Annual Report 2004 PDF 4,38 MB
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Annual Report 2004 PDF 4,38 MB
Annual Report CONTENTS Click on the arrow to go directly to the page you want to read. Use the up and down arrows to browse back and forth. 2 Invitation to Electoral Meeting 3 Highlights/Equity funds' total costs 4 Board of directors' report 9 Ownership structure 2004 Another gratifying year – all our unit holders with positive returns 10 Portfolio managers' report 24 Return and risk measurements 25 Fund ranking 26 Annual financial statment 27 SKAGEN Global 29 SKAGEN Vekst 31 SKAGEN Kon-Tiki 33 SKAGEN Høyrente 35 SKAGEN Avkastning 37 SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon 38 Notes 40 Auditor’s report 41 Our employees 42 Activities in Sweden/Partner banks 43 History highlights 44 Business concept and philosophy 2004 was another good year for SKAGEN Fondene. Our funds delivered good returns to the unit holders and we had a strong influx of new clients and capital. To maintain a high quality and service level, the organisation was considerably strengthened. Highlights page 3 and board of directors' report page 4 Click here! Good results in a decent investment climate As predicted in last year's annual report, 2004 was not another top year for the share markets in general, but it did provide opportunities for “clever stock pickers”. The World Index was only up 4.5 percent, measured in Norwegian kroner. Our three equity funds achieved returns of between 25 and 32 percent. Board of directors' report page 4 and portfolio managers' report page 10 Click here! Falling risk premium in share market in 2005? With continued low interest rates globally, 2005 could be the year when the relatively high-risk premium in the share markets falls. The greatest uncertainty is related to the still growing US twin deficits, as well as the direction of the oil price. Portfolio managers' report page 10 SKAGEN Fondene Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS Telephone Customer Service:: +47 04001 Faks +47 51 86 37 00 E-mail [email protected] www.skagenfondene.no Click here! Stavanger Skagen 3, Torgterrassen (6th. floor), P.O. Box 160, 4001 Stavanger, Norway Bergen Foreningsgaten 3, 5015 Bergen, Norway Oslo Klingenberggt. 5, 0161 Oslo, Norway Ålesund Myrabakken Næringssenter, 6010 Ålesund, Norway Note! Branch staff outside Stavanger are often Trondheim Kongensgate 8, Merkursenteret, out visiting customers. Therefore the branch 7011 Trondheim, Norway offices are not always manned. It may be Stockholm Kungsgatan 72A smart to make an appointment in advance. 111 22 Stockholm, Sweden Back to page one Stavanger, 31st January 2005 Invitation to election meeting SKAGEN Fondene's securities funds We would like to welcome our unit holders in SKAGEN Vekst, SKAGEN Global, SKAGEN Kon-Tiki, SKAGEN Høyrente, SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon and SKAGEN Avkastning to an electoral meeting on Wednesday 16th February in the Stavanger Konserthus from 6pm to 9pm. After the official program our investment director Kristoffer Stensrud will tell us about the outlook for 2005. This year as well we have the pleasure of having Christian Vennerød at the meeting to question our portfolio managers regarding last year and what they believe the new year holds in store. The election meeting will also be transmitted directly on our website, thereby allowing as many of our clients as possible to take part. The program includes the following: 1. Election of Chairman for the meeting and two unit holders to sign the protocol. 2. Report from the Board of Directors for SKAGEN Vekst, SKAGEN Avkastning, SKAGEN Global, SKAGEN Høyrente, SKAGEN Kon-Tiki and SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon. 3. Auditor's report. 4. Election to Nomination Committee (the Board nominates that Truls Holthe is elected until 2008). 5. Election of one board member to the Board of Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS (Nomination Committee nominates that Atle Strømme is re-elected as the unit holders' board member until 2007). 6. Registered questions from the unit holders. In the election meeting one unit gives one vote. An authorised representative can vote on behalf of a unit holder. No meeting participant can vote for more than 1/3 of the total votes represented in the meeting. Elections will be decided by a simple majority of the votes represented at the meeting. Approved proxy forms are available on www.skagenfondene.no or by contacting. Customer Service on telephone +47 04001. A unit holder may raise questions during the meeting. Questions must be registered in writing with the Board at least one week before the meeting. Apart from the above elections, the election meeting cannot make any decisions which obligate or bind in any way the funds or the management company. Panel debate with Christian Vennerød Once the formal part of the proceedings is over we will repeat last year's success with a panel debate led by the founder and previous partner in Dine Penger, Christian Vennerød. The panel will consist of our portfolio managers and Managing Director, Harald Espedal. Vennerød wil also look at other forms of savings which compete with funds. For more information and registration visit www.skagenfondene.no or contact Customer Service on +47 04001. Registration deadline is 14rd February. Finger food and beverages will be served. Best regards, the Board of Directors, Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS Martin Gjelsvik Chairman of the Board Stavanger Skagen 3, Torgterrassen. Oslo Klingenberggt. 5, 0161 Oslo. Bergen Foreningsgaten 3, 5015 Bergen. Trondheim Kongensgate 8, 7011 Trondheim. Ålesund Myrabakken Næringssenter, 6010 Ålesund. Stockholm Kungsgatan 72A, 111 22 Stockholm, Sverige. Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS Postboks 160, 4001 Stavanger Telefon 04001. Telefaks 51 86 37 00. Organisasjonsnummer: 867 462 732 [email protected] www.skagenfondene.no 2 Back to page one Another gratifying year for unit holders and management company Highlights 2004 was once more a year of considerable progress for SKAGEN Fondene. The year provided unit holders with an extremely good return and saw a strong influx of new clients and capital. To maintain a high level of quality and service, the organisation was considerably strengthened throughout the year. 2004 can be summarised by the following highlights: • Our three equity funds provided a return of between 25 and 32 percent. SKAGEN Global and SKAGEN Kon-Tiki outperformed their benchmark indices by 20 and 18 percent respectively. SKAGEN Vekst had a return which was just under seven percent below the Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index - one of the world's best performing stock exchanges in 2004. The fund's Norwegian portfolio performed a little better than the Oslo Stock Exchange shares, whilst the fund's international portfolio achieved a markedly better return than the World Index. • The equity funds' return since inception is about 20 percent for all three funds. Even unit holders who joined when the markets were extremely high in 2000 have received a return of between 10 and 13 percent on their money. • Our long-term returns for our equity funds are world class. SKAGEN Global is ranked number five of in all 997 funds with more than five years history, according to Standard & Poor's (S&P) worldwide database. SKAGEN Kon-Tiki has been, since its inception in the spring of 2002, the global emerging market fund which has achieved the highest returns of the in total 455 emerging market funds in S&P's database. • The fixed interest fund SKAGEN Avkastning achieved a 5.7 percent return by placing most of its capital in Norwegian interest instruments with short remaining duration, and a lesser part in foreign government bonds with longer duration. Measured in terms of risk per krone, SKAGEN Avkastning achieved the best return of all the SKAGEN funds in 2004. • SKAGEN Høyrente performed better than the money market interest rate in 2004, and beat interest rates in the country's largest banks with a good margin. SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon provided the best return within its fund category. • Net subscription amounted to 4.1 billion kroner. Subscription in equity funds exceeded the record year of 2003, whilst subscription in fixed income funds tripled to one billion kroner. • Our share of the equity fund market in Norway increased from 15.8 to 18.5 percent during the course of the year, whilst our share of the fixed income market increased from Harald Espedal Managing Director 1.4 to 2.5 percent. We are now the second largest equity fund manager in the country. • We have distribution agreements for our funds with 23 banks throughout the country, the majority of agreements came into force in 2004. In addition to strong subscription, these agreements contributed to an increase in number of clients from 54,000 to 63,000. • We held 127 information meetings with 5000 participants – a doubling in the number of participants from the previous year. • 2004 saw a breakthrough for us in defined contribution pension plans, with the number of agreements and employees with their pensions with us doubling. We also showed that we are capable of winning deals with large employers. • We set up an office in Stockholm. The Swedish market contributed for the first time with a considerable influx of clients and capital. • The organisation was strengthened in every function with 13 highly qualified employees. At the end of the year we had a total of 51 employees. The 2004 results have been achieved by emphasising the same factors we have focused on since we started up in 1993: Independence, quality in all we do, a value based investment philosophy, a long-term outlook and focus on fund products. We continue to be an organisation whose reason for existence is based on doing a good job for our customers by delivering the highest possible returns at the lowest possible risk, combined with the best possible communication, service and competent follow-up. We thank you for the confidence you have shown in us in 2004, and hope that you with continue to be satisfied unit holders with SKAGEN Fondene in the up and coming year, 2005. 3 Back to page one Equity funds' total costs There is often a relationship between costs and returns - but not necessarily so that high costs mean low returns. meaningless to only focus on costs without looking at the return at the same time. In fund data pages in many newspapers a new column has appeared showing the fund's total costs. SKAGEN Fondene has now also started to report the total costs of its funds. You can find this information at the back of this annual report under key figures for the individual funds. In newspapers, magazines and on the internet, where you can now find information on funds' total costs, it is important to understand that the total cost of our equity funds is completely dependent on the return delivered by the fund the previous calendar year. In other words, the total costs you now find in the papers are related to results achieved by the funds in 2004. Let us use SKAGEN Global as an example to see how total costs work in practice. SKAGEN Fondene's three equity funds have both a fixed and a variable management fee. Should our portfolio managers only manage to deliver average results, you as a unit holder will only pay a low annual management fee. When the managers do a good job by delivering “extra good” returns, a small part of that extra return goes to SKAGEN Fondene in the form of a variable fee. The funds' total cost includes all costs that you as a unit holder pay to your fund manager. For example, when the total cost one year ends up at four percent, this means that you have paid in total four percent in annual management fees, excluding transaction based costs like broker provisions and trustee charges. In contrast to the rest of the industry, SKAGEN Fondene pays for these costs itself on behalf of the unit holder. For funds with variable management fees it is each individual year's returns that are decisive for the total cost. It is therefore Costs and results hand in hand If SKAGEN Global one year does not manage to deliver higher returns than the fund's benchmark index, then the total cost for the unit holder is one percent. Since the start up of SKAGEN Global in August 1997 the average annual total cost has been 3.2 percent. This includes both the fixed annual management fee of one percent and the variable management fee which is dependent on the returns of each individual year in addition to trustee fees. In the seven years since SKAGEN Global started, unit holders in the fund have enjoyed an annual average net return of 21.86 percent since inception. The World Index has, in comparison, provided an annual average return of 4.95 percent over the same period. Strong growth and extremely good results Board of directors' report 2004 was another great year for SKAGEN Fondene. Our funds delivered very good returns to the unit holders. Net subscription to the funds reached a new record, with in total 4.1 billion kroner. We had a strong increase in market share, especially for the equity funds. For the first time ever, Sweden represented a considerable part of the client and capital influx to the funds. We set up an office in Stockholm and the organisation was strengthened considerably during the course of the year. The positive economic development we saw globally in 2003 continued into 2004. Asia continued to grow strongly, with India, and especially China, as the main driving forces in the region. USA also had nice growth, but as in previous years this was partly based on strong stimulants and a strengthening of the imbalances in the economy. In Europe growth was on the increase, partly as a result of the integration towards Eastern Europe. Growth continued nevertheless to be held back by structural weaknesses in the economy which restricted adequate productivity growth. In total, as we predicted at the start of the year, this provided a record strong drive for growth in the world economy which ended up with a growth rate of four percent. The liveliest growth rate for all of 23 years. China the locomotive for raw materials and shipping In terms of sectors Asia, led by China, was the main reason why raw material based and transport oriented industries had great times. Both the price and demand for oil were, at times, record high. Demand for technological products, which had remained low after Back row from left: Ulrik Scheen, Tor Dagfinn Veen, Sigve Erland, Atle Strømme Front row from left: Wenche Skorge, Martin Gjelsvik, Anne Sophie K. Stensrud, Jan Erik Tveteraas the bang in 2000, increased. Inflation is still low, as a result of the increasingly cheaper imports from Asia. There were fears of an overheating of the Chinese economy, but these had been reduced considerably be the end of the year due to selective cooling-down initiatives from the authorities' side. Productivity growth in the US remained strong. Little appetite for risk in the equity markets Despite the strong momentum in the global economy last year, developments in the various financial markets around the world varied strongly. Lack of inflation and strong money availability kept both short and long-term interest rates low, but in individual countries like the USA and Great Britain, short-term interest increased a few notches. Whilst alternative returns to equities were low, company profits increased markedly as a result of the strong global growth. 4 Back to page one In spite of this, investors who last year put their money in the World Index achieved a modest 4.5 percent, measured in Norwegian kroner. In other words we saw a decreasing risk appetite for equities, combined with the fact that part of the growth in company profits was discounted into the prices. International investors did not expose themselves either to risk in other assets, for example bonds, real estate, currency or raw material markets. The development of the share markets was nevertheless complex. Some markets did remarkably well, amongst them the Norwegian one which to a large extent is dominated by raw material, transport and oil related companies. Companies led the way to returns The development in the market economy in 2004 was about as we had expected at the beginning of the year. The combination of continued low interest and increased risk premiums in the equities market was, however, not our main scenario. Nevertheless our equity funds achieved extremely good returns both compared with the markets we invest in and comparable funds. Despite the fact that the main focus of our funds' investments is in different markets, the return differences between them were not large. Both these conditions prove that our investment philosophy and its implementation through the selection of companies mean more than the development in the financial markets. SKAGEN Kon-Tiki “won” on the finishing line It is pleasing to see that the number of savings agreements increased by over 60 percent in 2004. A savings agreement is a particularly suitable form of saving for many of our clients because it reduces the risk of strong value swings at the same time as return potential is high. Throughout the autumn of 2004 many of our clients redeemed some of their units to use their considerable profits to purchase other items such as cabins, cars, holiday apartments or new kitchens. It is nice to get confirmation that saving in funds enables patient savers to realise their savings objectives. New subscription record All in all 2004 set a new record for net subscription in our funds. In total subscription was 4,104,2 million kroner, with 3,116.1 million in the equity funds and 988.1 million in the fixed income funds. Our equity funds' subscription was about on the same level as in the record year of 2003, and represented 41 percent of net subscriptions for the entire industry in Norway. We grew in all market segments, including private clients, institutions and pension funds. Our total market share for equity funds increased from 15.8 to 18.5 percent. After a good final spurt just before New Year SKAGEN Kon-Tiki ended up being the best of our three equity funds in terms of absolute return, with an increase of 32.4 percent last year. Morgan Stanleys Emerging Markets Index was up 14.3 percent. Net subscription in fixed income funds represented more than a doubling of the 2003 level. We experienced growth in fixed income funds in the institutional market, but the increase was especially strong in the private clients market. SKAGEN Global ended the year with a return of 24.6 percent, all of 20 percent better than Morgan Stanleys World Index. The total capital under management for our funds increased from 12.1 billion to 19.6 billion kroner. The number of clients increased from 55,000 to 63,000. In addition there is a considerable number of clients with savings in SKAGEN Fondene through various Unit Link schemes. In the Swedish pension scheme (PPM) alone we have over 30,000 client relationships. SKAGEN Vekst was up 31.8 percent. The fund has a minimum of 50% invested in the Norwegian equities market, whilst the rest is well diversified in the global equity markets. This reduces the special Norwegian risk on the Oslo Stock Exchange, where last year's winning sectors like energy, raw materials and shipping are heavily exposed. The Oslo Stock Exchange ended up at the end of the year on plus 38.5 percent. SKAGEN Vekst's Norwegian part had a slightly better return than the Oslo Stock Exchange last year, whilst the global part achieved a considerably higher extra return compared to the World Index. Fixed income funds delivered 2004 was also a good year for the fixed income funds. SKAGEN Avkastning's objective is to not lose money over a six-month horizon. In addition, the fund is to achieve a higher return than SKAGEN Høyrente for investors with a time horizon of at least six months. SKAGEN Avkastning achieved a return for the year of 5.7 percent, with extremely low value fluctuations throughout the year. In fact this fund produced the best returns compared to risk of all the funds in the SKAGEN family, as well as measured against their benchmark indices. SKAGEN Høyrente achieved a return of 2.1 percent, which was higher than the money market interest rate and the best deposit interest in the country's largest banks. The return for SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon was 2.2 percent, making it the best fund in its class. S&P upgraded Global and Kon-Tiki The world-wide rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&A) upgraded in 2004 both SKAGEN Global and SKAGEN Kon-Tiki from A to AA rating. This means that S&P believes that the two funds demonstrate extremely high standards in the investment process and consistency in returns compared to comparable funds. In its evaluations S&P places most weight on the quality of the management organisation, the investment philosophy and control over the investment process. Only 59 global equity funds have the same or a better ranking than SKAGEN Global. Only 20 emerging market funds have the same or a better ranking than SKAGEN Kon-Tiki. SKAGEN Vekst retains its A rating. 20 percent annual returns At the start of 2005 unit holders who had been in our equity funds since start up could be happy about having achieved an annual return of around 20 percent. Even unit holders who invested when the equity markets were on top in 2000 have received an annual return of 10 - 13 percent. SKAGEN Fondene's organisation The individual SKAGEN Fondene funds are managed by Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS, with Handelsbanken as trustee and the Norwegian Registry of Securities as custodian of the unit holders' register. Risk in the securities funds comes from market developments, currency fluctuations, interest developments and economic and company specific conditions. The law sets out specific requirements regarding portfolio diversification in terms of the number of securities and the number of unlisted securities. These requirements have been met throughout the year. In its investment strategy the management company has requirements regarding sector balances and liquidity in the underlying securities. These requirements have also been met during the course of the year. The composition of the equity portfolios' investments is a result of our investment strategy, which sets out requirements regarding companies' valuations, product/market mixes, debt levels and securities' liquidity. Better access to information The equity funds have wide geographical mandates. With investments outside the OECD area the main emphasis of the investments remains in the form of depository receipts, thereby reducing settlement risk and simplifying settlement. In line with a long-term trend towards stronger local securities markets the management company is working actively to increase the share of locally listed shares. In this way liquidity is increased and access to information improved. As a leading global investment house in Norway we have an independent responsibility for continually improving competence internally, as well as improving access to all information sources which affect our placements Less demanding subscription The subscription situation has been less demanding for the funds' portfolio management than in previous years. The funds' capital has a size and a diversification of client mass which makes it less influenced by the subscription and redemption situation. Subscriptions were especially large in the first and fourth quarter, but there were no obvious signs that this affected the management negatively. The large subscriptions in our equity funds means however that we at all times have to be extremely careful when setting prices for our portfolios, to avoid dilution or concentration for existing unit holders. Our choice of companies has, this year as well, been the main contributor to our excess returns. On a global basis we have focused on 5 Back to page one finding companies with good operations, healthy balance sheets and rational decision making processes. Price fluctuations, measured in terms of standard deviation, have been decreasing for both our equity funds and for the equity markets in general. If we break down price fluctuations for our equity funds, we see that the funds decrease less in value than the market in general during equity market downturns, whilst we come back stronger than the market during upswings. SKAGEN Vekst SKAGEN Vekst is the oldest fund in the SKAGEN family, turning eleven years old on the 1st December 2004. The fund's mandate is to have at least 50 percent of its share portfolio in Norwegian companies; the remaining assets are placed well diversified on the global market. In 2004 the fund achieved a return of 31.8 percent, compared to its benchmark index, Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index, which rose by 38.5 percent. The Norwegian portfolio developed