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This is what the stock portfolios of Sweden’s Riksdag MPs look like

The sharp rise in the stock market in recent years has also attracted politicians in the Riksdag, Sweden's parliament.

Published: 6 March 2022 14:55 CET

The Swedish and EU flags fly in front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm.

54 of Sweden's 349 Rksdag MPs had stock holdings large enough to have to declare them. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

More and more people are choosing to invest in shares, according to a review conducted by Swedish news agency TT, with typical stock portfolios including gaming companies, Swedish defence group Saab and tobacco company Swedish Match.

Despite the recent fall in prices, those who chose to enter the Stockholm Stock Exchange after the outbreak of the pandemic have been able to enjoy an almost-70-percent increase in the key OMXS index for the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

Last year, the bourse saw a 35 percent rise, the largest annual rise since 2009.

Of the country’s 349 elected members of parliament, more and more have chosen to jump on the bandwagon in recent years. TT’s review shows that on March 1st, 54 of the MPs reported a holding that exceeded SEK 94,600 in an individual company, the limit for declaring shareholdings.

The figure can be compared with 43 in March 2020 and 36 in November 2019 when Swedish financial newspaper Dagens industri compiled a similar report.

Not unproblematic

One of those with the largest holdings, Mattias Bäckström Johansson, of the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats, admits that it may not seem completely unproblematic, but also sees a point in politicians actually owning shares as, according to him, it provides greater knowledge.

“It can be problematic insofar as there may be conflicts of interest, therefore transparency is extremely important and this could be increased further. On the other hand, I am a little surprised that so few members of parliament are shareholders,” he said.

Most of the MPs who have holdings have chosen large Swedish companies, such as Volvo, Investor or Ericsson.

Perhaps more surprising is that tobacco company Swedish Match is represented among seven members.

“I personally like their work on a smoke-free future and that they intend to phase out the last smoking products,” Bäckström Johansson said.

Swedish Match announced in 2021 that it wanted to spin off its cigar business after selling its cigarette business in 1999.

Saab in the portfolio

As well as Bäckström Johansson, a couple of other MPs, Tomas Kronståhl (Swedish Social Democratic Party) and Johan Forssell (Swedish Moderate Party), have chosen to invest in various gaming companies.

Forssell’s portfolio contains Swedish mobile gaming company LeoVegas and American online casino company Rush Street Interactive. He also has a holding in Swedish defence group Saab.

Forssell points out that it’s important to make one’s own assessment in such sectors.

“In a troubled world, democracies must be able to be defended, we see what is happening in Ukraine. I question the description that it would not be sustainable to invest in, for example, Saab. I follow the company as a shareholder and see no problem investing in Saab. In many ways I am a very proud shareholder in the Swedish defence industry.”

Forssell and Oscar Sjöstedt (Sweden Democrats) are the two MPs with the largest portfolios. Forssell has stated that he has 38 holdings which are worth at least SEK 94,600. In addition to Swedish shares he also holds stakes in Apple, Amazon and Alphabet, among others. The smallest possible value of his portfolio is therefore almost SEK 3.6 million.

“For me, it is an obvious question, we have some of the world’s finest companies in Sweden. Being able to save in them means that you get a greater interest in economic policy and what creates growth. I think this makes me a better member of parliament and that more people should do it,” he said.

Out of all the parliamentary parties, the Moderates have the most shareholders (16), followed by the Sweden Democrats (15) and the Social Democrats (9).

The Left Party and the Green Party each have only one MP on the list of those who have reported holdings.

With holdings in Cloetta and H&M, Sweden Democrats’ leader Jimmie Åkesson is the only party leader who has qualified for declaring his stocks.

However, if there were to be a change of power this autumn and Forssell were to be part of a government, he does not promise that he would sell his shares.

“I follow the rules that the Riksdag set up and will of course do so even if we join the government,” he said.

Asked whether he saw any difference in holding stocks if you’re in power, he said: “It is possible there is a greater risk of non-compliance, but then there are ways to handle it and there are people in the government today who have fund portfolios.”

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Member comments

Anonymous - 6 March 2022 at 21:38 CET

Nobody had holdings in AstraZenica?

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INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

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