Unease Remains Around Incoming Chief at Norges Bank 

The supervisory board at the sovereign wealth fund told the national parliament that further control measures are needed to prevent conflicts of interest.

Unease around the appointment of Nicolai Tangen as the leader of Norges Bank Investment Management remains even after the sovereign wealth fund finalized its contract with the incoming chief executive last month. 

Last week, the supervisory board at Norges Bank told  Norway’s supreme legislature that it should evaluate the agreement between the central bank and the former hedge fund manager, as well as include further control measures to prevent conflicts of interest. 

But Norges Bank Governor Øystein Olsen said the contract is “sufficient” in reducing the distance between the sovereign wealth fund and Tangen’s personal finances. Tangen previously led AKO Capital, which he founded and is one of the best-regarded hedge funds in Europe. 

“Mechanisms are established which ensure that Tangen will have no influence on his fund investments for as long as he is employed by Norges Bank, and which prevent possible conflicts of interest and impartiality,” Olsen said in a statement

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Soon after Tangen was announced as former chief executive Yngve Slyngstad’s successor in March, a Norwegian newspaper reported that Slyngstad took part in a private seminar Tangen hosted months before at the University of Pennsylvania. This news led to a public outcry about cronyism around his appointment, allegations Norges Bank has denied.

Before Tangen starts in September, he will be required by Norges Bank to step down from all directorships from his hedge fund, AKO. The hedge fund is also expected to change the composition of its board, so the majority of members no longer have close ties with Tangen. 

A trustee will exercise Tangen’s voting rights at the hedge fund, which will also be reduced to 43% and are not allowed to go above 45%. All dividends from the period of his ownership will be donated to the hedge fund’s foundation. 

Additionally, his personal wealth will be managed by Gabler Investments, which runs money for 64 Norwegian pension funds under a discretionary mandate. A proxy will ensure that Tangen does not know what he is invested in. 

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LPs Are Placing Fund Commitments on Hold and Engaging in Secondary Transactions More Often

A canvass of LP sentiment from Brackendale finds new trends in transaction styles, accommodations for COVID-19, and an affinity for thorough disclosures from general partners.

The Brackendale LP Private Equity Sentiment Survey 2020 revealed a few interesting ideologies and opinions pertinent to limited partners (LPs)’ thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic and their evolving perspective of the alternative investment industry.

Among LP respondents, 92% indicated they are generally satisfied with their fund managers’ transparency efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. This shone a light on the disparity of quality between communicative and non-communicative general partners (GPs), with one response illustrating that there is a “bell curve of transparency and communicativeness, with the best GPs setting a high bar, making the laggards look weak in comparison.”

One of the largest-known effects of COVID-19 is the need for social distancing and, as a result, many LPs have had to conduct due diligence or other important meetings with GPs through videoconferences. According to Brackendale, only 60% of respondents said they believe there is value in these meetings, with 36% of respondents saying there “maybe” is value in them.

About 32% of LPs were forced to put new fund commitments on hold as well, but it was not specified whether this was a result of the need to videoconference.

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Also, as a result of the pandemic, 12% of respondents are digging into new opportunities in their investment policy statements, changing their strategies a bit and entering new asset classes such as special situations, turnaround, distressed, dislocated credit, and private debt. They’re also lessening their allocations to other sectors such as  consumer and energy.

The secondaries market may grow as a result of the pandemic as well, since it might make sense for some funds to sell off commitments to meet other needs. In Brackendale’s survey, 71% of LPs reported that they would become more engaged in the private equity secondaries market. On the other hand, 62% said they’re ready to execute fresh commitments to new funds without ever visiting them.

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