slightly better than the Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index, whilst the global part of the portfolio had a considerably better return than the World Index. The total return of the fund was lower than Oslo Stock Exchange's due to the fact that the Norwegian equities market rose dramatically more than the global one. At the turn of the year the fund's annual geometric return (including the effect of interest's interest) since start up was 19.3 percent. In the same ten-year period the Oslo Stock Exchange had an annual return of 9.4 percent. The dramatic effect of SKAGEN Vekst's excess return for the unit holders can be illustrated by the following example: If you had invested 1000 kroner in SKAGEN Vekst on the 1st December 1993 you would at the end of 2004 been pleased to see that your 1000 kroner had increased sevenfold to 7,050 kroner. The equivalent investment on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Benchmark Index) at the same time would have only grown to 2,707 kroner over the same period of time. In 2004 once more the fund's price fluctuations were smaller than those on the Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index. This has been the case since the fund started up, but the return has been clearly better. This is because the fund has been managed in accordance with our value based investment philosophy. In addition it has a mandate which means that risk can be reduced and quality improved through placements on the global equity market as well. SKAGEN Vekst has beaten its benchmark index in eight out of eleven years. At the turn of the year 6.8 percent of foreign investments in the fund were hedged against currency fluctuations. The fund does not take active currency positions beyond what is natural in relationship to necessary working capital. Turnover for the fund's portfolio was once again extremely low in 2004 - meaning that the fund has only been charged very low transaction costs. The fund has paid Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS a fixed management fee equivalent to 1.0 percent per year of assets under management. The fee is calculated daily and settled with the management company on a quarterly basis. The fund has also paid a variable management fee equivalent to 1/10 of returns in excess of 6 percent p.a., measured in Norwegian kroner. The fee is calculated daily with the starting point being the excess or reduced returns created by the fund's capital under management on the current day. The fixed management fee and a provision for the variable management fee are deducted from the fund price which is provided on a daily basis. The variable management fee is settled with the management company at the end of the year. SKAGEN Global SKAGEN Global is a global equity fund which invests exclusively outside of Norway. The fund has an extremely broad geographic mandate and invests in undervalued companies over the whole world. Since its start up in 1997 the fund has achieved better returns than the Morgan Stanley dividend adjusted World Index measured in Norwegian kroner. Whilst SKAGEN Global has provided its unit holders with an annual return of 21.9 percent since its start up, those who had instead put their money in index funds which follow the World Index had only received a return of 0.04 percent. In 2004 the fund's return was 24.6 percent, compared to the benchmark index's 4.5 percent. Volatility has fallen throughout 2004. For the year as a whole, price fluctuations were higher than the World Index, but these can easily be justified based on the considerably higher return. During downswings on the world's stock exchanges the fund has historically fallen less than the World Index. In upswings the fund has increased much more. At the turn of the year 5.2 percent of foreign investments in the fund were hedged against currency fluctuations. The fund does not take active currency positions beyond what is natural in relationship to necessary working capital. Turnover in SKAGEN Global has also been extremely low in 2004. The fund has paid Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS a fixed management fee equivalent to 1.0 percent per year of assets under management, calculated daily and settled quarterly. The fund has also paid a variable management fee equivalent to 1/10 of excess returns compared to Morgan Stanley dividend adjusted World Index measured in Norwegian kroner. The fee is calculated daily with the starting point being the excess or reduced returns created by the fund's capital under management on the current day. The fixed management fee and a provision for the variable management fee are deducted from the fund price which is provided on a daily basis. The variable management fee is settled with the management company at the end of the year. SKAGEN Kon-Tiki The fund shall invest at least 50 percent of its assets in so-called emerging markets. These are markets which are not included in the Morgan Stanley World Index. These are: Eastern Europe, Turkey, Africa, Asia (excluding Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong), and the whole of Latin-America including Mexico. In line with our requirement for a sensible sector balance, up to 50 percent of the fund's assets can be invested in markets which are part of the Morgan Stanley World Index. A condition however is that the companies invested in must be registered in and/or have emerging markets as their main area of activity. The fund's annual return since start up on the 5th April 2002 has been 26.0 percent, compared to Morgan Stanleys Emerging Markets Index's 5.0 percent. In 2004 the fund's return was 32.4 percent, against the Emerging Markets Index's 14.3 percent. SKAGEN Kon-Tiki had slightly higher price fluctuations than the Emerging Markets Index in 2004. During downswings on the emerging markets the fund has historically fallen slightly less than the Emerging Markets Index. In upswings the fund has increased much more. At the turn of the year 8.0 percent of the fund's equity investments were hedged against currency fluctuations. The fund does not take active currency positions beyond what is natural in relationship to necessary working capital. Turnover in the fund has been extremely low in 2004. The fund has paid Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS a fixed management fee equivalent to 2.5 percent per year of assets under management, calculated daily and settled quarterly. The fund has also paid a variable management fee equivalent to 1/10 of excess returns compared to Morgan Stanleys Emerging Markets Index measured in Norwegian kroner. This is based on daily calculations with the starting point being the excess or reduced returns created by the fund's capital under management on the current day. The fixed management fee and a provision for the variable management fee are deducted from the fund price which is provided on a daily basis. The variable fee is limited in such a way that the sum of the fixed and variable fee shall not be higher than 4.0 percent p.a. of the average capital under management. In the same way, the variable management fee can be negative, but is limited so that the sum of the fixed and variable fee cannot be lower than 1.0 percent of the average assets under management. The variable management fee was settled with the management company at year-end. Fixed Income Funds 2004 was characterised by relatively stable conditions in the Norwegian interest market. The Central Bank of Norway's base rate was 2.25 percent at the start of the year and 1.75 percent at year-end. 10-year government bond interest fell from 4.65 to 4.07 percent, with a smaller top in May of 4.90 percent. Against this background our fixed income funds achieved extremely good returns considering the low risk. SKAGEN Høyrente provided 6 Back to page one 2.1 percent “interest”. This was 1.23 percent better than high interest bank accounts for deposits over 50,000 kroner, and 0.68 percent better for deposits over 150,000 kroner, based on statistics taken from the magazine Dine Penger. The money market rate (3month NIBOR), which the banks themselves loan at, was also slightly lower than the return in SKAGEN Høyrente. Excess returns for SKAGEN Høyrente compared to the banks are achieved because collectively our unit holders can lend money at a “wholesale price”, instead of going individually to the bank with their savings. In addition we only charge a 0.3 percent management fee. This is considerably lower than the banks' interest margin. The fund's assets are placed in loans issued by the government, local authorities, banking/finance, energy and solid industrial companies. SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon is a short interest fund with the objective of providing a good risk adjusted return for institutional unit holders compared to having money in other comparable fixed income funds or in the bank. This objective was reached in 2004, with a return of 2.2 percent compared to the benchmark index (ST1X) and the 3-month NIBOR which both provided 2.0 percent. SKAGEN Avkastning fulfilled its objective of achieving better returns than SKAGEN Høyrente over a six-month time frame. The return was 5.7 percent compared to the benchmark index's 5.5 percent. The fund had well under half the fluctuations of the benchmark index. Throughout the year foreign placements constituted on average 18 percent of the fund's capital. These assets were placed in government bonds in countries which offered a better risk adjusted return than sitting on Norwegian bonds. Foreign placements were partly hedged. Total assets under management in the fixed income funds doubled over the year and at year-end were 1,933 million kroner. The number of unit holders increased considerably in the widely marketed funds SKAGEN Avkastning and SKAGEN Høyrente. Saving in funds losing ground Although we experienced an extremely good influx of capital from Norwegian clients in 2004, the situation for the fund industry in general is discouraging. Whilst gross financial saving in Norway had quadrupled over the last ten years, savings in funds has actually dropped considerably in the same period. Fund saving's share of gross financial saving has fallen from 15 percent ten years ago to two percent today. In spite of historically low interest rates, bank deposits have increased in popularity. The same is true for fund insurance (Unit Link), guaranteed products and property syndicates. We maintain that fund instruments are very suitable for both short and long-term saving. In the first place funds have a much longer verifiable returns history, and in our case an extremely good one at that. In addition, the fund manager is a guardian of the unit holder's money, and invests it in value creating activities on behalf of the client. With funds there is full transparency regarding the cost structure and the current value of the units are published on a continual basis. Moreover, one can redeem units for liquid settlement with just a few days notice. All these qualities are absent to a varying degree with all the new savings alternatives. Securities funds are also strictly regulated, subject to the Securities Trading Act and under close scrutiny from The Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission. This is in comparison to the new savings products which are only partly, if at all, regulated. Saving in funds fiscally more profitable The tax system is currently being reorganised. The full implication of this on securities funds is not yet clear. There will also be a general election in 2005, which will of course create some uncertainty regarding decisions affecting taxation policies. Nevertheless, some decisions have already been made, and these clearly have a positive effect for owners of securities funds. From 2005 securities funds will, together with listed shares, only count as 65 percent - instead of 100 percent of market value with respect to taxable wealth. This reduces the taxation difference between securities funds and investments in property and unlisted shares. As of 2005 limited companies will be able to realise profits in equity funds without having to pay tax on these profits. Profits will only become taxable when they are taken out of the limited company as dividends. This tax exemption has previously only applied to Unit Link schemes. On the other hand, limited companies are not able to offset losses in equity funds against tax. Taxation regulations for securities funds as individual subjects of taxation are not ready yet, but will be clarified before the new taxation system comes into effect on the 1st January 2006. Office established in Stockholm In 2004 SKAGEN Fondene opened an office in Stockholm. The office is organised as a Swedish branch of the management company. Per Wennberg is employed as “managing director” whilst Jonas A. Eriksson is employed to work with institutional clients and expand our communication platform in Sweden. Both have long experience working in the financial markets and with the fund industry. Establishing the office in Stockholm is a natural progression of our expansion into the Swedish market which started when we received marketing approval at the end of 2001. By means of distribution agreements and remote servicing we have gradually built up a client and capital mass which made it natural to establish an office. We are optimistic regarding potential growth in the Swedish fund market, even if competition is hard, also from foreign actors. The Swedish securities fund market is six times the size of the Norwegian one. In the first place the population is larger, and secondly the Swedes place more or their savings in funds, both free capital and pension resources. Our equity funds have international mandates and long return histories which are extremely competitive, globally as well. At the same time our objective in Sweden, as in Norway, is to provide the best service, communication and competent follow-up to our clients. By means of co-operation agreements our funds are now available in Sweden through Danica Forsäkring, Vital Link and Moderna Forsäkringer. In addition we are available through the PPM-scheme, which is an individualisation of the Swedish social security system whereby Swedes can themselves invest part of their pension resources. Net subscription from Swedish clients in 2004 was 374.7 million Norwegian kroner. In the PPM-scheme alone we have 30,000 clients. We hope that our efforts in Sweden will contribute to a more stable subscription and redemption situation in the funds since the capital flows will now come from two different geographic markets. In addition the capital flow in Sweden is more stable. Moreover we expect that our presence in the Swedish market will improve our competence within communication and client consultancy - which in turn will make us even better in these areas in Norway. Noted on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange Throughout 2004 we have been listed on Xmarkedet on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange. The Danish tax regulations discriminate against foreign funds (this is currently being changed). This has restricted turnover, but for us being noted on the stock exchange is an important information channel for building up awareness of our funds. In January 2005 the Danish SP-scheme, known as “Følkebørsen” started up. This is very similar to the Swedish PPMscheme. We are also participating here. Pensions in the spotlight Pensions are a hot topic of debate at the moment. In Norway the topic is especially in the spotlight due to the Pension Commission's recommendation for compulsory occupational pensions. SKAGEN Fondene offers occupational pensions directly to our corporate clients in the form of defined contribution pension plans. This means that the employer's pension contribution is paid into our funds in the individual employee's name. Withdrawal of pension assets can start when the age of retirement is reached. After many years of patiently cultivating the market we are now noticing a considerable increase in interest for defined contribution pension plans. Slowly but surely the market is becoming aware of SKAGEN Fondene as a supplier of defined contribution pension plans. The number of employees with their pensions with SKAGEN Fondene has more than doubled in the past year. Strong increase in internet traffic In 2004 the results of our increased focus on communication which started in 2003 and continued into 2004 became even more positive. The number of visitors to our web pages increased by 69 percent to on average 44,149 unique visitors every month. There was considerable downloading of status reports for the funds, which are important in the continual dialogue with our unit holders. In 2004 we organised 127 information meetings throughout Norway with in total 5000 participants - more than a doubling from the year before. We carried out a reader survey of our “Markedsrapporten”, which 7 Back to page one is issued seven times a year with a distribution of 60,000. The survey provided us with extremely positive feedback in total, but also with important improvement ideas which we will bear in mind in 2005 when the publication will be lengthened with four additional pages. In December the publication was issued for the first time ever in Swedish, in electronic format. In 2004 the board of directors set up an internal auditing function in addition to our existing external auditor. This involves increased examination of our operations by external partners, and is a natural function of our strong growth. KPMG were selected as internal auditor, whilst Pricewaterhouse Coopers continues as our external auditor. Use of the internet bank “My Account” increased in 2004, both in terms of subscriptions and redemptions via the internet and in obtaining information regarding the value development of fund units. 36 percent of our transactions are now carried out electronically, compared with 32 percent last year. Future Prospects Wide partner bank network SKAGEN Fondene has now set up co-operation agreements with in total 23 banks spread over the entire country. We are now accessible to the savings market via a considerable bank network and are optimistic regarding future co-operation with our new partners. In 2004 we also set up distribution agreements with Storebrand for both Unit Link products and defined contribution pension plans and with Danica for Unit Link. From 38 to 51 employees The number of employees in Stavanger Fondsforvaltning increased in 2004 from 38 to 51. All functions in the organisation were strengthened, that is to say portfolio management, communication, asset management (customer service), accounting and administration. The increase is a result of the growth in capital and activity, and also the desire to upgrade the organisation in terms of competence. After the establishment of the office in Stockholm we are now present in six towns and two countries. Our focus on competence development has been increased through the establishment of the position of competence manager. We have entered into an agreement with the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration regarding employee development in various subjects which are relevant for asset management. The frequency and scope of our internal company training has been increased. In line with the increase in the number of our employees we have also increased the focus on cultural and value building activities. The work environment is stimulating and demanding. Incentive schemes stimulate the employees to achieve the best possible returns for our clients. No incentive scheme is directly linked to subscription results. The board of directors would like to thank the employees for their great efforts in a successful year. Legal and ethical framework The Finance Sector Union of Norway, the Norwegian Financial Services Association, the Norwegian Savings Bank Association and the Norwegian Mutual Fund Association set out at the beginning of 2004 a proposal for minimum competence requirements for financial advisors. The report also contains a proposal regarding advisory ethics. The board of directors in the Norwegian Mutual Fund Association, where SKAGEN Fondene is represented, is laying the foundations for financial consultancy to also be subjected to stronger regulation by the authorities when the so-called securities market directive is implemented, most likely during the course of 2006. Nine Norwegian organisations connected to the securities market, including the Norwegian Mutual Fund Association, published in December 2004 a revised version of the Norwegian recommendation regarding corporate governance in listed companies. SKAGEN Fondene has participated actively in the association in connection with the revision of the recommendation. The board has delegated power of ownership on behalf of the funds we manage to the administration, which reports back to the board regarding how this authority has been exercised. Power of attorney shall be used with the goal of contributing to providing unit holders the highest possible returns at the lowest possible risk. In December 2004 the government published a pension report which contained both suggestions for reforms of the national insurance scheme and alternative models for the introduction of occupational pension plans for all employees. The board of directors is confident that the introduction of obligatory occupational pension plans will lead to securities funds increasingly being used for pension savings in the future. In accordance with §3-3 of the Accounting Act the annual report shall contain information regarding conditions for continued operations. After evaluation by the board this condition is considered irrelevant for the funds' accounts, since the accounts are based on actual values. The recommendation for profit allocation and profit coverage is included in each fund's accounts on page 17. It is with great pleasure that we can confirm that our value based investment philosophy has worked as well in 2004 as in the previous eleven years, both in good and difficult markets. The philosophy has remained unchanged since conception in 1993, and is just as relevant today as it was then. In the future we will continue to resist the many fads and fashions of the financial markets. Index focus, both in its pure form and in the index near mentality, continues to be prevalent on the investor side internationally. This provides us with opportunities, since this index focus ignores a company's fundamental values, in such a way that the share value of the companies deviate from the fundamental value. In 2005 we will continue to increase on the personell side. Three appointments have already been made, coming into effect in 2005. The portfolio department will be further strengthened by means of the appointment of a new portfolio manager on the fixed income side. New appointments throughout the year are planned to strengthen the entire organisation. Our communication platform will be further enhanced in 2005. Our homepages www.skagenfondene.no will be thoroughly upgraded throughout the year, and more complete Scandinavian and English sites will be launched. The Markedsrapport will be lengthened from 16 to 20 pages to increase the amount of material adapted to a wide spectre of unit holders. Markedsrapport will also be published in Swedish and English, with local adaptation of the material. We expect to enter into further co-operation agreements in Sweden, and to see an increase in the number of Swedish clients. The economic upswing is expected to continue in 2005, but at a slower tempo than we have seen in the last year. We will probably see a more differentiated interest rate situation worldwide. This due to the fact that different parts of the world are at different stages in their economic cycles and therefore require different monetary policies. The considerable risk premium we see in even solid companies means that we are relatively optimistic in the new year as well. The board would like to thank our unit holders for the confidence they have shown in us this year as well. In return we promise that our resources will be used to provide unit holders with the best possible returns at the lowest possible risk and offer great communication, service and competent follow-up. Stavanger 24th January 2005 Board of directors, Stavanger Fondsforvaltning Tor Dagfinn Veen Ulrik Scheen Atle Strømme Sigve Erland Wenche Skorge Jan Erik Tveteraas Anne Sophie K. Stensrud Martin Gjelsvik 8 Back to page one Ownership structure: Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS is owned by J. Kristoffer C. Stensrud (9.40 %), T.D. Veen AS (35.25 %), Åge K. Westbø (9.40 %), Solbakken AS (25,85 %), MCM Westbø AS (14.10 %) and Kristian Falnes (2,00 %), Filip Weintraub (2,00 %) and Harald Espedal (2,00 %). Representatives' units: Name Number of units Martin Gjelsvik 5,119 Ulrik Scheen 5,744 Tor Dagfinn Veen 266,133 Atle Strømme 169 Sigve Erland 4,432 Jan Erik Tveteraas 0 Anne Sophie