Elon Musk is perhaps the world's foremost entrepreneur of all time. What he has achieved is fantastic, says Christer Gardell.
The statement – about the world's richest man – is made in a TT interview since Musk was given the task by Donald Trump to lead Doge together with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. This is a new unit within the White House, which is to streamline the US bureaucracy with major cuts.
Should back Trump
Europe and Sweden should back Trump on this issue, according to Gardell:
The EU must do exactly the same thing. And in Sweden, it must be possible to do something more efficient with the bureaucracy.
I think this is exciting: that you get businessmen who are used to working with efficiency improvements, simplifications, and improvements in a government apparatus. It will be interesting to follow how it goes.
Gardell emphasizes that it is simultaneously important to ensure that Musk does not exploit his new position of power to benefit himself.
This is what I am worried about. Elon Musk is strong and he has enormous self-interest.
Gardell points out board professional Johan Molin and former Hexagon CEO Ola Rollén as two profiles in Swedish business who could become Swedish versions of "Elon Musk". Two others he can imagine are truck directors Martin Lundstedt (AB Volvo) and Christian Levin (Scania).
They are quite brave, dare to question and have good self-confidence. I think they could do a good job.
He can also imagine participating himself.
I can help them a bit. Leif Östling is probably also eager to support a Swedish "Elon Musk".
Gardell is not as worried about Trump as US President as many other analysts and decision-makers:
I am a free trade advocate and advocate for globalization. Protectionism and tariffs are generally bad ideas. But I do not think Trump will do what he says. The stock market will react strongly if Trump comes up with a lot of nonsense. And then he will change his mind.
Too late and too cowardly
Gardell also likes to stick out his neck in other hot issues. At home, Erik Thedéen and the Swedish Central Bank get a scolding.
This is too late and too cowardly, he says about the monetary policy in 2024.
They should have lowered it to 2 percent four months ago.
He is not at all surprised that households are holding back on consumption – after all the price increases, high interest rates, and the deteriorating labor market.
There is no one who consumes based on an "interest rate path". You consume based on what's on the bank account. But it seems that group-thinking economists don't understand that.
Joakim Goksör/TT
Facts: Has beaten the stock market with ease this year
TT
Activist fund Cevian Capital has beaten the stock market with ease in 2024. In rough terms, the portfolio has performed twice as well as the Stockholm stock exchange. And it also beats the MSCI Europe index – the index Cevian compares itself to – by 5-6 percentage points.
During the year, Cevian has, among other things, flagged up new positions in British Smith & Nephew, a manufacturer of healthcare products, and the venerable Swiss insurance group Baloise.
The value of the portfolio has grown to around 160 billion kronor during the year. The money behind the investments usually comes from pension funds, which want returns.
Normally, Cevian invests in ownership stakes of 5-20 percent in listed companies, which are considered undervalued at the time of acquisition and where operational and structural efficiency improvements can create added value.
Cevian already owns larger stakes in Nordea (bank), Ericsson (telecom), ABB (automation), SKF (bearings), Rexel (electrical equipment), Pearson (education), CRH (building materials), Metso-Outotec (mining services).
Cevian Capital was founded by Lars Förberg and Christer Gardell in 2002.
Source: Cevian Capital
