The Swedish Fund Selection Agency (FTN) has confirmed that procurements for both actively managed US equity funds and US index funds will be launched in the first quarter of 2026.

Initially expected in the second half of 2025, the two fund categories will represent procurements number 12 and 13, following the upcoming technology equity tender, which is set to open in October 2025.

This also builds on the FTN's recent decision to procure both actively managed and passively managed Swedish equity funds last month.

Currently, its actively managed US equity category comprises 11 funds focused on large and mid-cap companies with roughly SEK 12bn in assets, while the US equity index category includes six funds totalling about SEK 29bn.

FTN said it will publish more detailed timing and draft procurement specifications once feasible.

The premium pension reform, launched in 2018 and now being implemented in stages, is designed to streamline the fund platform by replacing the open fund marketplace with a procured system.

The aim is to reduce the number of funds, improve quality and sustainability standards, and lower costs for savers through competitive tenders.

Since its establishment in 2022 to deliver this process, FTN has rolled out procurements across a range of asset classes, including its recent decision on
Swedish equity funds, which involved allocating around SEK 92bn, and their notices for global and European equity index funds, covering about SEK 58bn in pooled assets.

However, concerns have been raised about the resource burden of the procurement process, with some warning that it may favour large fund managers at the expense of smaller, niche players.

---