K. Stensrud 2,299 Wenche Skorge 3,039 Harald Espedal 12,129 J. Kristoffer C. Stensrud 814,000 Åge. K. Westbø 276,754 Kristian Falnes Filip Weintraub 41,301 9,073 Function Chairman Board member Board member and owner Board member Board member Deputy board member Deputy board member and owner Deputy board member Managing Director Investment Director and owner Deputy Managing Director and owner Portfolio Manager and owner Portfolio Manager and owner Board Chairman of the Board Martin Gjelsvik is Dr. Oecon from NHH. He has experience from banking and finance and insurance, and is currently research manager in Rogalandsforskning. Shareholders' member Ulrik Scheen works as a management consultant in his own company. He has a long and varied background as a manager within trade, services and industry. He graduated with a MSc in Business from the Norwegian Scholl of Economics and Business Administration in 1968. Shareholders' member Tor Dagfinn Veen MSc in Business, has long experience from the securities market from his time with Rogalandsbanken and Stafonds AS, and recently as portfolio advisor for private limited liability companies. Tor Dagfinn Veen is managing director in Stavanger Forvaltning AS. Unit holders' member Atle Strømme is director for Astec Helicopter Services AS and has an MSc in Business. Atle Strømme has sat on various boards of directors, and continues to hold various board positions in connection to his current job. Unit holders' member Sigve Erland is a management consultant in Jærkonsult. He has previously been director of the Bryne based company Serigstad AS and vice president in the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO). Erland has long experience from board work. He has a MSc in Business and is a qualified engineer. Share holders' deputy member Jan Erik Tveteraas is a graduate of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in Bergen. He is currently managing director in Sevan Marine AS. He was previously finance director in Navis ASA and has held various key positions in Transocean ASA, including that of finance director. Share holders' deputy member Anne Sophie K. Stensrud has since the autumn of 2001 been studying business and journalism at the Norwegian School of Management in Oslo. She has Examen Philosophicum and Examen Facultatum from the University of Oslo. Unit holders' deputy member Wenche Skorge has more than 20 years experience from journalism and communication, the majority as communication manager in various departments in Statoil. Wenche Skorge is currently director for information and public relations in Statoil. Election Committee The Election Committee was elected at the electoral meeting in 2004. The Electoral Committee consists of Harald Sig Pedersen (chairman), Truls Holthe and Britt S. U. Mikkelsen. Their task is to propose candidates for the positions as unit holders' members of the board in Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS. 9 Back to page one Good results in a decent investment climate Portfolio managers’ report As predicted in last year's annual report, 2004 did not become a new top year for the general equity markets, but it did provide opportunities for “clever stock pickers”. True, the Oslo Stock Exchange gained 38 percent, which made this small energy heavy stock exchange one of the best in the world in 2004. However, the general World Index only gained 4.5 percent, measured in NOK. Our stockpicking gave very good results, both in absolute and relative terms. The fixed income funds provided the best risk adjusted returns in their classes. With continued low interest rates globally, 2005 may be the year when the relatively high risk premiums on the equity markets will be falling. The greatest uncertainty is related to the still growing US twin deficits, as well as the direction of the oil price. Best growth since the oil crisis in 1973 The SKAGEN Fondene portfolio managers. Back row from left: Filip Weintraub, J. Kristoffer C. Stensrud and Ross Porter. Front row: Beate Bredesen and Kristian Falnes. Is the appetite for risk increasing in the equity market? Investor focus was increasingly directed at reducing the risk and hunting for absolute returns. This strongly increased the interest for property syndicates, private equity and hedge funds. In other words, investments without requirements for daily price quotations based on market prices. The money flow to these investments has been strongly stimulated in part by extremely cheap debt capital. 2004 turned out to be one of the best years for global economic growth since the oil crisis in 1973. By and large growth was high in all regions. In spite of high commodity prices, global inflation remained low, but there was a troubling growth of imbalances during the year. In particular, the growing US current account deficit, due to low private and public saving, gave a lot of people grey hair. The above-mentioned “phenomenon” has contributed to the growing imbalances on the capital markets, resulting in risk and return on different investments being out of proportion. As the risk experienced in the equity markets is perceived to be lower (not everybody has forgotten the IT bubble from the end of the millennium), we may be facing a revaluation of equities and equity funds as investments. Corporate profits were a positive surprise, due to better productivity improvement and higher growth than expected. Low capital spending and good cash flows provided for improved balance sheets, and thus we saw a robust upgrading of corporate creditworthiness. We did very well in a tough climate Small price fluctuations on the whole Generally, the capital markets remained calm during the past year. Market level volatility was significantly lower than what we have been used to during the past six years. However, during the second quarter expectations for rising global interest rates resulted in a slight increase in the risk premiums for doubtful borrowers. The greatest reaction came on fixed interest securities in “peripheral” markets. As the rate hikes by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan in the U.S. became more predictable, both the fixed interest and the equity markets stabilised. China's “wild” growth In this investment climate, SKAGEN Fondene delivered particularly good absolute returns. In addition, the global equity funds, SKAGEN Global and SKAGEN Kon-Tiki, solidly outperformed their benchmarks. SKAGEN Vekst, which has a Norwegian/ International mandate, underperformed its benchmark, the Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index – the main indicator for one of the best performing markets last year. Both the Norwegian, and especially the global, part of the portfolio achieved better returns than their respective benchmarks. The fixed income funds had a good year. SKAGEN Høyrente achieved – by a solid margin – the target of delivering higher interest rates to its unit holders than the rate available on capital accounts in the major banks last year. The fund achieved a return in line with 3 month NIBOR. The fund's risk was low. SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon was a winner in its fund category last year, whereas SKAGEN Avkastning provided a more than "adequate bond return", at a significantly lower risk. Solid balance sheet and focus on values During the past five years we have seen a shift from indexing, specialisation, sector and area speculation to a more balanced and fundamental appraisal among global equity investors. This has resulted in greater focus on understandable business models and undervalued companies, based on the long-term value creation they provide their owners. Thus we have seen a significant repricing of many of our companies, which has been a main contributor to our investment results in the past few years. During this decade China's share of world manufacturing output (yellow) will correspond to the total output in the rest of Asia, Europe, U.S.A and the rest of the world. Therefore, the competitive climate in which SKAGEN Fondene must continue to create good relative performance for our unit 10 Back to page one Less tax stimulation in the U.S. in 2005 holders will be tougher in the time ahead. However, we still have structural advantages in our generalist approach, our broad global, risk damping mandates, our integrity in the form of communality of interest with the fund investor - and our long experience in handling global issues. Global regional development U.S.A.: Growth continues - but at a slower rate At the start of the year, economic growth was at record highs, whereas the labour market was relatively weak. Throughout 2004 this provided considerable growth in corporate earnings, at the same time as the labour market improved. At the start of 2005 it looks like the growth will continue, but at a slower rate than experienced in 2004. This is a normal development in this part of the business cycle. After the IT bubble burst in the spring of 2000, the US Government has stimulated the economy with big interest rate cuts and in part significant tax cuts. It has been especially important to keep consumption, which represents 65 percent of the economy, up. In that they have been successful. Now interest rates are on their way up, at the same time as the tax cuts are being reversed. The U.S. economy will therefore to a greater extent have to rely on itself. No contradiction between growth imbalances Real GDP Growth vs Current Account and Federal Deficits as % of GDP The fall of the dollar throughout the year has made U.S. business more competitive, but domestic corporate spending is still relatively low. Interest rate increases and a tighter fiscal policy will also provide fewer growth impulses for the economy than was the case in the three preceding years. However, better global competitiveness compensates for a financial policy with fewer incentives. Worrying imbalances Long term, the imbalances in the U.S. economy are worrying. They result in growing private and public indebtedness. This increases the sensitivity to unexpected interest rate increases and may contribute to the destabilisation of the economic development. With the directions signalled by the Federal Reserve regarding a more predictable interest rate policy, developments in the interest rate market should be less volatile this year than last year. Provided there are no surprising upturns in inflation. If that does not happen, it looks like the equity market will be relatively stable throughout 2005. Positive surprises by the great elephants? CURRENT ACCOUNT AS % OF GDP FEDERAL DEFICIT AS % OF GDP REAL GDP GROWTH The U.S. imbalances are always greatest at the start of a recovery, because the economy is stimulated with tax cuts at the same time as consumption growth normally draws the external account solidly into minus. And so it goes this time as well – the imbalances were stable in 2003, and may improve somewhat in 2004 when global economies improve. Growth rate for Chinese industrial output again on the rise Lower growth and a rising cost level means that companies with significant overseas exposure will report major positive surprises with respect to earnings. Mainly this pertains to the major multinationals, which have had a relatively weak performance over several years. Because of the weakening dollar, these companies are now valued more attractively than for many years. Europe: A new spring with an easterly breeze? 2004 was a hallmark year for Europe. The eastward expansion has resulted in new dynamics. At the same time, the low growth in the major economies, such as Germany and France, has speeded up sorely needed restructuring and cost adjustments. Stable monetary policy has provided increasing growth in a number of countries, such as Spain, France and Austria. A lower dollar rate and moderate commodity prices will provide few inflation incentives going into 2005, and the labour markets are slowly improving. Better purchasing power and lower interest rates will gradually provide increasing growth, as the countries in the Euro zone have healthy external accounts and a high savings rate. Productivity growth will be strong. In contrast to the U.S., Europe is at an early stage of the business cycle. This vouches for earnings surprises, particularly from companies with Europe as their home market. So far the fear of a hard landing in China seems unfounded. After a successful selective cooling of the economy in 2004 (property/bank loans) the rate of production in China is again on its way up. Which also contributes to pulling commodity prices in the same direction. The growth in Asia has been a good driving force for European companies, and a large part of European exports are not very price and competition sensitive. Generally speaking, European companies have low valuations, and the above-mentioned corporate earnings surprises, combined with restructuring, will make the investment opportunities attractive. 11 Back to page one Inexpensive equities in a contrary UK Falling inflation in Asia opens for stronger economic stimulus Ann% Chg Ann% Chg CHINA CPI: TOTAL NON-FOOD 4 4 2 2 0 0 -2 Economic progress in the UK has been different relative to the Euro zone. The country did not experience any recession after the turn of the millennium. As a result of many years with strongly increasing property prices, the Brits had to tighten their monetary policy through several interest rate increases during 2004. Moderate inflation will result in interest rate cuts this year, and UK pension funds, which have reduced their equity holdings in recent years, may become buyers again. -2 Ann% Chg Ann% Chg ASIA-8* CPI 8 8 6 6 4 4 2 2 © BCA Research 2005 1998 2000 2002 2004 *INCUDES: HONG KONG, TAIWAN, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE, KOREA, PHILIPPINES, INDONESIA AND THAILAND Both in China and the rest of Asia inflation is falling, and this opens the opportunity for stronger economic incentives. Particularly in countries like Korea, where domestic consumption still is down, and exports continue to be the great driver of the economy. By international standards, UK equities are inexpensive, and the pension funds have during the past 25 years traditionally been among the biggest net buyers of European securities. This may contribute to a shift in the equity markets in 2005. Higher equity risk in Eastern Europe In Eastern Europe the convergence process with the EU is now starting in earnest. Several of the countries, such as Hungary and Poland, have in different ways tried to reduce economic imbalances through a high interest rate level. This has resulted in undervalued currencies. During 2005 and 2006 this will probably result in increasing friction on the capital markets, at the same time as the valuation of companies is generally high. The Yukos affair in Russia demonstrates that the road to capitalism is not streamlined. Turkey looks especially promising for 2005. This country can boast of nice growth, a recently implemented monetary reform, stronger EU orientation as well as low company valuations. Inflationary pressure will arrive in the U.S. … Ann% Chg Ann% Chg CORE* CPI 2.4 2.4 2.0 2.0 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.2 % % NFIB** PLANNED PRICE CHANGES 30 30 25 25 20 20 15 15 Japan: Cautious optimism Japan experienced strong growth during the first half of 2004, primarily due to large exports to China. The growth fell off during the second half of the year. However, the labour markets are improving and the effects of recent years' adjustments have lead to large parts of the Japanese business sector experiencing strong earnings improvements. The reform of the finance sector that has taken place in recent years, gigantic private savings and a persistent zero interest rate policy means that we are looking forward to 2005 with cautious optimism. © BCA Research 2005 2000 2002 There is good hope that the economy will be self-motored going forward and not a victim of a continuation of the “stop-and-go” policy we saw in the 1990s. If that is the case, this will provide a good growth impetus for the rest of the world, as Japan in fact still is the second biggest economy in the world. Corporate earnings and historically low valuations mean that the country still appears as attractive in a global investment context. 2004 *CORE EXCLUDES FOOD AND ENERGY **SOURCE: NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS … but there is still little price pressure from a falling dollar % % U.S. IMPORT PRICES: CAPITAL AND CONSUMER GOODS* 0 0 -2 -2 -4 -4 MODERATE GIVEN EURO’S RISE Ann% Chg GOODS FROM ASIA GOODS FROM EURO AREA Ann% Chg 0 0 -4 -4 -8 © BCA Research 2004 1996 * 1998 ANNUAL GROWTH, 2000 2002 3-MONTH RATE OF CHANGE, ANNUALIZED 2004 -8 Rest of Asia: China is still the locomotive – India is on its way As in 2003, Asia outside Japan was one of the prime forces behind the global recovery. It is still the developments in China that put their mark on the world economy. The strong dynamics in the wake of a gigantic industrial and infrastructure development marks the development of the whole area. In 2004 the Chinese government tried to dampen the pressure on the economy by introducing lending restrictions to certain sectors that were in the process of overheating. It looks like this has been successful, as he growth during 2004 became more oriented towards consumption than towards investments. The Chinese currency is still pegged to the dollar, and this has provided a strong improvement of global competitiveness towards the end of the year. With a continued stimulating monetary policy, the growth in China will continue to be high throughout 2005, but more balanced than 12 Back to page one what we have seen in the past three years. Inflation was decreasing towards the end of 2004, and fiscal policy was tightened somewhat. During 2005, and particularly in 2006, the finance sector will become increasingly more market oriented. This means that uncertainty will increase towards 2006. Inflation under control We therefore expect small changes in Chinese economic development in 2005. The authorities have so far demonstrated a steady hand on the wheel, and the economy still has considerable scope for rapid growth without inflation. As in 2004, this will have a significant impact on the rest of the world. The absence of an “expected” crash landing means less risk for the development of the world economy in 2005 than in 2004. This promises well for the development in the rest of Asia in 2005. Lasting stimulation from China, and low inflation as a result of a stronger currency during 2004, will result in increased consumption in the region and a more balanced economic development than what we have seen during the past five years. Also, the rebuilding after the tsunami, much of which is financed from outside Asia, will have an impact on growth in 2005. A new factor during the past two years is India. The political elections in 2004 lead to a growth and reform friendly government, which indicates that this giant nation will have an increasingly strong impact on both the Asian and the global economy. In contrast to China, the growth in India is less oriented towards industrialisation, which reduces the pressure on global commodity and capital resources. Company valuations in Asia are at record lows, and that bodes well for 2005. Latin America: The biggest surprise Latin America was the major positive surprise in 2004. The demand from China for raw materials had great impact on growth. Simultaneously, the effect of many years of prudent economic policy bore fruit, so that inflation remained low and indebtedness kept falling. In 2005 we will get the answer to whether this development was only a flash in the pan, or whether the economic development in the region finally is about to realise its great structural growth potential, without the usual limitations. Critical aspects here will be the development of inflation and interest rate levels, as well as currency exchange rates. 2004 was a very good year for the equity markets in the region. Especially in Brazil, which is a major market for us, the development was promising. Economic growth was a positive surprise. A tightening of monetary policy to avoid inflation opens for a long term structural fall in interest rates, a strong currency and revaluation of high quality companies with low valuations in global terms. However, the capital markets of the region are still very sensitive to global changes in economic development expectations. The Norwegian economy: Offshore driven growth – still low inflation In the wake of last year's interest rate cuts here at home, the activity increased throughout the year and inflation remained low. A steady interest rate policy resulted in falling inflation expectations, which in turn lead to falling interest rates across the interest curve. The growth impulses grew throughout the year, especially as the high oil price increased the likelihood of another offshore lead capital spending recovery. Traditionally, this has been a strong stimulant for the Norwegian economy. The falling exchange rate of the Norwegian krone during the first half of the year resulted in increased price growth toward the end of the year, but structural changes are still at work in both public and private sector to ensure continued low inflation. The spread in interest rates relative to foreign countries disappeared in 2004. In 2005, higher growth here at home than in Europe will again create rising interest rates. However, we are unlikely to see any dramatic interest rate hikes. Tax reform, dividend tax and a possible change of government give rise to special risks towards 2006. Global interest development: Increasing risk – U.S.A. and Asia are the wild cards The interest rate hikes in the U.S. during the second half of 2004 stabilised global inflation expectations and contributed to a calmer bond market going into 2005. The first half, however, was turbulent, as there was uncertainty with respect to the pace of the U.S. rate hikes. The Federal Reserve now seem to be determined to get the interest rate level up at a neutral level. Strong fundamentals indicate that this is the correct policy. The problem, however, is the great increase in indebtedness since 1999, combined with an explosive property market, which makes it difficult to determine where the equilibrium is. A weak dollar resulted in growing inflationary impulses, and foreign – particularly Asian – financing of the country's gigantic current account deficit is creating further uncertainty for 2005. As a point of departure, however, we assume that the imbalances will stabilise somewhat during the year. Primarily as a result of the growth in the rest of the world recovering somewhat, reducing the global imbalances. This opens for stabilisation of the interest rate level towards the end of the year at a level that still provides for a low global real rate of interest. In Europe, a strengthening Euro and stable discount rates have lead to falling bond yields. Greater growth throughout 2005 will probably press the long-term interest rates upwards, as the difference in growth rates among individual countries will be greater. The same will be the result of a stronger dollar, provided that the global imbalances are stabilised. Thus interest risk will increase. However, it is encouraging that 2004 demonstrated that it is possible with different rate developments in the individual economic areas, based on fundamentals. We should not forget that market pricing of interest rates, inflation targets and transparent central banks are still new global phenomena. Very low and stable risk premium The excess returns fixed interest investors received for having bought debt securities with a higher risk than government guaranteed securities fell considerably during the second half of 2004. In other words, the risk premiums fell. In the corporate sector this fall was due to a strongly improved cash flow combined with low corporate spending, and until the last quarter – low acquisition activity. The in part strong fall in risk premiums we experienced last year, and particularly in the emerging markets, was due to big borrowers, countries such as Korea, Brazil and Russia, turning out to be significantly more robust than in the 1990s. Additionally, domestic capital formation is now significantly stronger than it was then. In 2005 we estimate a stable to falling development for risk premiums, as the formerly indebted emerging market countries now are in a new situation as lenders on the world market. The best example of this is China's role as an exporter of capital. Companies have yet to speed up the acquisition tempo. Cash flows 13 Back to page one Europe and Japan cheaper than the U.S. EMU MINUS U.S.: 12-MONTH FORWARD P/E RATIO* 2 2 0 0 -2 -2 JAPAN MINUS U.S.: 12-MONTH FORWARD P/E RATIO* -4 US deficits and the oil price Global risks increased throughout 2004. Primarily because the U.S. deficits have increased. However, our view is that this is a result of the stimulation of the U.S. economy during the period 2001-2003 with very heavy incentives – and that the global response, with China as the honourable exception, has been subdued so far. If the growth in the rest of the world does not rebound in 2005, and U.S. growth accelerates in spite of interest rate hikes, this will lead to greater deficits. 