Norway’s vast reserves of oil and gas have enabled the country to amass a sovereign wealth fund worth an estimated $1.4 trillion, which will constitute an essential nest egg for a time when the country’s fossil fuels run out. According to McKinsey’s recent Norway Tomorrow report, government economic planners in Oslo have identified 10 “opportunity industries” that point the way to Norway’s future: hydrogen, offshore wind, batteries, carbon capture and storage, green maritime, industrial software, consumer platforms, circularity, aquaculture, and tourism.
Typical of Norwegian foresight, it is a strategy that not only plays to the country’s technical and natural strengths, but also enjoys the backing of Norway’s financial sector, whose combination of stability and innovation have traditionally been the building blocks of the country’s prosperity.
One of the sector’s most effective and well-established operators is ABG Sundal Collier (ABGSC). Formed in 2001 by the merger of Norway’s Sundal Collier corporate finance and equity broker partnership and Sweden’s ABG Securities research providers, ABGSC is one of Scandinavia’s most highly respected independent investment banks.
The merger has proved to be highly profitable. “We originally sold the brokerage in 1987 to the Midland Bank, but bought it back when they were acquired by HSBC in 1992,” says Jan Petter Collier, Sundal Collier co-founder and ABGSC partner and board member. “At that point we had to decide if we wanted to be just a Norwegian company or whether we should try and build a global platform.” ABG Securities provided the answer. “They had a very strong research platform, and we had the earning capacity and investment banking abilities.”
Listed on the Oslo Børs directly after the merger, the newly named ABGSC has boasted a 17% IRR since listing in 2001. Today, annual revenues stand at $157 million, split among corporate financing, M&A and advisory, and brokerage and research. ABGSC’s 342 employees operate from offices in New York, London, Frankfurt, Lucerne, and Singapore, as well as Scandinavia.
Aware that banking is all about confidence, and confidence is all about people, Jan Petter and his fellow executives moved swiftly to broaden the firm’s partnership base to make sure that the new company’s staff all had a sense of ownership.
“ABGSC’s culture is built on the
