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When asked what people do in Ubbhult, Jimmy replies, “You play football.”
“But for me, it was mainly basketball. Basketball quickly became more than just a hobby, and after middle school, I attended a high school with a basketball specialisation. I hoped and dreamed of a career as a basketball player, but there were probably limitations in talent and height to reach the very top.”
Even though his height – 177 centimetres – wasn’t quite enough, Jimmy still had the competitive mindset.
“I have a winning mentality, and I probably got that from sports and basketball. So instead, I chose to combine it with my interest in numbers and markets. But basketball still plays a big role in my life. Today, I play with Lidingö and coach my son’s team, and when needed I step in for my daughter’s team.”
After studying economics and information systems at the School of Business, Economics and Law in Gothenburg, Jimmy landed a job at Skandia, a Swedish life insurance company. Eventually, he moved to Stockholm, where there were more opportunities in equity management.
Since 2006, Jimmy has managed small-cap funds – a segment he is passionate about.
“Smaller companies are often easier to get an overview of than large corporations, which makes it easier to analyse the business model, understand the drivers, and assess the potential. They are more focused, often have their production concentrated in one or two countries, and are less affected by global price fluctuations. That makes it easier for me to understand them in depth.
It’s also a segment where fewer analysts follow the companies, which means we as fund managers have a greater chance of discovering value the market hasn’t fully priced in yet.”
What counts as a small-cap company might still surprise the uninitiated.
“It can be companies with a market cap of up to 100 billion Swedish kronor (9.2 billion euros). It’s not exactly Lasse’s paint shop on the corner.”
Jimmy’s management style is based on thorough analysis and a clear focus on quality. Companies such as Addtech, Beijer Ref, and Sectra have been with him over the years.
“We look for companies that aren’t so dependent on whether the market goes up or down – quality should endure regardless of the economic cycle. Addtech has been in the portfolio for all my 19 years. They have the stability and predictability in both profits and growth that we’re looking for.”
Even though the stock market changes – sometimes quickly and unpredictably – Jimmy sticks to his strategy.
“Our job isn’t to get every market turn exactly right, but to create long-term returns with controlled risk. We can’t go 100 per cent into cash and stay out of the market – we’re supposed to be almost fully invested all the time.
We also don’t try to time the market. Instead, we look for companies we can own for a long time, that have stability, profitability, and clear growth potential,” he says.
When asked how global events affect his work, Jimmy says the market and companies have an impressive ability to adapt to new conditions.
“At the same time, there’s no doubt it can get messy – especially when the rules of the game change quickly, like now with Trump. Decisions can swing from one day to the next, creating great uncertainty for both investors and companies.
But tariffs you can calculate. Those are numbers. Covid, on the other hand, was something no one could grasp. So, it was harder during the pandemic – suddenly you had to understand infection rates and epidemiology. You couldn’t predict the consequences.”
Jimmy and his team have received several awards and honours in recent years. For example, SEB Sverigefond Småbolag was named Small-Cap Fund of the Year by Privata Affärer. SEB Sverigefond Småbolag C/R received the Lipper Fund Awards for Best Equity Sweden Small & Mid Cap Fund over ten years in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. In June 2025, Jimmy was ranked in the top one per cent of European fund managers by the British analytics firm Citywire.
“Being in the top one per cent of Europe’s fund managers is of course fun in the moment, but it doesn’t change much. We keep working with the same mindset – trying to get a little better every day.”