20 20 0 0 © BCA Research 2005 1996 *SOURCE: IBES 1998 2000 2002 2004 Valuations are still more attractive in Japan and Europe than in the U.S. Europe should also have better earnings growth in 2005. The fall of the dollar is putting downward pressure on inflationary expectations and the European interest rate level US$/ EURO % EURO VS US$ (LS) EURO AREA: 10-YEAR GOVERNMENT BOND YIELD* (RS) 1.36 Major risks in 2005: 40 -4 40 will remain strong, so global corporate financial strength will improve. The hunt for high yielding alternatives is intensifying. Also increasing is the appetite for risk among investors – in correlation with the fading of unhappy memories from the start of the millennium. 4.4 1.32 Again, this will lead to increased risk on the global capital markets. However, as described above, we do not think this is the most likely scenario. 2004 provided significant surprises on the commodity markets, which is negative for consumers and positive for producers. The oil price was particularly strong, and for the first time in 40 years there was demand side pressure that pushed the prices way up. If the third of the world's population today living in China and India are in the process of achieving a standard of living on par with the industrialised world, this will put the global supply system for commodities and energy under continuous pressure for a number of years ahead. 4.2 1.28 4.0 1.24 3.8 1.20 © BCA Research 2004 MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC In 2004 we experienced continually increasing prices on industrial raw materials, but the price of the major food raw materials fell. This will improve the global inflation picture in 2005. Moreover, we see that the strong development of basic industry in China is leading to significantly increased global capacity for important input materials, such as steel, aluminium and copper. High energy prices to continue in 2005 While the Euro has strengthened significantly versus the dollar, yields on ten-year bonds have fallen to new lows. With interest rates well below four for the coming decade, there are not many investors in the fixed interest market that fear that inflation will run wild any time soon. The lack of a “risk premium” in the fixed interest markets may generate more interest in equities Overall, commodity prices will remain high in 2005, but the picture will be significantly better differentiated than in 2004. The most difficult sector to forecast is the energy sector. OPEC's determination to produce is present, the resources – despite the prophets of doom – are present, at least in our life times. Besides, since the turn of the year, the OPEC production discipline has turned out to be better than it has been for a long time. This means that, in spite of normalisation of inventories and record production levels, we will experience high energy prices also in 2005. 3,00 USA, kredittspread selskapsobligasjoner 2,75 (30-årig BAA mot Stat) 2,50 2,25 2,00 1,75 1,50 1,25 The underestimation of consumption growth in the past few years is a reason for disquiet, leading to increased risk in 2005. Prior experience is still that unexpectedly high energy prices have a destabilising effect on global expectations, and thus a negative impact on economic growth. Confidence in the Chinese growth miracle Last year we considered developments in China as a specific risk. However, the handling of the strongly increasing growth in 2003 and during the first part of 2004 is inspiring confidence. The country's economic targets and economic policy seem predictable and firm. 1,00 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 Since the end of 2002, the risk premiums in the fixed interest market, here represented by the U.S. market, have fallen drastically. Today the spread is small between safe government bonds and less safe corporate bonds. Based on corporate earnings, the equity markets are now carrying a relatively high risk premium - which ought to lead to increased interest from investors seeking higher returns. The fact that China had learned its political and economic lessons from previous mistakes means that, going forward, we have renewed confidence in the Chinese (and Indian) growth adventure, and consider it a significantly smaller risk than last year. However, the risk level will be increasing from 2006 onward as a result of the increasing liberalisation of the economy, the finance system and general politics. 14 Back to page one Equity market risk has been low during the last year Individual sectors: 30 Good industry balance – selective opportunities It is an indication of a healthy global equity market that there are few specific expectations associated with industries or sectors. In other words, the degree of “speculation, hope, faith and love” is low. In 2004 we also experienced sensible movements between individual sectors. % DJ Stoxx Stocks Moving By 5% Either Way Each Day (1M Moving Average) 25 20 15 10 5 0 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 Source: Smith Barney and Datastream. During the years around and after the turn of the millennium, there have been in part great fluctuations in the equity markets, and in the daily valuation of the companies. Here represented by the 50 largest European companies. However, since mid-2003 price fluctuations have been historically low, which also has contributed to increase the interest in equities. As we all know, the memory of the equity markets is not famous for being very retentive, and thus there are more and more investors who have erased the IT crash in 2000 and the subsequent three years from their memory. Corporate profits in the Euro zone have been a positive surprise because productivity growth has been good Produkctivity 4.0 2.0 0.0 Commodity producers still sitting pretty -2.0 Q1 92 Q1 94 Q1 96 Q1 98 Q1 00 Q1 02 Q1 04 Source: Datastream. With cost being pressured from all sides, the tough times of recent years for European industry has resulted in cost – with wages and social benefits leading the way – falling. At the same time, productivity has improved. Many companies have therefore reported good profits. Expectations are on their way down in the emerging markets, but corporate earnings are on the rise – and valuations are still low EMERGIN MARKET STOCK PRICES* 340 280 220 160 % THE RALLY IS NOT OVER YET RETURN ON EQUITY** 12 10 8 6 % 50 This opens for good selective opportunities going forward, and is also illustrative of the low general participation in the equity markets in the past year. An unhealthy equity market is primarily characterised by unrealistic expectations, massive general interest in the equity market and sentiments such as “this time the world is different”. We see few such indications at the start of 2005. The valuation of e.g. tank ship shares is at a historically high level. However, based on our belief that we for some years ahead will have an uncommon market balance in this industry, the pricing is not discouraging. The general valuation of the energy sector does not reflect the significant cost associated with the recapture of the oil companies' resource base and the capital equipment of the oil service companies. 6.0 Unit Labour Costs In spite of very favourable framework conditions, the energy sector was not a subject of “wild” speculation. Neither were the transport or commodity sectors. So far, market players have behaved soberly. Technology, which got a giant lift in 2003, had a much more selective development in 2004. Overall the sector ended up as the marginal loser. Greater economic uncertainty towards the end of the year should have meant that stable industries, such as pharmaceuticals and food, should perform better – but they ended up as the definitive losing sectors of the year. RISING... 340 280 220 160 % 12 10 8 6 EXPECTED EARNINGS GROWTH IN 12 MONTHS*** ...BUT EXPECTATIONS ARE LOW 30 10 % 50 30 10 1990 1992 1994 1996 * S&P/IFC INVESTABLE INDEX ** SHOWN AS 12-MONTH MOVING AVERAGE *** SOURCE: IBES 1998 2000 2002 2004 2004 ©BCA Research 2004 Even though the emerging markets have performed well in both absolute and relative terms compared to the industrialised equity markets in recent years, today's price level is no higher than it was back during the Asia crisis in 1997, or in 1994. In spite of rising prices, the return to investors from the companies' earnings (P/E on its head) is rising. However, expectations of corporate earnings going forward are falling. Our view of the development of the business cycle is however, more positive due to the continued strong impetus provided by China in the region. In general, commodity companies performed well last year, but more selectively than in 2003. Chinese development of processing capacity, with new technology and low production cost, does not bode well for integrated companies in 2005. However, the primary suppliers of commodities seem to be sitting pretty for some time yet, and the valuations of these companies did not change significantly in the past year. On this basis, we kept companies such as Grupo Mexico and Antofagasta, who are both sitting on big, valuable reserves, whereas we became considerably more cautious with respect to steel producers, such as Rautarukki. The pulp and paper sector performed poorly. The cyclical lift we had expected only took place for the pulp segment. We still believe in “new” lifts, and have increased exposure on a selective basis towards late cycle companies, particularly within printing paper. In the energy sector we sharpened our focus on companies with great new resource potential, that are reasonably priced and not receiving much investor attention. Within oil service the U.S. rig companies came more into play. Local investors focus on current earnings, and they are still low. The value of the underlying assets is however, increasing rapidly, and this will provide opportunities for revaluations in 2005. Winner with unpopular medication Also in 2004 the “low risk” companies within pharmaceuticals, food and consumer staples were the underperformers. Earnings development was disappointing, competition increasing, the price of raw materials increased and the price of finished goods fell. Expiration of patents and claims for damages for lack of information regarding side effects was the agenda for the “pill throwers”. For the first time since the early 1990s the pharmaceutical sector was traded at a discount. We have increased the exposure to the sector on a selective basis during the past year, with due emphasis on the companies that seem to have the least risk on the product side. 15 Back to page one Banking and finance was a good sector in 2004. The fall in risk premiums, steep interest rate curves and falling loan loss provisions provided for good profit development. However, the pricing of the companies kept falling throughout the year. 2005 will also be a good year for finance. Flatter interest rate curves and a greater perceived risk by a globally heated property market may however, increase investor risk appreciation. Internet – the world's most important means of communication As mentioned, technology was the winning sector in 2003, after a three-year dramatic downturn. 2004 was the year that separated the good from the bad, and performance was highly selective. 2004 was an important breakthrough for the sector – the Internet grew in importance to become perhaps the most important global communications channel. Mobile communications developed from being talking tools to become complete, portable terminals. Broadband went from being something owned only by the especially interested, to become common property. The same story holds for pioneering products such as flat screen monitors and digital two-way communications. Holding on to Samsung In 2005, several of these trends will accelerate. Combined with the downgrading of the technology sector in 2004, this creates good investment opportunities on a selective basis. In particular, the consumer oriented companies stand out, such as our long-term love, Samsung Electronics. The company is in a unique situation, with low and falling cost. At the same time, Samsung is in the possession of cutting edge technology and its brand is showing growing strength – which makes the company less price sensitive. This development also strengthens the media sector. The tremendous supply of technical capacity will increase the demand for content next year. Structurally, global media consumption is increasing, and also in the coming years content providers will represent one of the few global sectors benefiting from rising prices. At the same time, investors are becoming more conscious of lower industry risk. In addition, the valuation of stable cash flows in a low interest rate climate means that ever more investors will cast their eyes on the industry – with the subsequent price revival. Telecom was one of the global industry winners in 2004, as it was in 2003. We expect continued good performance in 2005. On the global emerging markets, where we have a large part of our investments, the market coverage continues to increase, at the same time as the price of new technology is falling. This provides for good operating economics and improving earnings for the operators. Valuations are still moderate. Global emerging markets: From debtor to creditor – the companies in focus The global emerging markets, Latin America, Asia outside Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, Eastern Europe and Africa, represent 85 percent of the world's population. They represent a third of the world's value creation, but only a little over five percent of the world's equity values. The emerging markets have always received the attention of SKAGEN Fondene. After seven years with weak performance from 1994, both in absolute and relative terms, the emerging markets turned the corner in the late autumn of 2001. Since then these markets have performed better than the “old” industrialised markets (the World Index). That is why we started the emerging market fund SKAGEN KonTiki in April of 2002. Its performance during the past three years has been very encouraging. The global emerging markets are taking over an ever-increasing share of the world's production of industrial output and simpler services. The social structure in most of the countries has gone from dictatorship to democracy, at the same time as the market economy – and thus the pricing of assets – has been liberalised. The transition to democracy and a market economy has definitely not been painless, but the processes are well underway. Since the 1970s this group of countries has been the world's biggest borrowers. However, after the Asia crisis and the bankruptcy of Argentina, this geographic area has been transformed to be among the world's creditors, and many industrialised countries – primarily the U.S. – have become borrowers. This gives us a new perspective for evaluating this area in macro economic terms. Many of the macro economic and political risks we saw ten years ago have since been significantly reduced. Now, as in the “good old days”, it is again company valuations that count. From concentrating on large creditor-financed prestige projects of the 1990s, we are now seeing that the companies focus on return on equity. With lower risk premiums and lower macro economic risk, the stage is therefore set for a continuous revaluation of emerging market companies. A favourable business cycle situation means that emerging market equities and bonds will continue to perform better than the world average in 2005. SKAGEN Global Among the best in the world With a return of 24.6 percent, 2004 was a good year for SKAGEN Global. This is a respectable return in absolute terms, and it was clearly better than the 4.5 percent returned by the World Index. Of Standard & Poor's worldwide database of 1955 global equity funds, SKAGEN Global achieved the sixth best return in 2004. Over the last three years, SKAGEN Global is ranked number two out of 1672 global equity funds. These numbers are a result of the good performance turned in by the companies we have invested in. In addition we have avoided major losses on investments that have not performed as expected. There was good geographic and industry dispersion of the major performance contributors in 2004. Measured in NOK, the best contributors were CMB (+195 million), Bank Austria (+142 million), Hyundai Merchant Marine (+89 million), Christian Hansen (+79 million) and Total Access (+72 million). The biggest detractors from performance in 2004 were Volkswagen (-38 million), Harmony Gold (-36 million), Ssangyong Motors (-16 million), Nutreco (-14 million) and J. Sainsbury (-11 million). The total value created on behalf of the fund's unit holders in 2004 was almost NOK 1.2 billion! Shipping steamed ahead for SKAGEN Global In terms of sectors, the big winner was capital goods, where primarily shipping was a strong contributor. Industrial companies, such as Kone Oyj, also contributed nicely. The price of each company rose in this sector during the period. Finance was also a fantastic sector for the fund. In contrast to the general performance of the finance sector, we benefited strongly from several European restructuring cases, such as Depfa Bank and IVG, plus in insurance with Hannover Re. The clear winner in this sector however, was Bank Austria. Telecom, the third best sector for the fund, delivered a nice contribution through a potent mix of the Indonesian telecom companies Telkom Indonesia and Indosat. The companies have long been part of the portfolio and are happily making very good money on the 16 Back to page one fact that the country's telecom sector is in a phase of “hyper growth”. Newcomers Bharti Telekom and Teledanmark were also solid contributors. Record production output should put a lid on oil prices US$/ Bbl US$/ Bbl 50 50 GLOBAL OIL PRICES* 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 Ann% Chg Ann% Chg GLOBAL OIL PRODUCTION 6 6 4 4 2 2 0 0 -2 -2 © BCA Research 2004 98 99 2000 01 02 03 04 05 *AVERAGE OF WTI, BRENT AND OPEC BASKET. NOTE: BOTH SERIES ARE SHOWN SMOOTHED. The steep hikes in the price of oil that we experienced during the autumn of 2004 were not just due to the actual physical supply and demand for oil. They were amplified by both fear and speculation. Hedge funds are significant players in the latter category. However, oil production has increased steadily since 2002, and that should have a damping effect on the oil price going forward. Uncertainty regarding both the inventory situation and the demand, primarily from China, does however, increase the risk. After the technology bubble burst in the spring of 2000, the global industry balance has become more harmonised Others 90 % 80% Energy Financials 60 % 50 % Cyclicals 30 % 20 % 10 % Information technology was positive in absolute terms, and Samsung Electronics was a good contributor, although not at the same level as the rest of the portfolio. The third sector with positive, but relatively weak performance, was defensive consumer goods. The sector turned out to be a minefield globally, with many great disappointments. In spite of these disappointments, as well as weak performance from fish farming (Nutreco), we have to be satisfied overall. The greatest positive contributions were from UIE and Aarhus United, which have been restructured. The Japanese soy sauce manufacturer, Kikkoman, also turned in a nice performance. Strategic triggers played an important part Last year we experienced that one or several so-called strategic price triggers were activated in a total of 14 companies. The triggers were in the form of mergers, demergers and other restructuring measures. The total contribution from these companies amounted to approximately NOK 350 million. Some of them were either bought or sold out of the portfolio. Have made good money in Europe – sniffing at the U.S. Traditional 40 % All sectors made positive contributions to the fund's performance during the year. The poorest contributor was the discretionary consumer products sector. Our investments in the automotive sector, Volkswagen and Ssangyong Motors, were the worst. With respect to Volkswagen, we realise in hindsight that we went in too early in the company's change process. Product renewal also took longer than expected. In addition, the demand for cars and other consumer products has been weak in Europe. Going into 2005 we have positions in those companies we still believe are attractively priced, with the necessary potential triggers for a price recovery, and in certain special cases. The German tour operator TUI and the British food retailer J. Sainsbury are part of the latter category. These companies will probably change structure during the next two years. 100% 70 % Too early for Volkswagen Telecom Technology 0% Since the 1970s, the global equity market has experienced three large bubbles. The first was the oil bubble of the 70s, where at its peak energy stocks constituted 60 percent of the values of the largest companies in the World Index. Towards the end of the 1980s, finance stocks – particularly Japanese – were blown up to new heights, with the nearly bursting Japanese equity market as the major contributor. Then the bubble blowing first culminated for companies with stable earnings in 1997-98, followed by the technology hype at the turn of the millennium. At its worst, technology related stocks represented around 70 percent of the largest companies in the World Index. Today the world of equities is looking quite normal, and each industry's share of the World Index is in quite good harmony with the value created by the industries. This is an indication that the global level of speculation is quite low. The geographic balance of SKAGEN Global has provided good performance for us during the past couple of years. Europe has constituted around 50 percent of the portfolio, whereas the weighting of the U.S. – which represents 50 percent of the World Index – has been low. The impact was particularly telling during the last months of last year. But, it is well known that we do not buy regions – it is our stock picking that directs the returns. Ironically, as the market has begun to heat up in Europe, we have, in classic SKAGEN style, started to find more attractive companies on the “other side”, in the U.S.A. However, we are being very disciplined in our incursion of the U.S. market, and are taking it one step at the time. Compared to a year ago, the U.S. share has increased from five to ten percent. Our purchases will (hopefully) show that it is now possible to buy undervalued companies in the world's most efficient markets. However, we emphasise that the European part of the portfolio is still large, both in absolute and relative terms. In our opinion it is still here we find the best opportunities on the world's mature equity markets. The pricing of many companies indicates low expectations to future earnings. There may several positive surprises in this area. Small cap has beaten large cap A marked trend over the past few years have been that small cap companies have had a systematically better price performance than large cap companies. This after having been “shot by association” in 17 Back to page one Three good and harmonic equity years before threat of new bubble? the bear markets of 2000-2002 – in spite of few scandals and relatively few disappointments reporting wise. We have benefited from this development, not least because this group of companies was over represented in terms of attractive companies with low valuations. Many of these companies have experienced a, in part, dramatic growth in both earnings and return on capital, based on just marginal changes in the development of the global economy (high gearing of operations). Shipping is a good example of an industry that has gone from being the ugly duckling to the king of the hill – in the course of barely two years. Pendulum shift towards large cap Will we, like during the years 1995-97, when industries were in balance on the global equity market, experience three stable, good years during 2005-2007 – before a new bubble threatens the good mood? Norwegian equities back to normal? 