Best Private Bank in the Nordics - SEB Private Banking

SEB beat strong competition from regional rival Danske on its Scandinavian home-beat. Owned by the Wallenberg family, Sweden’s wealthiest and most powerful dynasty, SEB has been making strong progress in private banking under global head Martin Gärtner.

This includes broadening the product range to include delegating sub-advisory mandates to US managers and revamping its range of third-party funds. Hedge funds, both internally sourced from Key Asset Management, purchased in 2008, and external strategies, are an important plank of the portfolios.

Thorough manager research is particular crucial on the alternatives side, believes Mr Gärtner. Liquidity considerations are also vital and he attributes solid recent performances as being significantly down to correct management and identification of these alternative sources of alpha.

Strong inflows during 2010 helped the bank cement a leading position in the Swedish market, but there is also an increased emphasis on cross-border business across the Nordic region and beyond into Germany and the Baltics. YB