is based, among other things, on Sustainalytics’ rating. Sustainalytics’ ESG rating is one of the most recognized metrics describing companies’ responsibility work, which investors use to assess companies’ ESG risks.
Mandatum performed excellently in Sustainalytics’ ESG rating, updated in December 2024, placing in the low ESG risk category (13.6). Among companies focused on asset management, the company’s result ranked among the top two percent. Measurement results have also been good in the assessments of other ESG raters. In MSCI’s assessment, updated in November 2024, Mandatum achieved an “AA” ESG rating. This rating is given to companies that can be considered leaders in their industry in managing ESG risks and opportunities. ISS ESG, in turn, granted Mandatum Prime status in October 2024. In addition to high-quality ESG ratings, Mandatum also achieved excellent results in several categories in the UN PRI assessment, which evaluates the UN’s principles for responsible investment.
Explain to the ignorant:
When Manta separated from Sampo, these funds that held Sampo sold off their Manta shares.
Now that Manta has risen into that ESG index, at least some of the same funds are buying it back.
Questions:
Are there many funds that had to sell then for some reason but don’t need to buy back now?
I mean, of course, some fund that doesn’t follow that ESG index, but where Sampo is included for some reason but Manta isn’t?
How quickly do these ESG index-following funds have to acquire Manta shares for their portfolios?
I’m asking because I need to liquidate my portfolio and Manta is on the trigger, but I started wondering if this rise into the index could bring positive movement to the share price in the coming weeks.
Seligson’s prospectus states the following. The most essential part is highlighted:
The OMXH25 equity index is capital-weighted and includes the twenty-five (25) most traded equity classes on the stock exchange’s official list, based on their euro-denominated daily median turnover during the preceding calendar half-year period. The combined maximum weight of a company’s equity classes in the index is limited. The structure of the index is determined two (2) times a year and comes into effect on August 1st and February 1st. The equity classes are announced at least five (5) exchange days before the new structure comes into force.
Of course, each rule can be its own. But that’s one of the best-known ones.
The article quotes, among others, OP’s thoughts.