115 NORWEGIAN EQUITIES VS GLOBAL 110 (local currency) 105 100 95 90 85 80 75 With respect to the relationship between large and small cap companies in the portfolio, we have started to shift the pendulum more towards large cap companies. We have started to sell down small cap companies, after good price performance in both absolute and relative terms, and slowly but surely increased the share of large cap companies. In the latter category, it is particularly within the pharmaceutical and media industries we have found attractive purchases. Of the larger increases of holdings in “old” companies in the portfolio, we would like to mention Petrobas and SCA, where we still see significant added value based on both current fundamentals and future earnings. New positions include the energy company Forest Oil, pulp and paper manufacturer Louisiana-Pacific, the Japanese glass manufacturer Asahi Glass (for LCD-monitors, among other things), IT infrastructure equipment manufacturer Komatsu, elevator manufacturer Kone, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and fertiliser manufacturer Kemira Growhow. The fund's ten largest investments now constitute 37 percent of the portfolio, which are well diversified with respect to geography and industry. 70 65 60 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 After the distinctively Norwegian equity bear market in 1998, the Oslo Stock Exchange trailed behind the rest of the western equity markets. Since the market hit bottom in the spring of 2003, our domestic stock exchange has outperformed the world markets. Even though the Oslo Stock Exchange passed a new all time high at the end of 2004, the All-share Index has barely passed the 1997 level. Big decline results in big recovery for the Oslo Stock Exchange OSE (total return adjusted for inflation) +205% +66% +133% 285 190 +144% -38% +282% 127 -51% 84 +201% -53% -44% 56 38 -54% 25 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 Historically, when it has declined more than 50 percent, the Oslo Stock Exchange has rebounded strongly by more than 200 percent – this provides opportunities for further recovery. Attractive key ratios The pricing of the fund is attractive - based on key ratios for the 16 largest fund assets (approx. 49 percent) - with a P/E of 13.9, price/ book of 1.8 and direct dividend yield of 2.7 percent. In relation to the world market this constitutes a discount of 25-30 percent. SKAGEN Vekst Beaten by the Oslo Stock Exchange– but with lower risk The objective of SKAGEN Vekst is to be a quality-enhanced Norwegian share portfolio, with a higher risk adjusted return than the Norwegian equity market. Minimum 50 percent of the fund must be invested in Norwegian shares. The remaining portion is invested globally, in order to reduce the fund's risk through a better balance of industries than is possible at the Oslo Stock Exchange. The global market is also used to invest in competitors of Norwegian listed companies, if these have a lower valuation and represent better quality than their Norwegian counterparts. In 2004 the return of SKAGEN Vekst was 31.7 percent, compared to 38.4 percent on the Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index. Even though 2004 became one of the “exceptional years”, when the fund did not manage to beat its benchmark, it should be noted that the return on the fund's portfolio of Norwegian equities was better than that achieved by the Oslo Stock Exchange, and that the fund's global portfolio performed significantly better than the World Index. Better than the Oslo Stock Exchange in eight out of eleven years Since the inception of SKAGEN Vekst in December 1993, the fund has achieved a higher return than the Oslo Stock Exchange in eight 18 Back to page one out of eleven years. The fund's risk level, measured by price fluctuations (standard deviation), has systematically been lower than the Oslo Stock Exchange OBX Index/All-share Index during these years. Balanced industry distribution SKAGEN Vekst has a more balanced industry composition than what is normally found in pure Norwegian funds. For example, in 2004 the energy sector constituted approx. 22-23 percent of the fund, whereas at the Oslo Stock Exchange this sector constitutes approx. 50 percent of the value of all listed companies. In terms of sectors, it was capital goods, services and transportation that were the major contributors to the fund's performance in 2004. First and foremost it was given a boost by its shipping investments. There were few disappointments last year, but lower salmon prices than expected resulted in a weak price performance for our main fish farming investment, the Dutch company Nutreco. This contributed to making the defensive consumer goods sector the biggest detractor from performance last year. Within energy, the oil troika of Norsk Hydro, Anadarko Petroleum and Petrobras have been the fund's largest investments. Even though prices rose satisfactorily throughout last year, the companies still stand out with the lowest valuations with respect to earnings, resources and growth opportunities. Oil service – a winner in 2005? The oil service sector will undoubtedly have better framework conditions, higher capacity utilisation and better profitability in 2005 than we have witnessed for many years. This is a result of the oil companies finally having realised that, after several years with a low rate of replacement of “lost reserves”, they now have to compensate with a significant increase in capital spending. The fund's major investments in the oil service sector are the seismology companies C G Geophysique and TGS Nopec, the supply ship companies DOF, Solstad Offshore and Farstad Shipping, as well as the U.S. rig companies Transocean and Pride Int. In addition we have relative large holdings of Smedvig and the Fred. Olsen twins Ganger Rolf and Bonheur – who are all benefiting from the significant increase seen in rig rates. It is difficult to see that increased supply will spoil the good market for the capital-intensive rig companies in the next few years, as both lack of shipyard capacity and continued low investment intent among most rig companies ensure a tight market. Yara delivered – Norske Skog disappointed Within commodities, the newcomer Yara, which was demerged from Norsk Hydro, was in a class of its own as the best contributor. On the opposite end of the scale we find Norske Skog, whose performance was rather disappointing, primarily because the expected price increase for printing paper is long overdue. We expect that the price of printing paper will recover during 2005, and result in better earnings from Norske Skog. Higher capacity utilisation among manufacturers in 2004 has resulted in the strong cards in the price negotiations now having passed from the customers to the manufacturers. Yara threatened from the east – we are reducing For Yara the big question is how long the currently good fertiliser market will hold up. As long as the U.S. manufacturers suffer from high gas prices for their fertiliser production, Yara is well positioned on the cost curve. The long-term threat will come from Russia and countries in the Middle East, who have lower gas prices and access to abundant resources. Yara's earnings will probably be good also in 2005. The formidable price increase since the IPO, combined with the long term threat scenario, however, made us start to reduce our holding towards the end of last year. Three cheers for shipping also in SKAGEN Vekst – selective sales In 2004, SKAGEN Vekst, as our other equity funds, achieved high returns on its shipping holdings. As a consequence of the enormous price ascent and formidable return on capital, several shipping companies have become stock exchange darlings – with the inherent high expectations of the future. In SKAGEN Vekst we have chosen to reduce the exposure to those shipping companies that are most vulnerable to supply side over-investment. In spite of increased popularity, so far we have chosen to limit our exposure to the most niche oriented industrial part of the shipping sector. Kongsberg rockets without any go One of the disappointments last year was Kongsberggruppen, where in particular the development of NSM missiles generated poor results for the defence division. The company's low valuation, combined with good market positions for several product areas in the civilian part of the company, has meant that we still have kept the company as a significant part of the portfolio. A new company in the portfolio last year was Tomra, a manufacturer of container recycling equipment. After having been a price casualty on the Oslo Stock Exchange for four years, the company finally arrived at an attractive valuation for a value investor like us. Market players' resignation regarding German politicians, as well as tougher competition in the market, forced the valuation down to levels where success in Germany no longer is decisive for a good investment result. Continued faith in “Norway's best tourism product” Within the discretionary consumer goods sector, the coastal steamer company OVDS is still the major investment. 2004 was a turbulent year for the company. The year culminated with a management change due to the verdict in the so-called “ferry case”. OVDS was directed to pay large compensatory damages and fines. The profit on the sale of its 50 percent stake in Nor-Cargo nevertheless makes the company well equipped to continue to create value through further development of what in our opinion is Norway's best tourism product – the Coastal Steamer service. Other investments in consumer goods at the start of 2005 were the electronics retailers Dixon Group (owns Elkjøp among others) and Expert. Both benefit from new product generations within different types of electronics, at the same time as they have low valuations relative to their earnings. The fund's holding of Rica Hotels was doubled last year. We expect continued improvement for travel and tourism in 2005, and with it, better capacity utilisation, higher prices and better company earnings. Rica's low valuation, combined with the company's good market position, means we have great expectations for a positive development of the company's market capitalisation. Will the fish bite in 2005? Nutreco and Lerøy Seafood Group are still the fund's major investments in defensive consumer goods. Even though both companies must be considered among the winners in the business, continued high production growth has put pressure on the profitability of the fish farming industry. However, the market is better balanced than it has been for several years, and improved discipline by producers should enable the positive market trends we see to continue into 2005. The solvency of the companies is good, they have low valuations and may represent a really big positive earnings surprise in 2005. 19 Back to page one Still a while to go until the Oslo Stock Exchange becomes overvalued 120 NORWAY, TOTAL RETURN ON EQUITIES RELATIVE TO GOVERNMENT BONDS 110 100 Most unpopular in an unpopular industry 90 The world's largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, was taken in as a new company after having become ever more unpopular in an unpopular industry – particularly after increased focus on the possible and impossible side effects of its products. Based on earnings, the company is being traded at a significant discount relative to the general valuation of U.S. companies. Pfizer is, with its significant non-dollar revenues, also a company that benefits from the weak U.S. currency in 2004. 80 70 60 50 40 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 Relative to government bonds Oslo Stock Exchange still has a while to go before it is “correctly” priced. Positive backdrop for equity market performance in 2005 % G7 Yields: Stable % 8 G7 10-YEAR GOVERNMENT BOND YIELD: 7 8 7 EQUALLY-WEIGHTED YIELD 200-DAY MOVING AVERAGE 6 6 5 5 4 4 % % GDP-WEIGHTED YIELD 200-DAY MOVING AVERAGE 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 © BCA Research 2004 94 96 98 2000 02 04 Bond yields on a low, stable level in the world's major economies make a positive backdrop for lower risk premiums in the equity markets, and with that, rising share prices in 2005. Emerging markets in 2004 • Egypt • Colombia • Hungary • Prague • Austria • Peru • Poland • Mexico • Norway • South-Africa • Turkey •Pakistan •Indonesia •Chile •Brazil •Korea •Argentina 105% 97% 65% 64% 54% 47% 47% 37% 37% 31% 28% 22% 20% 18% 17% 16% 15% • Emerging market index 14% • Philippines 14% • Israel 14% • Singapore 11% • Morocco 11% • India 8% • Malaysia 4% • Israel 4% • World Index 4% • Venezuela 3% • India 1% • Taiwan 2% • Russia -1% • China Enterprise HK -14% • Thailand -20% • China (local) -23% Even though pharmaceuticals was one of the big sector disappointments in 2004, the performance of SKAGEN Vekst's investments in this “loser industry” was rewarding. The major investment, Danish company Chr. Hansen Holding, more than doubled its price during the year, after more people discovered the positive performance by the allergy drugs made by its subsidiary AlkAlbello. Within banking and finance we received an acquisition offer at the tail end of last year for our major Norwegian investment, Bolig og Næringsbanken (BNbank). After the bidder, Islandsbanki, raised the offer price, we chose to accept the offer – even though we of course would have liked to see greater competition for the bank. A new company in the sector last year was the Finnish property company Sponda, which is being traded at a discount relative to value adjusted equity due to the ownership by the Finnish government. Within information technology, Samsung Electronics is still the fund's major investment. Tandberg Television is the biggest Norwegian holding. In spite of formidable price appreciation during our ownership, the company still appears attractively valued relative to expected earnings. This is thanks to the strong market position the company has in products in the convergence area between Internet, TV and telephony. The loudest dialling tone is still found in the emerging markets Within telecommunications the major theme is still low valuation of companies with a good position in the emerging markets. Relatively high valuation after positive price performance has nevertheless resulted in us selling out Vimpelcom completely during the year, as well as reducing the holdings in Telenor and Telkom Indonesia significantly. A new company in the portfolio is Danish company TDC, which became very unpopular among investors due to its high proportion of revenue from fixed line telephony- and thus received a low valuation relative to earnings, cash flow and dividend yield. Within utilities, Eletrobras is the major investment. The company is Brazil's largest electric power company, in which the Brazilian government is the main shareholder. In terms of price performance the company has not quite met with expectations, as many were disappointed by the low prices achieved by the company in the power auctions in Brazil towards the end of the year. However, the most important point is that the liberalisation of the power market in Brazil is well under way. It is only a question of time before the utilisation of existing capacity is so high that the electric power companies' investments will provide acceptable returns. The current valuation of Eletrobras is under a third of the company's book value, dividend yield is eight percent and the P/E ratio is eight. When power prices in Brazil are “forced” up over time in order to justify new, necessary investments in power generation, we are sure that the company will provide the unit holders of SKAGEN Vekst with good returns also in the year to come. Continued belief in last year’s winners At the start of 2005, SKAGEN Vekst is invested in companies that we, in spite of good price performance last year, think still are undervalued based on fundamentals. There is good potential for 20 Back to page one further price appreciation. However, the key ratios are not quite as attractive as they used to be, and the level of undervaluation is therefore somewhat lower. As at the start of last year, SKAGEN Vekst is, in terms of industries, oriented towards companies that will benefit from the following developments: • Continued positive development in international markets (raw materials and transportation). • Asia continues to be the driver of global growth (high share of the portfolio in companies oriented towards Asia). • Long period of underinvestment from the large oil companies (oil service/rig and oil companies that have invested in increased reserves) • Telecommunications directed at emerging markets with low penetration, lowly valued companies with the best qualifications, in terms of capital and organisation, to become “winners” of the future. Same as last year, the fund has a relatively small share in companies whose valuation has been hit by increased inflationary expectations, and their associated higher bond yields. Examples of companies that will be vulnerable under such a scenario are traditional banks, companies with stable revenues and companies with expected earnings that stretch far into the future. SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Significantly better than emerging markets in general As in 2003, in 2004 SKAGEN Kon-Tiki delivered significant outperformance relative to its benchmark, Morgan Stanley Capital International Daily Total Return Net Dividend Emerging Markets Free. The return for SKAGEN Kon-Tiki was 32.4 percent, versus 14.3 percent for the Emerging Market Index. The solid performance is primarily due to our extreme focus on the companies, and continued scant attention to the markets as such. We are overweight in markets that have not been particularly good in the past year, but which have still provided us with good returns. With the exception of transportation – which was a giant contributor – it is a pleasure to see that the major holdings in most sectors were among the global industry winners. This is evidence of consistency in company and risk evaluations in the past year. The return in 2004 was all of 17 percentage points better than the benchmark, but the risk level was, due to a more concentrated portfolio, also somewhat higher. Risk-adjusted returns were still significantly better than the benchmark, which enabled SKAGEN Kon-Tiki to maintain its position as one of the world's best emerging market funds. One theme in 2005 will continue to be the ability to find global winners in a limited company universe. At the turn of the year, the portfolio was well balanced between countries, regions and industries, however with large overweights in Brazil and Korea – countries that for historical reasons have companies with structurally low valuations. Will Petrobas hit back in 2005? In the energy sector the major investment is still Petrobas. In 2004 the company took a rest in its strong production growth, which has been continuous since 1999. At the same time the uncertainty increased regarding the pricing policies of the partly government owned oil company. Will Petrobas become a pawn in the country's anti-inflation policy? This uncertainty held back the share price last year. Adjustment to market prices towards the end of 2004, production growth of close to 40 percent over the next three years, a dynamic home market and low valuation bodes well for continued revaluation during years to come. China Oilfield Services was one of the performance disappointments. The company delivered significantly better profits than expected, but the focus of the equity market was mostly on companies that reaped immediate benefits from the strongly increasing oil price. The financial situation of China Oilfield Services was excellent at the turn of the year, growth ambitions are higher and the relative valuation is very low. More ambition, increased investments and a dramatically better market bode well for good performance in 2005. However, questions may still be raised over the company's corporate governance, which will be a major topic in 2005. Brazilian cellulose keeps up the pace The major investment within pulp and paper is still Votorantim Cellulose, which performed well in 2004. At the end of the year, the company strengthened its position as a major player in global pulp and paper through the takeover of the Brazilian company Ripasa. In spite of a stronger Brazilian currency, the country's manufacturers remained world leaders in 2004. Low production cost, strong finances, a high level of ambition and good management are key parameters of competitiveness. Our focus on commodity producers was increased through the purchase of Vale Rio Doce, the world's cheapest, most effective and fastest growing producer of iron ore and aluminium oxide. Grupo Mexico, which during the last year was one of the fund's core investments, announced the separation of its U.S. listed subsidiary, Southern Peru. In 2005 this will make the company's giant reserves visible, and show the added values of the railway network controlled by the company. Last year's good profits reduced the debt load and risk associated with the company. South African gold hit by the currency South African company Harmony Gold was a disappointment in 2004. We expect that continued low interest rates will stimulate the interest in gold as a global security instrument. However, the appreciation of the South African currency, the Rand, completely destroyed the operating economics of the company, at the same time as a badly timed offer for the Gold Fields company increased the company's risk premium considerably. We reduced our shareholding significantly, at a loss. Transportation represented a scarce third of the value creation in the fund during 2004. The Frontline system was a major contributor. We realised significant gains in a fabulous year that, for the tanker market, we have to go all the way back to the early 1970s to find its like. The Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine was the biggest contributor to the performance of SKAGEN KonTiki last year. At the turn of the year we held a significant holding in the company, as we find it still strongly undervalued – due to it being part of a corporate group (weak corporate governance) and old sins. We believe in shipping also in 2005 We have strong faith in the global transportation market also in 2005. The supply of new tonnage will indeed be significant, but lower than in 2004. China's increased competitiveness versus the rest of the world provides an additional driver for the export of finished goods, which means good times for the owners of container ships. At the same time the ravages of time is reducing the size of the tanker and big bulk fleet, which will deliver good earnings in 2005. Structurally, one of the major topics regarding the world economy is division of labour, which increases the focus on transportation. As a global marginal player in the industry for the past 30 years, we see 2005 as a year when we potentially will get a revaluation of the industry. Won on Indian tractors – lost on Korean boulevard racers We had both the global winner and the global loser in discretionary 21 Back to page one consumer goods. The former was the Indian tractor and SUV manufacturer Mahindra&Mahindra, the latter the Korean SUV manufacturer Ssangyong Motors. After the disappointments last year, 2005 looks to be a better year for Ssangyong Motors. The company is renewing the platform for cheap SUV's. Equally important is the fact that exports exploded as a consequence of the takeover of the majority shareholding by Chinese company Shanghai Motors – from paralysed creditor banks. Ssangyong has low valuation, based both on earnings and underlying values. In 2005 we will sharpen the focus on media companies, such as Independent News & Media – a company long held by SKAGEN Global. Defensive consumer goods was a good contributor in 2004. We received a particularly good contribution from the Danish company United Plantations Group, who was well paid for improving its strategic focus. In 2005 we set great store with the Turkish conglomerate Yatzicilar Holding. The brewery also bottles Coca-Cola and runs Mc Donald's concessions in its home country, as well as in great parts of Russia and the new eastern republics of the former Soviet Union. The “Balkan leader”, Pivovarna Lasko, and the food manufacturer Prodravka, may also be winners in 2005. Cheap Korean pharmaceuticals and brokerage One of last year's best contributors was the Korean company Hanmi Pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals has been a low focus industry in Korea for many years, but it was revalued in 2004. We supplemented with LG Life Sciences, and have our eyes open for other opportunities that may pop up in 2005. Globally, pharmaceuticals has been a poorly performing industry for three years, so all prior overvaluations of the industry have now largely been corrected. Within banking and finance we managed to pick two of the global industry winners, Bank Austria and BanColombia. New companies are primarily the Korean brokerage company Daewoo Securities. Well-run brokerages in depressed equity markets are normally good investments when we can buy them at half of book value. Continued faith in Samsung Information technology was the industry with the greatest divergence in 2004. Our anchor company during the past seven years has been Samsung Electronics. The company's performance did not disappoint in 2004 either. Kon-Tiki only owns preference shares in the