For students

Announcement of the Second Swedish National Pension Fund's Prize in Finance and Sustainability for 2013

1. The Second Swedish National Pension fund (AP2) is one of five 'buffer funds' within the Swedish national pension system. The overall goal is to maximize the long-term return for pensioners in relation to the level of risk exposure accepted by the Fund. AP2 also has a directive to take ethical and environmental concerns without hampering the overall goal of high return. AP2 works actively with integrating sustainability in analysis and investment processes with the view to long-term value.

The aim of this Prize is to encourage students to write their candidate or master thesis in the crossroad of finance and sustainability. The thesis shall combine models/theories within finance, asset management and business valuation (e.g. asset pricing, portfolio management, corporate finance) with sustainability in general or a specific issue (e.g. price issues with regard to external effects, climate change, corporate responsibility and corporate governance). Here are some ideas on areas of interests (PDF-document, 218 kB).

2. The Prize shall be awarded to the author(s) of the candidate or master thesis that in a meritorious way has written about finance and sustainability.

3. The Prize amounts to SEK 20 000 (twenty thousand). If the candidate or master thesis has been written by two or more authors, the Prize shall be equally divided between all authors.

4. The Prize can only be awarded to students at the School of Business, Economics and Law at Gothenburg University. Only theses graded during the spring semester of 2013 and rated VG (pass with distinction) may be nominated.

5. Students who consider their thesis to meet the criteria for the Prize shall mail the thesis and a transcript of record (showing that the thesis is rated VG) to Christina Olivecrona, AP2 (christina.olivecrona@ap2.se) at latest June 12, 2013.

6. A jury at the School is responsible for assessing the academic quality and nominate up to five theses. The nominated papers should be sent to AP2 at latest September 1, 2013.

7. The jury at the School of Business, Economics and Law at Gothenburg University consist of: Martin Holmén (chair), Lena Gipperth, Åsa Löfgren, Anders Sandoff, Rolf Skog and Björn Stigson.

8. The Second Swedish National Pension Fund will award the winner. The decision will be taken by a jury consisting of employees at the Fund. The jury shall provide a written motivation for its decision. The Prize winner will be announced at latest Oct 1, 2013.

9. If no thesis fulfills the requirements, no Prize will be awarded.

10. The requirements for this Prize can be altered by the Second Swedish National Pension Fund.