company, and benefited therefore from the change in the company's dividend policy. By the end of 2004, the company was once again the fund's biggest investment. Today, Samsung Electronics is the world's most cost efficient manufacturer of memory chips and LCD monitors. During the year, the company was acknowledged for its design. That means Samsung has a competitive advantage, with less price sensitivity than its competitors. Top year for our Asian telephone operators Our South Asian telephone operators, Thai TAC, Indian Bharti Televentures and Indonesian Indosat, all had an exceptionally good year in 2004. All were substantial contributors to the fund's performance. In 2005, these companies will step up their activities considerably, at the same time as return on capital is rising. This should generate good investment returns in the year ahead. Many of the companies have not been very visible for global investors, and are therefore traded at low prices. In 2004 we shifted focus in the Indonesian telecom market, from Telekom Indonesia to Indosat. The reason is Indosat's greater competitiveness in a more competitive market. We sold ourselves out of Russia's Vimpelcom, which has been a solid contributor to our investment performance during the past five years. Utilities is an interesting area in the global emerging markets. The need for good services, liberalisation of markets and political limitations create a minefield of opportunities and threats. The overfocus on the threats has resulted in many companies being systematically undervalued. Eletrobras disappointed - we bought more The major investment in 2004 was the Brazilian energy company Eletrobras, whose performance was disappointing. The transition to market pricing in the Brazilian electric power system is continuing to provide exceptional revaluation opportunities, as we have seen in the Nordic region during the past ten years. We therefore increased our exposure dramatically towards the end of last year, even though the price the company receives for its power in the short term, after price auctions, was disappointing. We have purchased a minor holding in the Russian company Unified Energy Systems. The uncertainty regarding the future of the Russian energy supply system is still significant, but the valuation of the company is low. In addition, the negative regulatory surprises are probably behind us. Going for increased consumption Focus in 2005 is on how we may benefit from an expected upswing of consumption in the global emerging markets. Our focus on the regions' natural competitiveness within commodities and transportation has resulted in good performance. In 2005 we will prioritise stronger consumer oriented companies. Examples of these are IDT International, Convenience Retail Asia, local airlines and the owners of global brands, who are starting to be acceptably priced. At the turn of the year, the ten largest holdings of the fund constituted scarcely 50 percent of assets. Holdings constituting more than two percent constituted in aggregate 75 percent of the fund's assets. In other words, we have maintained a high degree of concentration in the portfolio. A little over ten percent of the fund was currency hedged, primarily against U.S. dollar. Number one of 455 funds Based on return, in 2004 SKAGEN Kon-Tiki was ranked as the number three fund of a total of 528 funds worldwide. Measured since its inception in April of 2002 we are number one among total of 455 funds with an equally long or longer history. Total value creation (after cost) was NOK 741 million. The manager of SKAGEN Kon-Tiki promises that this year, as last year, no stone shall remain unturned, and no idea shall remain unconsidered. The target is still at least 15 percent outperformance – in 2005 too. SKAGEN Høyrente Shall beat the bank and NIBOR SKAGEN Høyrente is a money market fund designed to be an alternative to saving by depositing money in a capital account in a bank. The fund will not speculate in movements in interest rates, but always maintains the lowest possible rate sensitivity and lowest possible volatility. The target is to achieve a higher return than the average 3-month NIBOR, the Norwegian Interbank Offered Rate, as well as the best deposit rates offered by the country's largest banks. In 2004, the return after cost was 2.1 percent, versus an average 3 month NIBOR of 2.0 percent. Since its inception in 1998, the fund has always delivered better returns than 3-month NIBOR. The fund is suitable for short-term and long-term saving in the bank market. 22 Back to page one SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon For larger private and institutional investors SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon is a money market fund consisting of securities with short remaining maturity (interest rate sensitivity/ duration) directed at larger private and institutional investors. The fund endeavours at all times to have an as optimal interest rate sensitivity as possible, in order to possibly achieve rate gains at the short end of the interest rate curve. In 2004 we varied the interest rate sensitivity with between five and 15 weeks, with good results. The fund achieved a return of 2.2 percent, versus 2.0 percent for the benchmark. SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon was ranked as the best fund in the group "Short low risk money market funds". The fund is suitable for municipalities, banks, companies and pension funds for investment of excess liquidity requiring low risk, as well as for general saving in the money market. With respect to investors who are concerned about capital adequacy requirements in their investment management, SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon is in compliance with a so-called BIS risk weighting of 20 percent. 5.7 percent return in 2004 Last year the fund returned 5.7 percent, which, adjusted for its low risk, was very satisfactory. In 2004, unit holders were subject to small price fluctuations. The fund also has a mandate to place some of its assets in foreign government bonds. The share for foreign investments last year constituted an average of 18 percent of the fund. The brunt of the fund's assets is safely and well invested in Norwegian government and finance securities with short maturities, which in 2004 provided a return of 2.4 percent. The return on the foreign portion was 20.9 percent. Mexican government bonds – this year's winner? We are particularly satisfied with the return achieved in Hungary, Poland, South Africa and Sweden. For the year ahead we believe in continued good return opportunities in Hungary and South Africa, whereas the investment in Mexican government bonds may become the “investment case of the year”. For the time being we see little value in the Norwegian bond market, and we therefore choose to maintain an equally low interest sensitivity as SKAGEN Høyrente for the Norwegian portion of the portfolio. Stavanger, 22nd January 2005 SKAGEN Avkastning Flexible bond fund with low interest rate risk SKAGEN Avkastning is a flexible bond fund with a generally low interest rate risk. The fund may take somewhat higher risks than SKAGEN Høyrente, and thus has a higher expected return. In order to realise this excess return, the fund's unit holders must have an investment horizon for the assets of at least six months. The objective of the fund is indeed to deliver higher returns than SKAGEN Høyrente, with a time horizon of at least six months. J. Kristoffer C. Stensrud Kristian Falnes Filip Weintraub Ross Porter Beate Bredesen 23 Back to page one Return and risk measurements All returns beyond 12 months have been annualised (geometric return) Returns as of 31.12.2004 12 måneder SKAGEN Vekst 31,75 % OSE Benchmark Index 38,45 % SKAGEN Global 24,55 % Morgan Stanley World Index (NOK) 4,46 % SKAGEN Kon-Tiki 32,35 % Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Index (NOK)* 14,33 % SKAGEN Avkastning 5,72 % (BRIX until 31.12.02)/OSE ST4X Bond Index 5,49 % SKAGEN Høyrente 2,08 % OSE State Bond Index 0.5 2,17 % SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon 2,23 % OSE State Bond Index 0.25 1,95 % 24 måneder 48,00 % 43,34 % 42,41 % 15,65 % 63,88 % 30,90 % 5,93 % 8,28 % 3,45 % 3,84 % 36 måneder 19,59 % 12,29 % 15,91 % -6,03 % 6,20 % 8,22 % 4,57 % 4,81 % 6,19 % 8,07 % 5,31 % 5,49 % 6,17 % 7,36 % 5,48 % 5,60 % -6,69 % 20,09 % 18,02 % 0,22 % -0,09 % 0,28 % 4,66 % 26,75 % 32,98 % -2,34 % -0,39 % 7,30 % 21,95 % 9,73 % 19,16 % 7,49 % 15,25 % -2,02 % -0,24 % -1,88 % -0,19 % -1,19 % -0,12 % 14,10 16,63 15,90 11,08 20,70 18,61 1,24 2,55 0,10 0,20 0,12 0,10 16,48 19,30 18,61 13,97 23,60 20,22 1,25 3,04 0,47 0,63 19,75 22,26 20,60 17,14 21,80 23,40 24,30 17,15 21,10 22,00 23,08 16,14 1,73 2,98 0,62 0,73 2,03 2,80 0,65 0,72 1,94 2,66 0,60 0,67 Relative volatility as of 31.12.2004 SKAGEN Vekst SKAGEN Global SKAGEN Kon-Tiki SKAGEN Avkastning SKAGEN Høyrente SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon 7,32 7,20 6,26 1,90 0,14 0,05 8,14 8,23 10,06 2,24 0,27 7,38 8,51 7,13 11,25 7,99 11,33 0,31 0,28 0,26 Sharpe Index as of 31.12.2004 SKAGEN Vekst OSE Benchmark Index SKAGEN Global Morgan Stanley World Index (NOK) SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Index (NOK)* SKAGEN Avkastning (BRIX until 31.12.02)/OSE ST4X Bond Index SKAGEN Høyrente OSE State Bond Index 0.5 SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon OSE State Bond Index 0.25 2,07 2,12 1,31 0,05 1,37 0,36 3,01 1,37 1,23 1,04 2,36 0,00 2,64 1,97 1,99 0,61 2,42 1,07 2,06 1,63 0,16 0,74 0,76 0,33 0,52 -0,72 0,42 0,01 0,21 -0,88 0,24 -0,05 0,07 -0,89 0,91 1,19 0,11 0,41 0,43 0,96 0,13 0,37 0,39 0,75 0,07 0,26 -0,91 2,79 2,88 0,12 -0,61 5,60 0,57 3,25 3,28 -1,05 -1,46 0,99 2,58 1,36 1,70 0,94 1,35 -0,76 -0,66 -0,48 Differential Return as of 31.12.2004 SKAGEN Vekst SKAGEN Global SKAGEN Kon-Tiki SKAGEN Avkastning SKAGEN Høyrente SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon Standard Deviation as of 31.12.2004 SKAGEN Vekst OSE Benchmark Index SKAGEN Global Morgan Stanley World Index (NOK) SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Index (NOK)* SKAGEN Avkastning (BRIX until 31.12.02)/OSE ST4X Bond Index SKAGEN Høyrente OSE State Bond Index 0.5 SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon OSE State Bond Index 0.25 Information Ratio (IR) as of 31.12.2004 SKAGEN Vekst SKAGEN Global SKAGEN Kon-Tiki SKAGEN Avkastning SKAGEN Høyrente SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon The standard deviation provides us with a measure of the fluctuation of the return of the fund/index over a given period. Each monthly return is compared with the average return for the period (the last 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months). The higher the standard deviation, the higher the average fluctuation for the fund/index, which indicates higher risk. For you, as a shareholder, a low standard deviation means that the probability of losing money on the investment is lower. The Sharpe Index compares the return of the fund/index and the standard deviation with risk free return, and provides a picture of the risk adjusted return of the fund/index. Since both the historical return and the risk are important factors that should be considered before making an investment in a fund, the Sharpe Index is an important key figure for comparing different funds. The higher the Sharpe Index, the higher the risk adjusted return for the fund/index. The Information Ratio (IR) is an alternative measure of risk adjusted return. As opposed to the Sharpe Index, the return of the 48 måneder 13,98 % 4,25 % 10,51 % -8,65 % 60 måneder 10,53 % 3,04 % 7,30 % -7,96 % Siden start 19,26 % 9,40 % 21,86 % 0,04 % 26,00 % 4,95 % 7,17 % 7,71 % 5,75 % 5,78 % 3,16 % 3,05 % fund is deducted the return of a benchmark (this is called outperformance) with a measure of how much the fund fluctuates in relation to the benchmark (this is called relative volatility). In other words, it is not only the performance of the fund that influences the IR, but also the performance of the benchmark. The higher the IR, the higher the relative risk adjusted return is for the fund/index. IR as a measure of risk adjusted return is most appropriate if you are concerned with relative risk (i.e. danger of achieving a lower risk than the benchmark). At SKAGEN Fondene we are more concerned about absolute risk (i.e. the risk of losing money) and are therefore of the opinion that Sharpe provides a better picture of risk adjusted return. Per definition, the IR is not calculated for indices. *The benchmark index for SKAGEN Kon-Tiki was the World Index until 31.12.2003 and the Emerging Markets Index thereafter. Return statistics for the benchmark index are therefore a combination of these indices 24 Back to page one Fund ranking Fund ranking Morningstar (5 = Best rating) (Source: : Morningstar.no, 31st Dec. 2004) SKAGEN Global SKAGEN Vekst SKAGEN Avkastning SKAGEN Høyrente ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★ ★★★ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪ ✪✪✪✪ AA A 1,82 1,31 SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Wassum (5 = Best rating) (Source: Wassum, 31st Dec. 2004) Standard & Poor's Stjerner (5 = Best) (Source: Standard & Poor’s, 31st Dec. 2004) Standard & Poor’s rating (Source: Standard & Poor’s, 31st Dec. 2004) AA Dine penger (DP Index) DP Index / Return last 12 months (Nr 11. 2004) 5,54 % 2,24 % 1,59 Fondsbarometeret (Source: Stavanger Aftenblad, 31st Dec. 2004) Empty fields means that ratings have not been carried out for this fund. Historical returns are no guarantee for future returns. Future return will, among other things, depend on market developments, the skill of the manager, the fund’s risk profile as well as expenses associated with subscription, management and redemption. The investment return may become negative as a result of negative price developments. Investments in foreign currencies are not hedged. Subscription fee: Max. 0.7%. Redemption fee: 0%. Annual management fee is 1% + variable management fee: Returns above 6% in SKAGEN Vekst are shared 90/10 between unit holders and the management company. For SKAGEN Global the variable part comes into play when the return exceeds the benchmark, Morgan Stanley Daily Net $ World Index, measured in NOK. The management fee for SKAGEN Kon-Tiki is 2.5% p.a. plus/minus a variable management fee: The accumulated return exceeding Morgan Stanley Daily Net $ Emerging Markets (in NOK) is shared 90/10 between the unit holders and the management company. However, the total annual management fee has an upper ceiling of 4% of average net asset value. In case of a lower return than the world index, the loss is similarly shared 90/10. However, the reduction of the annual management fee is limited so that it is a minimum of 1% of average net asset value. Thus, SKAGEN Global and SKAGEN Kon-Tiki may be charged a variable management fee even if the fund’s return has been negative, as long as the fund has outperformed the benchmark. In the opposite case, the fund may have a positive return without being charged a variable management fee, as long as there is no outperformance of the benchmark. The fixed management fee is calculated daily and is charged on a quarterly basis. The variable management fee is calculated daily and charged on the 31st December. For SKAGEN Avkastning and SKAGEN Høyrente there are no costs associated with the purchase and sale of units. Neither are there any withdrawal limits. The annual management fee is 0.5% for SKAGEN Avkastning, 0.3% for SKAGEN Høyrente, and 0.25% for SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon. Please refer to the product sheets and prospectuses for a detailed description of the cost, etc. They are available upon request from SKAGEN Fondene. 25 26 Back to page one Annual Financial Statement OPERATING STATEMENT Notes (all figures in 1,000) Portfolio revenue and cost Interest revenue/cost Dividends received Realized gains/losses Change in unrealized price gains/losses Underwriting commission Broker provisions Currency exchange gain/loss Portfolio profit/loss 8 5 Asset management revenue and cost Fee revenue from sale and redemption of shares Management fee - fixed Management fee - variable Asset management profit/loss 7 9 9 Profit before taxes Taxes Annual profit/loss 4,12 SKAGEN Vekst 2004 2003 2 291 11 679 127 263 103 054 453 615 6 061 931 581 1 492 332 70 53 -5 631 -4 965 37 258 14 111 1 546 446 1 622 325 SKAGEN Global 2004 2003 SKAGEN Kon-Tiki 2004 2003 SKAGEN Avkastning 2004 2003 SKAGEN Høyrente 2004 2003 SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon 2004 14.3.-31.12.03 2 493 164 571 427 348 776 640 -9 562 9 718 1 371 207 8 147 76 610 -20 896 1 461 157 -3 781 5 320 1 526 557 335 69 048 232 630 434 960 -7 849 8 622 737 747 1 963 19 122 35 004 435 225 200 -3 711 20 660 508 462 22 512 4 158 5 036 100 31 806 8 157 2 502 633 -620 10 671 28 871 -1 723 -583 26 565 37 209 -429 -497 36 284 5 701 -469 -499 4 733 5 940 -82 -15 5 843 2 -50 631 -127 762 -178 391 2 712 -28 518 -147 338 -173 145 3 -57 149 -112 160 -169 306 3 503 -29 107 -82 634 -108 237 -1 -60 780 -36 468 -97 248 2 388 -15 211 -9 127 -21 950 -1 592 -1 592 -689 -689 -3 493 -3 493 -1 676 -1 676 -519 -519 -267 -267 1 368 056 1 449 180 1 201 901 1 418 320 640 499 486 512 30 215 9 982 23 072 34 608 4 214 5 576 -6 890 -3 052 -17 469 -7 522 1 361 166 1 446 128 1 184 432 1 410 797 -4 065 636 434 -5 739 480 773 30 215 9 982 23 072 34 608 4 214 5 576 For which provisions are made as follows Transfer to/from retained earnings 1 361 166 Allocated for distribution to shareholders Total 1 361 166 1 446 128 1 446 128 1 184 432 1 184 432 1 410 797 1 410 797 636 434 636 434 480 773 480 773 5 036 25 179 30 215 633 9 349 9 982 -583 23 655 23 072 -497 35 105 34 608 -499 4 713 4 214 -15 5 591 5 576 31.12.04 31.12.03 31.12.04 31.12.03 31.12.04 31.12.03 31.12.04 31.12.03 31.12.04 31.12.03 31.12.04 31.12.03 3,8 3,8 8 8 2 022 105 2 012 826 1 661 122 5 696 053 1 543 029 1 661 426 729 541 3 933 995 5 483 539 1 382 942 6 866 481 3 607 731 606 302 4 214 033 87 682 2 261 675 754 387 3 103 743 1 298 169 319 427 1 617 595 463 873 78 148 6 432 6 508 554 961 125 719 9 667 1 396 700 137 482 1 118 051 -284 5 701 1 123 468 616 567 299 6 559 623 425 197 545 -514 1 637 198 669 164 276 -15 1 280 165 541 Accrued dividends Tax receivable on dividends Accrued income, not received Accounts receivable - brokers Accounts receivalbe - management company Other receivables Total other receivables Bank deposits Total assets 10 736 2 676 13 412 8 795 93 8 887 146 050 5 864 403 8 408 1 289 9 696 4 116 113 4 229 492 219 4 440 140 20 371 8 135 28 505 0 76 3 090 3 166 254 243 7 152 395 8 997 5 830 14 827 55 244 300 314 941 4 544 101 20 596 514 21 110 45 45 198 509 3 323 408 4 387 12 4 400 9 28 38 159 375 1 781 408 17 621 80 17 701 28 500 601 162 13 13 7 325 144 819 9 25 984 25 994 31 225 1 180 687 24 24 41 298 664 747 7 064 1 7 065 205 734 5 5 1 832 167 379 Equity capital Share capital at face value Premium Paid-up equity capital Retained earnings Total equity capital 810 314 1 716 305 2 526 619 3 184 880 5 711 498 795 174 1 635 587 2 430 761 1 823 714 4 254 475 1 609 613 3 138 126 4 747 740 2 210 548 6 958 288 1 269 470 2 110 809 3 380 280 1 026 116 4 406 396 1 711 656 513 275 2 224 931 1 001 736 3 226 667 1 219 278 144 532 1 363 810 365 302 1 729 111 459 830 90 224 550 054 6 457 556 512 113 283 20 626 133 909 1 362 135 271 1 144 678 11 684 1 156 362 -271 1 156 091 621 515 6 006 627 522 372 627 894 195 365 23 195 388 -514 194 874 161 733 -37 161 695 -15 161 680 Liablilities Allocated for distribution to unit holders Bank overdraft Accounts payable - brokers Accounts payable - mangaement company Other debt Total other liabilities Total liabilities and equity capital 7 065 142 264 3 576 152 904 5 864 403 22 655 157 633 5 377 185 665 4 440 140 19 621 129 274 45 212 194 107 7 152 395 31 781 93 531 12 393 137 705 4 544 101 18 359 54 731 23 651 96 741 3 323 408 20 509 18 195 13 593 52 297 1 781 408 25 179 17 127 607 1 738 19 472 601 162 9 349 167 32 199 144 819 23 655 941 941 1 180 687 35 105 468 1 280 1 748 664 747 4 713 6 012 134 6 146 205 734 5 591 106 1 108 167 379 Number of units outstanding Redemption price per unit 8 103 141 704,99 7 951 740 16 096 132 12 694 704 17 116 562 12 192 780 535,08 432,31 347,09 188,49 142,42 4 598 299 126,46 1 132 831 11 446 783 127,69 103,12 6 215 154 106,73 1 953 652 102,16 1 617 325 103,45 BALANCE SHEET Assests Norwegian securities at cost Foreign securities at cost Unrealized appreciation Accured interest Total securities portfolio 10 10 10 Cach flow statment Liquid assets as of 1.1. 492 219 4 807 314 941 34 695 159 375 -23 248 7 325 8 213 41 298 72 132 1 832 - Inflows Net subscriptions (Incl. subscription and redemption fees) Net realized gains Interest and dividends received (after tax) Total inflows +/+/- 95 859 453 615 666 890 6 061 1 367 462 427 348 819 707 -20 896 861 121 232 630 1 006 704 35 004 416 145 4 158 23 703 2 502 528 840 -1 723 138 594 -429 33 692 -469 161 695 -82 +/= 154 360 703 835 120 879 793 830 149 750 1 944 560 78 773 877 584 66 092 1 159 843 32 494 1 074 203 22 612 442 915 7 537 33 742 28 871 555 988 37 209 175 375 5 701 38 924 5 940 167 553 Application Net purchases of securities Change in unsettled items Operating expenses Net distribution to unit holders Total allocation Liquid assets as of 31.12. +/-830 476 +/-41 134 -178 392 = -1 050 003 = 146 050 -529 807 -1 051 188 44 210 27 726 -111 741 -97 247 -597 338 -1 120 709 314 941 198 509 -916 961 49 721 -24 338 -891 579 159 375 -406 634 -4 224 -1 592 -9 290 -421 740 28 500 -20 886 -6 311 -689 -6 743 -34 629 7 325 -501 484 -25 919 -3 493 -35 165 -566 061 31 225 -178 697 6 043 -1 676 -31 880 -206 210 41 298 -33 269 -7 390 -519 -5 591 -46 769 -6 012 -164 276 -1 178 -267 -165 721 1 832 -298 599 -1 875 808 168 036 39 859 -175 856 -169 309 -306 419 -2 005 258 492 219 254 243 Back to page one SKAGEN Global The SKAGEN Global equity fund invests in stocks worldwide – except Norway. As with the other equity funds, the investment philosophy is to achieve the highest possible return at the lowest possible risk, through investment in undervalued companies, industries or countries. The fund seeks to maintain a balanced industry exposure. The requirement that the companies must be of high quality and have low valuations is absolute. At the same time company risk and market risk must be balanced with the performance opportunities. SKAGEN Global is regarded by independent agencies, such as the international rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Morningstar, as well as magazines such as “Dine Penger”, to be one of the very best global equity funds on the market. SKAGEN Global is suitable for investors who want an equity fund which invests over the whole world and is therefore diversified both geographically and by industry. The fund is also suitable for those who already have exposure towards the Norwegian equity market, but who wish to strengthen their portfolio and reduce risk with a cultivated global fund. Fund start date Return since start 8th August 1997 332.31 % 21.86 % (until 31st Dec 2004) Average annual return S&P’s quantitative rating ✪✪✪✪✪ 6,958 MNOK 35,971 0,0 – 0,7 % (dependent on amount) 0% 1.0 % p.a. + 10 % of the return exceeding the return of the benchmark One-time subscription NOK 1,000, savings agreement NOK 250 IPA, Unit Link Norway, Sweden and Denmark MSCI Daily Net $ World Index measured in NOK Yes Filip Weintraub (Only valid for Norwegian market) Net asset value Number of unit holders Subscription fee Redemption fee Management fee Minimum subscription amount Tax schemes Authorised for marketing in Benchmark UCITS fund Portfolio Manager Year Return on Benchmark investment 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997** 24,55 % 62,82 % -23,20 % -4,24 % - 4,65 % 113,41 % 47,16 % -3,08 % 4,46 % 28,04 % -37,97 % -16,07 % -5,12 % 30,73 % 26,52 % -8,21 % Net asset value* Number of unitholders Total cost 6 958 4 387 2 176 2 660 2 863 2 092 237 32 35 971 28 772 26 465 24 767 22 093 9 983 1 017 24 2,96 % 3,84 % 3,61 % 2,57 % 1,79 % 6,37 % 2,60 % 2,84 % * MNOK **The fund was established during the year Historic development Annual return 120 % SKAGEN Global World Index (NOK) 20% annual geometrie return 400 100 % NAV SKAGEN Global 80 % 300 60 % 40 % 200 20 % 0% -20 % 100 1997* 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 *) The fund was established during the year 70 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Geographical distribution SKAGEN Global Sector distribution SKAGEN Global Sector distribution SKAGEN Global Cash Utilities Telecom Information Technology Financials Healt Care Consumer staples Consumer discretionary Industials Raw materials Energy 0% Cash 1,6 % 1,8 % 9,7 % 9,5 % 9,3 % Core EU 26,7 % Japan 18,1 % 8,9 % 8% 10 % 12 % 14 % % of net assets under management 9,2 % EMEA 12,5 % 6% 18,2 % h America 8,1 % 8,0 % 7,6 % 4% 10,3 % riphery EU 14,2 % 2% 1,6 % h America 2,9 % xcl. Japan 16 % 18 % 20 % 21,7 % 0% 5% 10 % 15 % 20 % % of net assets under management 25 % 30 % 35 % 27 Back to page one SKAGEN Global Note 8. Securities portfolio as of 31st December 2004. Security Energy PETROBRAS PREF. ADR FOREST OIL CORP TRANSOCEAN PRIDE INTERNATIONAL REPSOL YPF S.A. MINOR ITEMS Total Energy Raw materials SVENSKA CELLULOSA B LOUISIANA-PACIFIC ALCAN ANTOFAGASTA VOTORANTIM CELLULOSE ADR LONGVIEW FIBRE GRUPO MEXICO SA B BOLIDEN KEMIRA GROWHOW ERAMET HARMONY GOLD MINING ADR HANSOL PAPER MINOR ITEMS Total Raw materials Industrials HYUNDAI MERCHANT MARINE EXMAR EURONAV SA CMB KONE OYJ BUNGE LIMITED ASAHI GLASS FINNLINES OYJ KOMATSU LIMITED A P MOLLER - MAERSK A FURUKAWA ELECTRIC AIR FRANCE KLM FINNAIR BUCHER INDUSTRIES PENINSULAR & ORIENTAL STEAM STOLT NILSEN ADR BROSTRØM B MINOR ITEMS Total Industrials Consumer discretionary TUI AG VOLKSWAGEN INDEPENDENT NEWS & MEDIA VOLKSWAGEN PREF. SHANGRI-LA ASIA GRUPO ELEKTRA ADR SSANGYONG MOTOR CO. LI & FUNG DANUBIUS HOTELS MINOR ITEMS Total Consumer discretionary Consumer staples J SAINSBURY NUTRECO HOLDING KIKKOMAN CORP AARHUS UNITED A/S UNITED INTL ENTERPRISES BRYGGERIGRUPPEN YATZICILAR HOLDINGS HK-RUOKATALO MINOR ITEMS Total Consumer staples Health Care EISAI CO LTD CHRISTIAN HANSEN HOLDING B GIDEON RICHTER GDR PFIZER LG LIFE SCIENCES GIDEON RICHTER NEUROSEARCH MINOR ITEMS Total Health Care Financials BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT HANNOVER RUECKVERSICHERUNG KINNEVIK INV AB, SER B KOREAN REINSURANCE IVG IMMOBILIEN AG AAREAL BANK BANCOLOMBIA WELLINGTON UNDERWRITING PLC YAPI KREDI BANK MINOR ITEMS Total Financials Information Technology SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS GDR KYOCERA SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS PREF. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS PREF. GDR HEWLETT-PACKARD SAMSUNG SDI GDR KYOCERA ADR NINOR ITEMS Total Information Technology Telecom TELEKOMUNIK INDONESIA ADR TOTAL ACCESS TELECOMMUNICATION TDC BHARTI TELEVENTURES PART.CERT. SSB INDOSAT ADR UNITED COMMUNICATION INDUSTRY MINOR ITEMS Total Telecom Utilities ELETROBRAS PREFERED Total Utilities Total equity portfolio Disposable liquidity Total share capital Basis price pr. 31.12.2004 Acquisition value NOK Marketprice Marketvalue NOK Unrealised profit/loss Percent distribution Share in company Stockexchange 1 468 800 434 800 298 200 540 431 303 000 257 532 035 79 104 655 55 668 134 71 782 497 42 594 166 9 589 242 516 270 729 36,21 31,72 42,39 20,54 19,16 USD USD USD USD EUR 322 834 455 83 716 566 76 729 037 67 379 748 47 808 128 18 460 020 616 927 954 65 302 421 4 611 911 21 060 903 -4 402 749 5 213 961 8 870 778 100 657 225 4,63 % 1,20 % 1,10 % 0,97 % 0,69 % 0,26 % 8,85 % 0,32 % 0,73 % 0,09 % 0,40 % 0,02 % New York New York New York New York Madrid 1 108 050 463 500 220 672 499 939 640 500 534 050 1 848 040 2 097 500 1 004 780 74 948 629 000 375 000 269 750 266 283,50 73 649 912 26,74 66 864 940 58,80 36 572 513 11,21 48 770 812 16,20 41 540 303 18,14 29 694 831 56,40 53 427 961 28,40 44 717 557 5,63 29 064 288 66,20 66 451 245 9,27 18 771 924 10 300,00 4 565 292 783 841 843 SEK USD CAD GBP USD USD MXN SEK EUR EUR USD KRW 287 116 808 78 172 747 65 633 050 65 290 284 62 982 927 58 804 139 56 805 054 54 446 066 46 584 665 40 858 427 35 393 138 22 672 875 8 050 404 882 810 583 17 366 542 4 522 835 -1 231 890 28 717 770 14 212 115 17 263 836 27 110 223 1 018 105 1 867 109 11 794 139 -31 058 106 3 900 951 3 485 112 98 968 739 4,12 % 1,12 % 0,94 % 0,94 % 0,90 % 0,84 % 0,81 % 0,78 % 0,67 % 0,59 % 0,51 % 0,33 % 0,12 % 12,67 % 0,57 % 0,38 % 0,06 % 0,25 % 0,75 % 1,05 % 0,21 % 0,83 % 1,76 % 0,29 % 0,16 % 0,86 % Stockholm New York Toronto London New York New York Mexico Stockholm Helsinki Paris New York Seol 2 863 610 324 449 675 108 562 590 176 300 231 350 1 104 100 651 600 1 602 000 1 341 1 484 000 331 407 835 600 26 369 976 867 188 300 225 200 153 158 775 15 000,00 60 964 835 43,90 16 601 378 19,10 31 720 085 20,55 74 018 778 57,09 55 881 389 57,01 71 996 759 1 130,00 66 848 698 12,80 65 582 499 717,00 38 023 571 44 900,00 69 753 989 568,00 28 926 358 14,02 32 444 698 5,56 31 018 639 253,00 33 621 231 2,97 21 853 345 28,54 7 000 117 98,75 859 415 142 KRW EUR EUR EUR EUR USD JPY EUR JPY DKK JPY EUR EUR CHF GBP USD SEK 252 140 860 117 293 667 106 186 725 95 206 684 82 885 003 80 058 829 73 859 874 68 683 853 67 999 133 66 683 572 49 900 390 38 262 496 38 259 283 35 567 006 33 856 989 32 620 678 20 325 989 1 178 307 1 260 969 337 98 982 086 56 328 832 89 585 346 63 486 599 8 866 226 24 177 441 1 863 115 1 835 154 2 416 634 28 660 001 -19 853 598 9 336 138 5 814 585 4 548 367 235 758 10 767 333 13 325 872 1 178 307 401 554 195 3,62 % 1,68 % 1,52 % 1,37 % 1,19 % 1,15 % 1,06 % 0,99 % 0,98 % 0,96 % 0,72 % 0,55 % 0,55 % 0,51 % 0,49 % 0,47 % 0,29 % 0,02 % 18,09 % 2,78 % 4,41 % 1,61 % 1,61 % 0,33 % 0,21 % 0,09 % 1,63 % 0,16 % 0,06 % 0,23 % 0,12 % 0,99 % 1,86 % 0,13 % 0,30 % 0,83 % Korea Brüssels Brüssels Brüssels Helsinki New York Tokyo Helsinki Tokyo København Tokyo Amsterdam Helsinki Zürich London NASDAQ Stockholm 689 000 337 000 4 464 070 290 000 6 138 207 217 200 903 900 2 145 000 98 897 89 401 044 132 926 796 57 485 495 67 453 784 50 433 194 29 155 017 26 187 095 27 264 077 11 728 576 14 507 610 506 542 688 17,42 33,35 2,32 24,41 11,15 37,24 6 000,00 13,10 5 380,00 EUR EUR EUR EUR HKD USD KRW HKD HUF 98 839 599 92 552 753 85 286 950 58 294 741 53 383 986 49 097 365 31 835 358 21 917 610 17 850 810 19 898 884 528 958 057 9 438 556 -40 374 043 27 801 455 -9 159 043 2 950 793 19 942 348 5 648 263 -5 346 467 6 122 234 5 391 274 22 415 369 1,42 % 1,33 % 1,22 % 0,84 % 0,77 % 0,70 % 0,46 % 0,31 % 0,26 % 0,29 % 7,59 % 0,39 % 0,11 % 0,60 % 0,28 % 0,26 % 0,37 % 0,75 % 0,07 % 1,19 % Frankfurt Frankfurt London Frankfurt Hong Kong New York Korea Hong Kong Budapest 4 573 547 774 697 1 278 700 88 430 176 074 92 000 215 429 377 534 164 701 714 160 280 366 63 072 412 21 479 179 20 082 647 31 588 687 26 796 346 17 988 872 14 302 856 520 293 079 2,70 20,23 977,00 560,00 245,00 381,00 23,10 7,36 GBP EUR JPY DKK DKK DKK USD EUR 144 127 330 129 059 911 73 957 962 54 844 286 47 775 479 38 820 090 30 206 808 22 882 185 14 279 608 555 953 659 -20 574 384 -31 220 455 10 885 550 33 365 107 27 692 831 7 231 403 3 410 462 4 893 313 -23 247 35 660 580 2,07 % 1,85 % 1,06 % 0,79 % 0,69 % 0,56 % 0,43 % 0,33 % 0,20 % 7,98 % 0,27 % 2,25 % 0,65 % 2,21 % 3,42 % 1,40 % 1,05 % 1,30 % London Amsterdam Tokyo København København København Istanbul Helsinki 204 336 629 3 370,00 58 132 146 643,00 46 341 537 124,00 73 369 325 26,89 46 210 634 35 300,00 21 862 187 22 700,00 17 629 207 235,00 12 069 812 479 951 477 JPY DKK USD USD KRW HUF DKK 182 945 168 140 857 830 67 590 664 67 084 365 49 709 919 22 466 757 19 519 687 16 971 505 567 145 897 -21 391 461 82 725 684 21 249 127 -6 284 960 3 499 285 604 570 1 890 481 4 901 694 87 194 420 2,62 % 2,02 % 0,97 % 0,96 % 0,71 % 0,32 % 0,28 % 0,24 % 8,14 % 0,31 % 2,15 % 0,48 % 0,01 % 1,45 % 0,16 % 0,97 % Tokyo København London Int. New York Seol Budapest København 192 842 587 191 738 646 91 467 225 33 879 883 34 424 438 26 301 093 8 411 591 34 238 936 59 751 570 6 426 350 679 482 317 66,50 28,85 70,75 4 695,00 11,95 24,38 14,12 0,89 3,16 EUR EUR SEK KRW EUR EUR USD GBP USD 370 756 413 225 434 673 146 713 086 59 117 654 41 770 759 40 475 091 37 214 587 35 231 240 27 045 492 8 181 212 991 940 208 177 913 826 33 696 027 55 245 861 25 237 772 7 346 322 14 173 998 28 802 996 992 304 -32 706 078 1 754 863 312 457 891 5,32 % 3,23 % 2,10 % 0,85 % 0,60 % 0,58 % 0,53 % 0,51 % 0,39 % 0,12 % 14,23 % 0,46 % 0,79 % 1,06 % 1,95 % 0,37 % 0,52 % 0,97 % 0,69 % 0,19 % Wien Frankfurt Stockholm Korea Frankfurt Frankfurt New York London London Int. 142 726 572 219,00 228 399 231 7 890,00 64 249 096 298 500,00 43 502 963 145,00 50 251 332 20,97 24 746 117 27,25 36 161 344 76,98 26 443 628 616 480 283 USD JPY KRW USD USD USD USD 249 735 910 163 013 712 82 545 906 47 968 175 44 321 647 38 461 379 17 943 114 17 284 409 661 274 252 107 009 338 -65 385 519 18 296 810 4 465 212 -5 929 686 13 715 262 -18 218 230 -9 159 219 44 793 969 3,58 % 2,34 % 1,18 % 0,69 % 0,64 % 0,55 % 0,26 % 0,25 % 9,49 % 0,06 % 0,18 % 0,21 % 0,12 % 0,01 % 0,13 % 0,02 % London Int. Tokyo Korea London Int. New York London Int. New York 1 680 950 6 379 800 406 089 3 167 262 481 200 2 000 000 111 824 602 84 241 125 87 425 627 69 968 151 35 172 305 18 422 000 9 323 239 416 377 049 21,02 3,54 231,75 5,00 31,18 69,50 USD USD DKK USD USD THB 214 474 764 137 087 866 104 228 072 96 126 402 91 073 163 21 680 525 13 295 576 677 966 368 102 650 161 52 846 741 16 802 444 26 158 251 55 900 858 3 258 525 3 972 337 261 589 319 3,08 % 1,97 % 1,50 % 1,38 % 1,31 % 0,31 % 0,19 % 9,73 % 0,33 % 1,34 % 0,19 % 0,17 % 0,46 % 0,46 % New York Singapore København London Int. New York Bangkok 1 368 000 104 884 327 104 884 327 39,20 BRL 122 534 496 122 534 496 17 650 169 17 650 169 1,76 % 1,76 % 0,25 % Sao Paulo 6 866 480 811 91 806 935 6 958 287 746 1 382 941 876 98,51 % 1,49 % 100,00 % Number 917 000 197 800 89 800 411 000 239 900 29 500 75 000 677 023 948 880 2 268 800 2 145 080 424 464 201 600 434 200 3 388 393 1 410 000 187 866 349 000 47 110 54 500 348 200 232 525 38 400 5 483 538 936 432.3135 Currency 28 Back to page one SKAGEN Vekst A minimum of 50% of the assets of the SKAGEN Vekst equity fund will at all times be invested in Norway. The rest will be invested in the global equity market. Studies made by the magazine Dine Penger and by Morningstar place SKAGEN Vekst among the best performing equity funds in terms of returns relative to risk. The fund’s risk profile is, seen in isolation, among the lowest in its “class”. Reduced risk is achieved through thorough analyses of the individual companies as well as of the main trends in Norwegian and international business. In addition, significant parts of the fund’s assets are invested outside of Norway. This means that the fund may partake in the value created by companies in industries or markets not represented on the Oslo Stock Exchange. We look for companies that are solid but under priced, and that are listed in markets that are undervalued. SKAGEN Vekst is suitable for investors who want an equity fund with a good balance between Norwegian and global companies. The fund has a broad mandate which gives it the freedom to invest in a number of companies, industries and regions. Fund start date Return since start 1st December 1993 604.99 % 19.26 % (until 31st Dec 2004) Average annual return S&P’s quantitative rating (Only valid for Norwegian market) Net asset value Number of unit holders Subscription fee Redemption fee Management fee Minimum subscription amount Tax schemes Authorised for marketing in Benchmark UCITS fund Portfolio Manager Year Return on Benchmark investment 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 31,75 % 66,25 % -21,91 % -1,33 % - 2,25 % 76,98 % - 6,47 % 29,23 % 39,09 % 14,72 % 19,13 % 38,45 % 48,40 % -31,09 % -16,57 % -1,68 % 45,54 % -26,65 % 31,60 % 32,03 % 11,60 % 7,13 % ✪✪✪✪✪ 5,712 MNOK 51,781 0,0 – 0,7 % (dependent on amount) 0% 1.0 % p.a. + 10 % of the return exceeding 6% p.a. One-time subscription NOK 1,000, savings agreement NOK 250 IPA, Unit Link Norway, Sweden and Denmark Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index Yes Kristian Falnes Net asset value* Number of unitholders Total cost 5 712 4 238 2 146 2 594 2 650 2 361 988 895 472 200 125 51 781 47 334 46 153 46 283 44 619 38 167 19 568 13 036 6 873 4 149 1 760 3,52 % 6,17 % 1,00 % 1,47 % 2,18 % 7,31 % 2,46 % 3,74 % 4,01 % 2,95 % 1,78 % * MNOK Annual return NAV SKAGEN Vekst Historic development 100 % SKAGEN Vekst World Index (NOK) 20% annual geometrie return 600 500 80 % 60 % 400 40 % 300 20 % 0% 200 -20 % 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 100 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Geographical distribution SKAGEN Vekst Geographical distribution SKAGEN Vekst Sector distribution Vekst Sector distribution SKAGENSKAGEN Vekst Cash Utilities Telecom Information Technology Financials Healt Care Consumer staples Consumer discretionary Industials Raw materials Energy 0% Cash 0,2 % 0,2 % 1,0 % 9,9 % Periphery EU 9,9 % 11,9 % 53,1 % North America 3,9 % 6,8 % Core EU 6,0 % 5,8 % 10,8 % Japan 22,1 % 10 % 15 % 20 % % of net assets under management 22,6 % 25 % 2,2 % EMEA 12,4 % 5% 3,6 % South America 4,2 % 0,6 % Asia excl. Japan 30 % 12,4 % 0% 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % % of net assets under management 50 % 60 % 29 Back to page one SKAGEN Vekst Note 8. Securities portfolio as of 31st December 2004. Security Energy NORSK HYDRO SOLSTAD OFFSHORE CIE GENERALE DE GEOPHYSIQUE ANADARKO PETROLEUM TRANSOCEAN PETROBRAS PREF. ADR BONHEUR DOF PRIDE INTERNATIONAL TGS NOPEC GEOPHYSICAL CO SMEDVIG B GANGER ROLF FARSTAD SHIPPING PETROBRAS ORD. ADR FRED OLSEN ENERGY FMC TECHNOLOGIES MINOR ITEMS Total Energy Raw materials NORSKE SKOGINDUSTRIER YARA INTERNATIONAL BOLIDEN KOREA ZINC ALCAN CREW GOLD CORPORATION GRUPO MEXICO SA B HANSOL PAPER RAUTARUUKKI MINOR ITEMS Total Raw materials Industrials STOLT-NIELSEN WILH WILHELMSEN LTD A KONGSBERG GRUPPEN TOMRA SYSTEMS HANJIN SHIPPING BROSTRØM B HYUNDAI MERCHANT MARINE CONCORDIA MARITIME B FURUKAWA ELECTRIC PENINSULAR & ORIENTAL STEAM KOREA LINE I.M. SKAUGEN KONVERTIBEL OBLIGASJON I.M. SKAUGEN KVERNELAND ODFJELL A SOLVANG SAS PREMUDA FINNAIR TTS MARINE BUCHER INDUSTRIES BERGESEN DY B KOREAN AIR CO. LTD. A P MOLLER - MAERSK A MINOR ITEMS Total Industrials Consumer discretionary OFOTEN & VESTERÅLEN D/S DIXONS GROUP RICA HOTELS SCHIBSTED EXPERT VOLKSWAGEN PREF. NORGES HANDELS OG SJØFATRSTIDENDE DANUBIUS HOTELS SSANGYONG MOTOR CO. MINOR ITEMS Total Consumer discretionary Consumer staples NUTRECO HOLDING LERØY SEAFOOD GROUP UNITED INTL ENTERPRISES RIEBER & SØN NATUZZI SEABOARD J SAINSBURY MINOR ITEMS Total Consumer staples Health Care CHRISTIAN HANSEN HOLDING B PFIZER AXIS-SHIELD AXIS-SHIELD (LONDON) MINOR ITEMS Total Health Care Financials BOLIG- OG NAERINGSBANKEN HANNOVER RUECKVERSICHERUNG OLAV THON EIENDOMSSELSKAP BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT KINNEVIK INV AB, SER B KOREAN REINSURANCE BANCO BRADESCO SA, ADR AAREAL BANK SPONDA OYJ ABG SUNDAL COLLIER ASA MINOR ITEMS Total Financials Information Technology SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS GDR SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS PREF. GDR KYOCERA TANDBERG TELEVISION NERA SAMSUNG SDI GDR SUN MICROSYSTEMS Q-FREE VMETRO KYOCERA ADR GLOBAL IP SOUND TELESTE MINOR ITEMS Total Information Technology Telecom TELEKOMUNIK INDONESIA ADR TDC TOTAL ACCESS TELECOMMUNICATION CATCH COMMUNICATION MINOR ITEMS Total Telecom Utilities ELETROBRAS PREFERED MINOR ITEMS Total Utilities Total equity portfolio Disposable liquidity Total share capital Basis price pr. 31.12.04 Acqyisition value NOK Marketsprice Marketsvalue NOK Unrealised profit/loss Persented distribution Share in company Stcokexchange 631 000 1 656 000 240 000 230 000 350 000 400 000 307 250 3 760 000 531 100 340 000 600 000 193 500 550 000 100 000 200 000 75 000 197 095 890 60 383 287 66 952 656 74 012 919 51 374 876 57 037 370 58 933 662 33 687 850 67 134 907 24 074 261 25 184 097 35 155 155 30 170 968 19 309 783 5 407 162 11 768 094 34 633 603 852 316 540 477,00 68,00 50,65 64,85 42,33 36,40 272,00 20,20 20,05 155,00 82,25 242,00 76,00 40,02 87,50 32,22 NOK NOK EUR USD USD USD NOK NOK USD NOK NOK NOK NOK USD NOK USD 300 987 000 112 608 000 100 135 050 89 999 336 89 395 942 87 854 268 83 572 000 75 952 000 64 252 816 52 700 000 49 350 000 46 827 000 41 800 000 24 147 856 17 500 000 14 581 033 38 075 129 1 289 737 430 103 891 110 52 224 713 33 182 394 15 986 417 38 021 066 30 816 898 24 638 338 42 264 150 -2 882 091 28 625 739 24 165 903 11 671 845 11 629 032 4 838 073 12 092 838 2 812 939 3 441 526 437 420 889 5,27 % 1,97 % 1,75 % 1,58 % 1,57 % 1,54 % 1,46 % 1,33 % 1,13 % 0,92 % 0,86 % 0,82 % 0,73 % 0,42 % 0,31 % 0,26 % 0,67 % 22,59 % 0,24 % 4,38 % 2,05 % 0,09 % 0,11 % 0,09 % 3,00 % 4,90 % 0,39 % 1,35 % 2,15 % 2,13 % 1,41 % 0,02 % 0,33 % 0,11 % Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Paris New York New York New York Oslo Børs Oslo Børs New York Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs New York Oslo Børs New York 2 190 000 2 250 938 2 500 000 200 000 100 131 4 250 000 750 000 300 000 205 800 252 272 010 131,00 94 118 455 79,75 51 216 726 28,40 29 227 316 31 800,00 30 420 851 58,68 20 075 640 6,00 13 019 954 56,72 15 301 982 10 300,00 9 280 991 8,74 23 454 773 538 388 697 NOK NOK SEK KRW CAD NOK MXN KRW EUR 286 890 000 179 512 305 64 850 115 36 621 198 29 372 874 25 500 000 22 979 316 17 792 375 14 816 725 31 394 492 709 729 401 34 617 990 85 393 851 13 633 389 7 393 882 -1 047 977 5 424 360 9 959 362 2 490 393 5 535 735 7 939 718 171 340 703 5,02 % 3,14 % 1,14 % 0,64 % 0,51 % 0,45 % 0,40 % 0,31 % 0,26 % 0,55 % 12,43 % 1,64 % 0,70 % 0,99 % 1,06 % 0,03 % 3,06 % 0,09 % 0,69 % 0,15 % Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Stockholm Korea Toronto Oslo Børs Mexico Seol Helsinki 950 000 920 000 958 650 1 800 000 400 000 600 800 600 000 1 553 500 1 500 000 1 416 083 200 000 14 500 000 240 045 460 694 140 000 1 044 000 478 300 2 300 000 505 000 1 100 000 15 000 104 085 150 000 300 92 959 565 41 061 113 81 819 349 47 471 887 25 364 610 29 393 056 29 982 121 29 395 919 38 864 845 38 386 151 11 785 642 14 598 958 8 778 746 39 302 205 6 102 715 17 130 352 36 305 565 17 704 172 21 915 117 19 866 500 15 742 017 10 427 884 13 896 563 10 508 941 73 406 491 772 170 482 174,00 157,00 99,00 33,30 24 000,00 98,75 15 000,00 35,80 568,00 2,98 35 400,00 255,00 154,00 79,50 212,00 26,00 56,75 1,37 5,56 18,70 253,00 168,00 18 850,00 44 900,00 NOK NOK NOK NOK KRW SEK KRW SEK JPY GBP KRW NOK NOK NOK NOK NOK NOK EUR EUR NOK CHF NOK KRW DKK 165 300 000 144 440 000 94 906 350 59 940 000 55 277 280 54 190 035 51 822 450 50 798 008 50 170 557 49 141 898 40 766 994 37 980 068 36 966 930 36 625 173 29 680 000 27 144 000 27 143 525 25 880 578 23 129 253 20 570 000 20 262 905 17 486 280 16 280 886 14 916 732 110 248 792 1 261 068 694 72 340 435 103 378 887 13 087 001 12 468 113 29 912 670 24 796 979 21 840 329 21 402 090 11 305 712 10 755 747 28 981 352 23 381 110 28 188 184 -2 677 032 23 577 285 10 013 648 -9 162 040 8 176 406 1 214 135 703 500 4 520 889 7 058 396 2 384 324 4 407 791 36 842 301 488 898 212 2,90 % 2,53 % 1,66 % 1,05 % 0,97 % 0,95 % 0,91 % 0,89 % 0,88 % 0,86 % 0,71 % 0,67 % 0,65 % 0,64 % 0,52 % 0,48 % 0,48 % 0,45 % 0,41 % 0,36 % 0,35 % 0,31 % 0,29 % 0,26 % 1,93 % 22,09 % 1,52 % 2,50 % 3,20 % 1,01 % 0,56 % 2,22 % 0,58 % 3,55 % 0,23 % 0,19 % 2,00 % 11,69 % 4,08 % 3,72 % 0,43 % 4,23 % 1,10 % 1,70 % 0,60 % 7,41 % 1,06 % 0,60 % 0,21 % 0,01 % Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Korea Stockholm Korea Stockholm Tokyo London Korea Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Milano Helsinki Oslo Børs Zürich Unotert Korea København 950 615 2 750 000 1 286 700 239 000 590 000 150 000 32 022 110 000 517 940 53 694 099 47 287 622 40 425 051 27 457 379 22 808 062 35 465 993 19 984 619 12 305 514 21 409 178 13 391 864 294 229 381 55,00 1,52 33,50 172,00 57,75 24,41 850,00 5 380,00 6 000,00 NOK GBP NOK NOK NOK EUR NOK HUF KRW 52 283 825 48 676 936 43 104 450 41 108 000 34 072 500 30 161 606 27 218 700 19 830 330 17 893 947 16 759 070 331 109 364 -1 410 274 1 389 314 2 679 399 13 650 621 11 264 438 -5 304 387 7 234 081 7 524 816 -3 515 232 3 367 206 36 879 983 0,92 % 0,85 % 0,75 % 0,72 % 0,60 % 0,53 % 0,48 % 0,35 % 0,31 % 0,29 % 5,80 % 8,14 % 0,14 % 5,36 % 0,35 % 1,84 % 0,14 % 2,75 % 1,33 % 0,43 % Unotert London Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Oslo Børs Frankfurt Unotert Budapest Korea 652 500 1 825 200 117 200 430 000 277 000 2 800 465 426 127 475 442 45 275 859 19 254 228 22 625 863 19 844 617 4 728 875 16 731 659 57 353 600 313 290 143 20,30 36,60 245,00 56,00 11,10 1 030,25 2,72 EUR NOK DKK NOK USD USD GBP 109 111 866 66 802 320 31 797 998 24 080 000 18 552 577 17 406 127 14 742 342 57 985 110 340 478 341 -18 363 576 21 526 461 12 543 770 1 454 137 -1 292 040 12 677 252 -1 989 317 631 510 27 188 198 1,91 % 1,17 % 0,56 % 0,42 % 0,32 % 0,30 % 0,26 % 1,02 % 5,96 % 1,89 % 5,32 % 2,28 % 0,54 % 0,51 % 0,22 % 0,03 % Amsterdam Oslo Børs København Oslo Børs New York AMEX London 75 000 250 000 950 300 600 000 26 106 266 44 580 178 22 068 384 20 637 642 82 757 373 196 149 844 643,00 27,01 29,30 2,44 DKK USD NOK GBP 53 404 558 40 744 227 27 843 790 17 048 573 83 455 180 222 496 328 27 298 292 -3 835 951 5 775 406 -3 589 069 697 807 26 346 484 0,94 % 0,71 % 0,49 % 0,30 % 1,46 % 3,90 % 0,81 % 0,00 % 1,96 % 1,24 % København New York Oslo Børs London 550 000 416 667 210 000 100 000 776 300 1 545 000 243 600 150 000 400 000 2 000 000 103 422 890 83 408 420 37 405 845 24 529 284 14 680 228 19 777 305 25 049 406 16 240 247 22 077 360 8 518 890 69 331 871 424 441 745 339,00 28,75 406,00 66,50 70,75 4 695,00 25,01 24,38 7,18 7,39 NOK EUR NOK EUR SEK KRW USD EUR EUR NOK 186 450 000 98 678 464 85 260 000 54 779 375 50 165 880 41 767 599 36 761 436 30 124 538 23 658 100 14 780 000 58 830 852 681 256 243 83 027 110 15 270 045 47 854 155 30 250 091 35 485 651 21 990 295 11 712 030 13 884 291 1 580 740 6 261 109 -10 501 020 256 814 498 3,27 % 1,73 % 1,49 % 0,96 % 0,88 % 0,73 % 0,64 % 0,53 % 0,41 % 0,26 % 1,03 % 11,93 % 5,64 % 0,35 % 1,96 % 0,07 % 0,36 % 1,41 % 0,10 % 0,39 % 0,51 % 0,75 % Oslo Børs Frankfurt Oslo Børs Wien Stockholm Korea New York Frankfurt Helsinki Oslo Børs 70 000 100 000 120 000 1 000 100 3 505 900 205 280 1 000 000 1 600 000 804 000 40 000 2 600 077 303 950 27 597 220 52 366 563 86 707 798 13 314 314 65 521 679 21 556 895 31 980 538 22 681 592 14 871 273 33 644 757 7 921 890 16 010 740 68 549 647 462 724 908 216,50 144,00 7 890,00 52,75 14,50 27,25 5,42 16,20 28,50 76,55 6,50 6,02 USD USD JPY NOK NOK USD USD NOK NOK USD NOK EUR 91 444 467 86 888 837 55 752 914 52 755 275 50 835 550 33 753 175 32 703 993 25 920 000 22 914 000 18 475 946 16 900 500 15 072 805 59 658 781 563 076 242 63 847 247 34 522 274 -30 954 884 39 440 961 -14 686 129 12 196 280 723 454 3 238 408 8 042 727 -15 168 812 8 978 611 -937 935 -8 890 866 100 351 335 1,60 % 1,52 % 0,98 % 0,92 % 0,89 % 0,59 % 0,57 % 0,45 % 0,40 % 0,32 % 0,30 % 0,26 % 1,04 % 9,86 % 0,02 % 0,22 % 0,06 % 1,63 % 2,84 % 0,11 % 0,03 % 3,16 % 3,50 % 0,02 % 6,11 % 1,75 % London Int. London Int. Tokyo Oslo Børs Oslo Børs London Int. NASDAQ Oslo Børs Oslo Børs New York Unotert Helsinki 725 000 210 000 2 000 000 796 000 40 385 359 44 242 459 8 863 830 13 775 250 29 178 473 136 445 372 20,78 231,75 3,54 22,90 USD DKK USD NOK 90 904 428 53 894 584 42 720 345 18 228 400 36 234 014 241 981 771 50 519 069 9 652 125 33 856 515 4 453 150 7 055 541 105 536 400 1,59 % 0,94 % 0,75 % 0,32 % 0,63 % 4,24 % 0,14 % 0,10 % 0,42 % 2,91 % New York København Singapore Oslo Børs 600 000 43 312 282 1 461 299 44 773 581 4 034 930 693 39,20 BRL 53 479 259 1 639 975 55 119 233 5 696 053 047 15 445 402 5 711 498 449 10 166 977 178 675 10 345 652 1 661 122 354 0,94 % 0,03 % 0,97 % 99,76 % 0,24 % 100,00 % 0,11 % Sao Paulo Number 704.9854 Corrency 30 Back to page one 31 SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Like our two other equity funds, SKAGEN Vekst and SKAGEN Global, SKAGEN Kon-Tiki has as its overall objective to achieve the highest possible return with the lowest possible risk. The fund will invest at least 50% of its assets in so-called emerging markets. These are markets that are not included in the Morgan Stanley World Index. They are: Eastern Europe, Turkey, Africa, Asia (except Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong) as well as all of Latin America including Mexico. Following from our requirement to have a reasonable industry balance, 50% of the fund’s assets may be invested in markets that are included in the Morgan Stanley World Index. However, the condition is that these companies must be registered in and/or have emerging markets as their primary business area. SKAGEN Kon-Tiki is a company oriented fund focusing on geographical areas with high growth and companies with low valuations. Like our other equity funds, the focus of the investments of the SKAGEN Kon-Tiki fund is directed at individual companies, independent of markets and industries. A balanced industry exposure is sought, however. This fund does also have strong cash flow and/or low gearing as important choice criteria for investment objects. Likewise, the three “SKAGEN U’s”: Undervalued, Under-analysed and Unpopular. SKAGEN Kon-Tiki is suitable for an investor who wants to benefit from the value creation taking place in the world’s emerging markets. The fund offers the opportunity of extraordinary returns by investing in geographic areas with huge growth potential. But at a higher risk that with a global/ Norwegian equity fund. Fund start date Return since start 5th April 2002 Average annual return S&P’s quantitative rating Net asset value Number of unit holders Subscription fee Redemption fee Management fee Minimum subscription amount Tax schemes Authorised for marketing in Benchmark UCITS fund Portfolio Manager 88.49 % 26.00 % AA 3,227 MNOK 16,259 0.0 – 0.7 % (dependent on amount) 0% 2.5% p.a. plus/minus variable management fee One-time subscription NOK 1,000, savings agreement NOK 250 IPA, Unit Link Norway, Sweden and Denmark MSCI Daily Net $ World Index measured in NOK Yes J. Kristoffer C. Stensrud Year Net asset value* Number of unitholders Total cost 3 227 1 711 250 16 259 9 835 4 190 4,00 % 4,00 % 4,00 % (until 31st Dec 2004) 2004 2003 2002 Return on Benchmark investment 32,35 % 102,93 % -29,82 % 14,33 % 50,41 % -33,41 % NAV SKAGEN Kon-Tiki *MNOK **The figures for SKAGEN Kon-Tiki are from start-up on 05.04.2002 until 31.12.2002. 200 180 160 140 Historic development Annual return 120 % SKAGEN Kon-Tiki World Index (NOK) 20% annual geometrie return 100 % 80 % 120 60 % 100 40 % 20 % 80 0% -20 % 60 april juli okt jan april juli okt jan april juli okt 2002 2002 2002 2003 2003 2003 2003 2004 2004 2004 2004 Sector distribution SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Sector distribution SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Cash Interest bearing instruments Utilities Telecom Information Technology Financials Healt Care Consumer staples Consumer discretionary Industials Raw materials Energy 0% 4,1 % 0,9 % 6,1 % 8,7 % 8,4 % 12,1% 5,8 % 6,8% 9,0 % 14,5 % 13,2 % 10,5 % 2% 4% 6% 8% 10 % 12 % 14 % 16 % % of net assets under management 18 % 20 % -40 % *2002 2003 2004 *) Fund was established during the year Geographical distribution SKAGEN Kon-Tiki g p Cash 4,1 % South America Periphery EU 2,1 % Oceania 0,1 % Norway 3,4 % North America 1,8 % Core EU 6,1 % Japan 0,2 % EMEA 11,7 % Asia excl. Japan 0% 5% 10 % 15 % 25,7 % 20 % 25 % 30 % 35 % % of net assets under management 40 % 44,7 % 45 % 50 % Back to page one SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Note 8. Securities portfolio as of 31st December 2004. Marketsvalue NOK Unrealised profit/loss Persented distribution Share in company USD HKD USD 191 221 389 101 887 500 42 390 452 3 788 779 339 288 120 26 523 843 -25 864 614 670 526 435 436 1 765 191 5,91 % 3,15 % 1,31 % 0,12 % 10,49 % 0,19 % 3,58 % 0,25 % New York Hong Kong New York 16,20 56,40 131,00 24,38 3,55 11,21 6,00 USD MXN NOK USD USD GBP NOK 132 726 316 115 267 500 48 895 750 42 916 114 34 532 376 33 955 090 10 200 000 6 950 010 425 443 157 31 535 748 66 883 936 288 397 16 101 724 1 673 241 576 992 2 449 732 -8 163 097 111 346 671 4,10 % 3,56 % 1,51 % 1,33 % 1,07 % 1,05 % 0,32 % 0,21 % 13,15 % 1,57 % 0,43 % 0,28 % 0,07 % 0,96 % 0,13 % 1,23 % New York Mexico Oslo Børs New York Istanbul London Oslo Børs 131 339 620 35 791 117 45 839 827 11 373 969 19 950 054 13 720 869 16 108 236 15 466 166 8 479 644 2 957 980 2 935 790 303 963 272 15 000,00 24 000,00 18 850,00 174,00 269,50 20,52 44,36 1,51 43,90 35 400,00 KRW KRW KRW NOK NOK USD USD HKD EUR KRW 226 970 007 84 523 774 51 588 116 21 750 000 16 170 000 15 914 986 13 624 819 11 778 000 10 909 483 10 389 900 6 910 240 470 529 325 95 630 387 48 732 657 5 748 290 10 376 031 -3 780 054 2 194 117 -2 483 417 -3 688 166 2 429 839 7 431 920 3 974 450 166 566 053 7,01 % 2,61 % 1,59 % 0,67 % 0,50 % 0,49 % 0,42 % 0,36 % 0,34 % 0,32 % 0,21 % 14,54 % 2,50 % 0,84 % 0,65 % 0,20 % 0,08 % 0,17 % 0,07 % 0,48 % 0,41 % 0,50 % Korea Korea Korea Oslo Børs Oslo Børs New York New York Hong Kong Brüssels Korea 1 180 000 8 100 731 2 000 000 105 000 100 000 500 000 44 225 063 53 425 333 88 695 747 12 816 589 11 483 516 9 242 005 8 483 080 228 371 333 12,58 11,15 6 000,00 37,24 5 380,00 2,32 USD HKD KRW USD HUF EUR 90 105 508 70 452 058 70 440 000 23 734 914 18 049 900 9 552 600 10 051 511 292 386 491 45 880 445 17 026 725 -18 255 747 10 918 325 6 566 384 310 595 1 568 431 64 015 157 2,78 % 2,18 % 2,18 % 0,73 % 0,56 % 0,30 % 0,31 % 9,04 % 1,02 % 0,34 % 1,66 % 0,18 % 1,21 % 0,07 % London Int. Hong Kong Korea New York Budapest London Consumer staples YATZICILAR HOLDINGS PIVOVARNA LASKO PODRAVKA BRYGGERIGRUPPEN AARHUS UNITED A/S UNITED INTL ENTERPRISES Total Consumer staples 532 554 216 414 145 903 47 800 30 000 60 000 58 687 027 54 985 522 29 647 551 16 380 705 9 795 808 8 509 583 178 006 195 23,10 7 149,00 239,00 381,00 560,00 245,00 USD SIT HRK DKK DKK DKK 74 673 124 53 221 743 37 590 741 20 169 568 18 606 000 16 280 250 220 541 426 15 986 098 -1 763 779 7 943 190 3 788 863 8 810 192 7 770 667 42 535 232 2,31 % 1,64 % 1,16 % 0,62 % 0,58 % 0,50 % 6,82 % 2,60 % 2,47 % 2,79 % 0,73 % 0,75 % 1,17 % Istanbul Ljubljana Zagreb København København København Health Care HANMI PHARMACEUTICAL CO LTD GIDEON RICHTER LG LIFE SCIENCES GIDEON RICHTER GDR Total Health Care 235 445 70 000 150 000 38 790 38 255 104 52 900,00 51 097 655 22 700,00 25 272 468 35 300,00 26 496 379 124,00 141 121 605 KRW HUF KRW USD 73 111 069 53 310 950 31 081 650 29 196 457 186 700 126 34 855 965 2 213 295 5 809 182 2 700 078 45 578 521 2,26 % 1,65 % 0,96 % 0,90 % 5,77 % 3,12 % 0,38 % 0,90 % 0,21 % Korea Budapest Seol London Int. 71 652 328 39 326 637 41 542 406 22 143 566 26 549 877 28 674 947 3 846 269 10 807 330 3 764 023 248 307 382 66,50 14,12 28,85 4 695,00 5 370,00 3,16 30,10 0,33 EUR USD EUR KRW KRW USD USD GBP 131 430 600 85 708 400 43 952 254 42 579 659 39 402 375 24 935 560 9 135 350 9 034 575 3 639 847 389 818 620 59 778 272 46 381 763 2 409 848 20 436 093 12 852 498 -3 739 387 5 289 081 -1 772 755 -124 176 141 511 238 4,06 % 2,65 % 1,36 % 1,32 % 1,22 % 0,77 % 0,28 % 0,28 % 0,11 % 12,05 % 0,16 % 2,24 % 0,15 % 1,41 % 0,66 % 0,17 % 0,02 % 0,64 % Wien New York Frankfurt Korea Korea London Int. Bombay London 171 704 421 145,00 34 362 594 298 500,00 10 230 319 1 480,00 6 159 388 222 456 722 USD KRW HRK 206 835 250 35 043 900 23 931 600 4 914 000 270 724 750 35 130 829 681 306 13 701 281 -1 245 388 48 268 028 6,39 % 1,08 % 0,74 % 0,15 % 8,37 % 0,51 % 0,09 % 1,13 % London Int. Korea Zagreb 5 100 000 3 000 000 300 800 94 155 827 22 998 142 29 858 587 2 718 037 149 730 594 5,00 3,54 31,18 USD USD USD 154 785 000 64 463 400 56 930 190 4 506 975 280 685 565 60 629 173 41 465 258 27 071 603 1 788 938 130 954 971 4,78 % 1,99 % 1,76 % 0,14 % 8,68 % 0,28 % 0,63 % 0,28 % London Int. Singapore New York Utilities ELETROBRAS PREFERED UNIFIED ENERGY SYSTEMS REG GDR Total Utilities 1 962 700 125 000 165 903 763 27 431 493 193 335 257 39,20 28,40 BRL USD 175 802 964 21 548 500 197 351 464 9 899 201 -5 882 993 4 016 208 5,43 % 0,67 % 6,10 % 0,37 % 0,03 % Sao Paulo London Int. Interest bearing instruments ARGENTINSK STAT Total Interest bearing instruments 15 000 000 32 444 576 32 444 576 33,25 USD 30 274 125 30 274 125 -2 170 451 -2 170 451 0,94 % 0,94 % 0,05 % OTC 3 103 743 170 122 923 854 3 226 667 024 754 386 820 95,93 % 4,07 % 100,00 % Security Energy PETROBRAS PREF. ADR CHINA OILFIELD SERVICES PRIDE INTERNATIONAL MINOR ITTEMS Total Energy Raw materials VOTORANTIM CELLULOSE ADR GRUPO MEXICO SA B NORSKE SKOGINDUSTRIER VALE RIO DEL DOCE ADR PREF AKCANSA CIMENTO ANTOFAGASTA CREW GOLD CORPORATION MINOR ITTEMS Total Raw materials Industrials HYUNDAI MERCHANT MARINE HANJIN SHIPPING KOREAN AIR CO. LTD. STOLT-NIELSEN FRONTLINE SHIP FINANCE INTL FRONTLINE LTD IDT INTERNATIONAL EXMAR KOREA LINE MINOR ITTEMS Total Industrials Consumer discretionary MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LTD GDR SHANGRI-LA ASIA SSANGYONG MOTOR CO. GRUPO ELEKTRA ADR DANUBIUS HOTELS INDEPENDENT NEWS & MEDIA MINOR ITTEMS Total Consumer discretionary Financials BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT BANCOLOMBIA HANNOVER RUECKVERSICHERUNG KOREAN REINSURANCE DAEWOO SECURITIES YAPI KREDI BANK STATE BANK OF INDIA SVB HOLDINGS MINOR ITTEMS Total Financials Information Technology SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS PREF. GDR SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS PREF. ERICSSON NIKOLA TESLA MINOR ITTEMS Total Information Technology Telecom BHARTI TELEVENTURES PART.CERT. SSB TOTAL ACCESS TELECOMMUNICATION INDOSAT ADR MINOR ITTEMS Total Telecom Total equity portfolio Dispoable liquidity Total share capital Basis price pr. 31.12.04 Acqyisition value NOK Marketsprice 870 000 55 000 000 340 000 164 697 546 127 752 114 41 719 926 3 353 343 337 522 929 36,21 2,37 20,54 1 349 750 3 750 000 373 250 290 000 1 602 542 260 000 1 700 000 101 190 568 48 383 564 48 607 353 26 814 390 32 859 135 33 378 098 7 750 268 15 113 107 314 096 485 2 577 740 599 970 466 230 125 000 60 000 127 773 50 600 10 000 000 30 177 50 000 Number 240 000 1 000 000 185 000 1 545 000 1 250 000 1 300 000 50 000 2 350 000 235 000 20 000 15 000 2 349 356 350 188.4873 Corrency Stcokexchange 32 Back to page one SKAGEN Høyrente SKAGEN Høyrente is a good alternative to a high interest account in a bank. The fund has low costs, which contributes to higher returns for the fund’s unit holders. The return follows the money market interest rates, which are normally higher than the best interest rates on offer in the bank market. Saving in SKAGEN Høyrente is suitable for investors with a short time horizon for their savings, and for investors with a longer investment horizon who want minimum risk. SKAGEN Høyrente is a money market fund that invests in certificates and bonds with a remaining duration of less than one year, as well as bank deposits. The fund only lends money to the safest issuers in the banking, power generation and manufacturing sectors. The fund seeks to provide the best possible return in the shortest end of the interest market. The fund has an international investment mandate, but has so far only been invested in Norway. The fund may be compared with a high interest account in a bank, but since the money is invested in securities where the rates are determined by the market, the value of these securities may fluctuate somewhat. Fund start date Return since start 18th September 1998 42.18 % 5.75 % (until 31st Dec 2004) Average annual return S&P’s quantitative rating ✪✪✪✪ 1,174 MNOK 5,086 0% 0% 0.3 % p.a. One-time subscription NOK 1,000, savings agreement NOK 1,000 IPA, Unit Link Norway Oslo Stock Exchange State Bond Index 0.5 No Ross Porter (Only valid for Norwegian market) Net asset value Number of unit holders Subscription fee Redemption fee Management fee Minimum subscription amount Tax schemes Authorised for marketing in Benchmark UCITS fund Portfolio Manager Year Return on investment 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998** 2,08 % 4,23 % 6,86 % 7,54 % 6,17 % 6,59 % 2,16 % Benchmark Net asset value* Number of unitholders 1 174 661 517 206 114 73 20 5086 3741 2498 1263 707 273 64 2,17 % 4,92 % 6,77 % 7,57 % 6,04 % 6,29 % 2,00 % *MNOK **The fund was established during the year Historic price development SKAGEN Høyrente Oslo Stock Exchange State Bond Index 0.5 NAV SKAGEN Høyrente 150 140 130 120 110 100 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Annual return 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0% 1998* 1999 *) The fund was established during the year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 33 34 Back to page one SKAGEN Høyrente Note 8. Securities portfolio as of 31st December 2004. Security Maturity Interest adjustment Coupon point Face value Cost price Effective Inerest Interest rate sensitivity** Market price Accrued interest Market value Market value incl. accrued interest Unrealised gain/loss Share of the fund FLOATING RATE SECURITIES Financial BLAKER SPAREBANK SPAREBANKEN NORD-NORGE ANKENES SPAREBANK ENTER CARD AS FINANSBANKEN ASA HELGELAND SPAREBANK HØNEFOSS SPAREBANK HOLLA SPAREBANK HARSTAD SPAREBANK HAUGESUND SPAREBANK KLEPP SPAREBANK KRAGERØ SPAREBANK KVINNHERAD SPAREBANK MELHUS SPAREBANK NORDLANDSBANKEN PRIVATBANKEN SR BANK SAUDA SPAREBANK SPAREBANKEN OST SPAREBANKEN RANA SOKNEDAL SPAREBANK 18-05-05 27-04-05 17-06-05 24-01-05 27-09-05 23-02-05 12-08-05 28-02-05 01-03-05 02-03-05 06-04-05 10-02-05 02-02-05 19-01-05 29-03-05 24-08-05 21-09-05 16-03-05 14-12-05 17-01-05 14-06-05 2,26 % 3,40 % 2,26 % 2,61 % 3,36 % 2,08 % 2,30 % 2,27 % 2,06 % 3,48 % 2,12 % 2,19 % 2,19 % 2,21 % 3,39 % 2,24 % 3,29 % 2,29 % 3,24 % 2,22 % 2,31 % 15-02-05 27-01-05 21-03-05 24-01-05 29-03-05 23-02-05 14-02-05 28-02-05 01-03-05 02-03-05 06-01-05 10-02-05 02-02-05 19-01-05 29-03-05 24-02-05 16-03-05 16-03-05 14-03-05 17-01-05 14-03-05 22 000 000 18 500 000 23 000 000 17 000 000 5 000 000 30 000 000 15 000 000 10 000 000 6 000 000 3 500 000 35 000 000 10 000 000 25 000 000 25 000 000 5 000 000 30 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 15 000 000 27 000 000 5 000 000 22 019 032 18 601 400 23 023 000 17 021 800 5 036 700 29 943 890 15 019 200 10 018 000 5 999 400 3 517 500 34 996 200 10 000 000 24 995 000 25 005 625 5 024 650 29 988 410 10 085 940 5 002 835 15 125 350 27 015 165 5 005 425 2,04 2,27 2,06 2,04 2,30 2,06 2,05 2,04 2,04 2,48 2,00 2,03 2,02 2,01 2,22 2,16 2,27 2,05 2,27 1,93 2,06 0,20 0,17 0,16 0,16 0,17 0,14 0,12 0,20 0,23 0,25 0,18 0,25 0,22 0,11 0,17 0,21 0,09 0,23 0,15 0,20 0,25 100,09 % 100,35 % 100,10 % 100,03 % 100,77 % 100,00 % 100,14 % 100,03 % 100,01 % 100,18 % 99,99 % 100,01 % 100,01 % 100,00 % 100,30 % 100,06 % 100,73 % 100,06 % 100,91 % 100,00 % 100,12 % 63 531 113 569 15 883 82 577 1 867 65 867 46 958 20 178 10 300 9 812 177 256 31 025 89 729 112 035 942 69 067 14 622 5 089 22 950 123 210 5 454 22 019 360 18 564 380 23 022 310 17 004 420 5 038 750 29 999 700 15 021 300 10 003 200 6 000 600 3 506 195 34 996 500 10 001 100 25 001 750 25 000 000 5 014 800 30 019 200 10 073 200 5 002 900 15 136 650 27 000 810 5 006 000 22 082 891 18 677 949 23 038 193 17 086 997 5 040 617 30 065 567 15 068 258 10 023 378 6 010 900 3 516 007 35 173 756 10 032 125 25 091 479 25 112 035 5 015 742 30 088 267 10 087 822 5 007 989 15 159 600 27 124 020 5 011 454 328 -37 020 -690 -17 380 2 050 55 810 2 100 -14 800 1 200 -11 305 300 1 100 6 750 -5 625 -9 850 30 790 -12 740 65 11 300 -14 355 575 1,91 % 1,62 % 2,00 % 1,48 % 0,44 % 2,61 % 1,31 % 0,87 % 0,52 % 0,30 % 3,05 % 0,87 % 2,18 % 2,18 % 0,43 % 2,61 % 0,87 % 0,43 % 1,31 % 2,35 % 0,43 % Industrial STEEN & STRØM WILH WILHELMSEN LTD WILH WILHELMSEN LTD ENTRA EIENDOM 30-09-05 10-02-05 11-04-05 01-07-05 2,23 % 2,46 % 2,74 % 2,10 % 30-03-05 10-02-05 11-01-05 03-01-05 25 000 000 60 000 000 20 000 000 35 000 000 25 000 000 60 053 500 20 070 000 35 000 400 2,10 2,15 2,18 2,02 0,25 0,18 0,22 0,23 100,14 % 100,03 % 100,14 % 100,01 % 1 549 209 100 123 300 185 792 25 035 000 60 016 200 20 028 800 35 003 850 25 036 549 60 225 300 20 152 100 35 189 642 35 000 -37 300 -41 200 3 450 2,17 % 5,22 % 1,75 % 3,05 % Power generation HAFSLUND ASA VARDAR 21-09-05 14-02-05 2,79 % 2,25 % 16-03-05 14-02-05 40 000 000 45 000 000 40 221 773 45 009 730 2,09 2,04 0,19 0,11 100,51 % 100,02 % 49 600 129 375 40 203 200 45 008 550 40 252 800 45 137 925 -18 573 -1 180 3,49 % 3,91 % Financial NORDLANDSBANKEN SPAREBANKEN NORD NORGE SPAREBANKEN RANA VOSS VEKSEL OG LANDMANDSBANK 29-03-05 29-06-05 09-02-05 14-02-05 8,05 % 8,38 % 2,25 % 2,20 % 21 500 000 3 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 22 003 100 3 124 500 10 000 000 5 000 270 2,26 2,34 2,03 2,03 0,26 0,53 0,11 0,12 101,36 % 102,90 % 100,02 % 100,02 % 1 313 473 127 422 88 767 42 192 21 792 400 3 087 060 10 002 100 5 000 900 23 105 873 3 214 482 10 090 867 5 043 092 -210 700 -37 440 2 100 630 2,00 % 0,28 % 0,87 % 0,44 % Industrial DNO ASA DNO ASA KONGSBERGGRUPPEN KONGSBERGGRUPPEN KONGSBERGGRUPPEN NORGESGRUPPEN NORSK KJOTT OCEAN RIG REITAN HANDEL SMEDVIG ASA SMEDVIG ASA STEEN & STRØM 03-05-05 03-11-05 20-01-05 07-03-05 18-01-05 04-02-05 28-01-05 25-05-05 19-01-05 22-03-05 24-02-05 10-03-05 5,04 % 5,20 % 2,02 % 2,15 % 2,16 % 2,13 % 2,12 % 11,00 % 2,24 % 2,30 % 2,30 % 2,15 % 15 000 000 5 000 000 15 000 000 20 000 000 10 000 000 60 000 000 20 000 000 8 000 000 25 000 000 40 000 000 20 000 000 20 000 000 15 000 000 5 000 000 14 993 100 19 998 740 9 999 420 60 005 340 19 997 520 8 142 068 25 000 000 39 999 040 19 999 000 20 000 500 5,08 5,18 2,02 2,05 2,02 2,03 2,03 6,82 2,02 2,27 2,26 2,11 0,34 0,84 0,06 0,18 0,05 0,09 0,08 0,43 0,05 0,22 0,15 0,19 100,00 % 100,00 % 100,00 % 100,02 % 100,01 % 100,01 % 100,01 % 101,50 % 100,01 % 100,01 % 100,01 % 100,01 % 120 132 41 315 84 674 65 973 43 792 304 619 73 184 530 411 253 151 22 685 46 630 24 740 15 000 000 5 000 000 14 999 700 20 003 800 10 000 600 60 004 800 20 001 200 8 119 920 25 002 000 40 003 600 20 001 600 20 002 200 15 120 132 5 041 315 15 084 374 20 069 773 10 044 392 60 309 419 20 074 384 8 650 331 25 255 151 40 026 285 20 048 230 20 026 940 0 0 6 600 5 060 1 180 -540 3 680 -22 148 2 000 4 560 2 600 1 700 1,31 % 0,44 % 1,31 % 1,74 % 0,87 % 5,23 % 1,74 % 0,75 % 2,19 % 3,47 % 1,74 % 1,74 % Power generation FREDRIKSTAD ENERGI HAFSLUND ASA ISTAD KRAFT SOGN OG FJORDANE ENERGI SUNNHORDALAND KRAFT TAFJORD KRAFT TAFJORD KRAFT TUSSA KRAFT VALDRES ENERGIVERK VESTNES ENERGI 16-03-05 17-01-05 28-02-05 10-05-05 17-01-05 20-01-05 18-03-05 23-03-05 04-02-05 17-01-05 2,13 % 2,10 % 2,21 % 2,08 % 1,95 % 2,10 % 2,05 % 2,00 % 2,46 % 2,20 % 60 000 000 25 000 000 30 000 000 15 000 000 20 000 000 36 000 000 30 000 000 25 000 000 4 000 000 7 000 000 60 000 720 24 999 600 30 003 690 14 998 140 19 998 840 36 000 828 29 992 500 24 992 590 4 002 104 6 999 650 2,06 2,02 2,05 2,10 2,02 2,02 2,06 2,06 2,03 2,07 0,21 0,05 0,16 0,36 0,05 0,06 0,21 0,23 0,09 0,05 100,02 % 100,00 % 100,03 % 100,00 % 100,00 % 100,00 % 100,00 % 99,99 % 100,04 % 100,00 % 52 521 110 753 56 310 11 967 16 027 149 129 156 699 135 616 15 367 32 488 60 010 200 25 000 500 30 008 100 14 999 700 19 999 400 36 001 080 29 999 400 24 996 500 4 001 600 7 000 350 60 062 721 25 111 253 30 064 410 15 011 667 20 015 427 36 150 209 30 156 099 25 132 116 4 016 967 7 032 838 9 480 900 4 410 1 560 560 252 6 900 3 910 -504 700 5,21 % 2,18 % 2,61 % 1,30 % 1,74 % 3,13 % 2,61 % 2,18 % 0,35 % 0,61 % NOTES Total securities portfolio Disposable liquidity 1 118 051 185 TOTAL Portfolio key figures Effective underlying return Effective return to clients* Interest rate sensitivity** 1 117 767 435 56 278 162 1 123 468 109 56 278 162 5 700 674 1 174 045 597 1 179 746 271 2.22 % 1.92 % 0.13 * Effective underlying return adjusted for management fee ** Interest rate sensitivity is a simplified expression of how much the price of the security will change if the interest rate changes by 1 percentage point All securities are traded on the Norwegian market Effective interest is the average annual return on an interest bearing security until maturity Share price as of 31.12.2004 5 700 674 103.1182 -283 750 -283 750 97,40 % 2,60 % 100,00 % Back to page one SKAGEN Avkastning SKAGEN Avkastning is a bond fund which only invests in issues with low default risk, i.e. government bonds, government guaranteed loans, loans to financial institutions and bank deposits. The fund has an international investment mandate, which in reality is not used very much. The investments are primarily made in Norway. By balancing investments between interest bearing securities with short and long maturities, the fund should over a period of six months seek to achieve the best possible return in the fixed income market. The starting point is that the fund should only assume interest risk if this is expected to provide a reasonable excess return compared to risk free investments. This entails, for example, that the fund, during periods when the interest level is expected to increase more than what is discounted by the market, may have a duration (the remaining time to maturity for the loans) much like a money market fund. We limit the price risk for unitholders when we regard this as necessary. This flexibility makes SKAGEN Avkastning a good alternative for investors who do not wish, or do not have the resources, to monitor the fixed income markets all the time for active allocation of their interest bearing assets. Fund start date Return since start 16th September 1994 104.10 % 7.17 % (until 31st Dec 2004) Average annual return S&P’s quantitative rating ✪✪✪ 575 MNOK 2,363 0% 0% 0.5 % p.a. One-time subscription NOK 1,000, savings agreement NOK 1,000 IPA, Unit Link Norway, Sweden and Denmark Oslo Stock Exchange ST4X Bond Index Yes Ross Porter (Only valid for Norwegian market) Net asset value Number of unit holders Subscription fee Redemption fee Management fee Minimum subscription amount Tax schemes Authorised for marketing in Benchmark UCITS fund Portfolio Manager Year 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 ** Return on investment Benchmark 5,72 % 6,15 % 6,74 % 6,17 % 6,06 % 4,57 % 3,63 % 3,66 % 9,77 % 16,11 % 5,71 % 5,49 % 11,13 % 8,10 % 7,65 % 4,55 % 5,49 % 2,86 % 6,05 % 8,73 % 14,07 % 5,53 % Net asset value* Number of unitholders 575 144 120 60 38 36 21 72 60 34 5 2 363 937 568 343 261 194 154 185 131 54 18 *MNOK **The fund was established during the year Annual return 18 % 16 % 14 % 12 % 10 % 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 1994* 1995 1996 1997 *) The fund was established during the year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 35 36 Back to page one SKAGEN Avkastning Note 8. Securities portfolio as of 31st December 2004. Security Maturity Interest adjustment Coupon point Interest rate sensitivity** Market price Accrued interest Market value incl. accrued Unrealised interest gain/loss Face value Cost price Effective Inerest Market value Share of the fund 10 000 000 5 000 000 9 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 10 000 000 16 000 000 5 000 000 30 000 000 10 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 6 000 000 5 000 000 15 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 13 000 000 5 000 000 20 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 6 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 10 000 000 4 000 000 7 500 000 3 000 000 15 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 15 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 9 996 000 5 010 500 9 031 500 10 007 690 4 998 500 4 999 000 10 011 000 16 046 400 5 000 000 30 150 500 10 000 000 10 028 000 4 995 500 10 058 000 5 004 500 5 997 000 5 008 000 14 994 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 13 021 600 5 003 100 20 000 000 10 000 000 4 992 500 6 000 000 9 999 220 5 000 000 10 020 600 3 995 600 7 623 300 2 999 100 15 026 000 4 994 000 4 997 000 10 035 000 5 008 500 4 994 500 15 051 000 10 241 000 5 000 000 4 995 500 2,10 2,13 2,11 2,03 2,10 2,11 2,14 2,11 2,06 2,09 2,11 2,08 2,09 2,10 2,09 2,11 2,06 2,22 2,06 2,10 2,11 2,05 2,49 1,96 2,30 2,11 2,06 2,12 2,10 2,01 2,12 2,05 2,17 2,08 2,11 2,11 2,14 2,03 2,11 2,06 2,06 2,01 0,33 0,17 0,08 0,25 0,10 0,22 0,12 0,11 0,16 0,07 0,25 0,25 0,15 0,14 0,23 0,13 0,03 0,20 0,25 0,20 0,22 0,09 0,25 0,23 0,24 0,15 0,25 0,09 0,25 0,07 0,16 0,20 0,11 0,24 0,04 0,25 0,13 0,20 0,24 0,01 100,34 % 100,52 % 99,88 % 100,08 % 100,52 % 100,38 % 100,35 % 100,33 % 100,10 % 100,45 % 100,40 % 100,37 % 100,42 % 100,60 % 100,24 % 100,34 % 100,13 % 99,57 % 100,10 % 100,16 % 100,31 % 100,07 % 100,13 % 100,85 % 100,03 % 100,31 % 100,02 % 100,38 % 100,28 % 100,19 % 101,96 % 100,10 % 100,32 % 100,30 % 100,37 % 100,29 % 100,05 % 100,03 % 100,33 % 101,88 % 100,28 % 99,99 % 48 553 10 311 0 28 494 20 737 5 222 57 633 16 782 5 360 20 800 10 311 44 481 9 264 44 550 10 089 26 743 9 867 81 521 8 828 4 833 13 520 11 357 5 578 9 511 14 056 6 240 8 667 1 306 46 044 22 244 11 137 7 157 15 800 21 775 16 362 9 583 0 13 353 15 733 173 293 27 507 18 250 10 034 300 5 026 250 8 989 650 10 007 800 5 026 250 5 019 000 10 035 200 16 052 640 5 005 200 30 136 500 10 039 800 10 036 700 5 021 050 10 060 200 5 011 800 6 020 220 5 006 300 14 934 900 10 010 400 5 007 800 13 039 780 5 003 750 20 025 600 10 085 000 5 001 500 6 018 480 10 001 800 5 019 200 10 027 900 4 007 520 7 646 700 3 002 880 15 048 600 5 015 150 5 018 750 10 029 500 5 002 650 5 001 350 15 049 350 10 188 200 5 013 850 4 999 700 10 082 853 5 036 561 8 989 650 10 036 294 5 046 987 5 024 222 10 092 833 16 069 422 5 010 560 30 157 300 10 050 111 10 081 181 5 030 314 10 104 750 5 021 889 6 046 963 5 016 167 15 016 421 10 019 228 5 012 633 13 053 300 5 015 107 20 031 178 10 094 511 5 015 556 6 024 720 10 010 467 5 020 506 10 073 944 4 029 764 7 657 837 3 010 037 15 064 400 5 036 925 5 035 112 10 039 083 5 002 650 5 014 703 15 065 083 10 361 493 5 041 357 5 017 950 38 300 15 750 -41 850 110 27 750 20 000 24 200 6 240 5 200 -14 000 39 800 8 700 25 550 2 200 7 300 23 220 -1 700 -59 100 10 400 7 800 18 180 650 25 600 85 000 9 000 18 480 2 580 19 200 7 300 11 920 23 400 3 780 22 600 21 150 21 750 -5 500 -5 850 6 850 -1 650 -52 800 13 850 4 200 1,73 % 0,87 % 1,55 % 1,73 % 0,87 % 0,86 % 1,74 % 2,76 % 0,86 % 5,18 % 1,73 % 1,73 % 0,86 % 1,74 % 0,86 % 1,04 % 0,86 % 2,58 % 1,72 % 0,86 % 2,24 % 0,86 % 3,44 % 1,74 % 0,86 % 1,04 % 1,72 % 0,86 % 1,73 % 0,69 % 1,32 % 0,52 % 2,59 % 0,87 % 0,87 % 1,73 % 0,86 % 0,86 % 2,59 % 1,78 % 0,87 % 0,86 % 113,25 % 564 658 0 564 658 0 0,10 % FLOATING RATE SECURITIES Financial ANKENES SPAREBANK ARENDAL OG OMEGN SPAREKASSE ARENDAL OG OMEGN SPAREKASSE ASKIM SPAREBANK AURSKOG SPAREBANK AURSKOG SPAREBANK AURSKOG SPAREBANK BERG SPAREBANK DRANGEDAL OG TØRDAL SPAREBANK GJERPEN OG SOLUM HØNEFOSS SPAREBANK HJELMELAND SPAREBANK HØLAND SPAREBANK INDRE SOGN SPAREBANK INDRE SOGN SPAREBANK KLEPP SPAREBANK KRAGERØ SPAREBANK KREDITTFORENING FOR SPAREBANKER KVINESDAL SPAREBANK LILLESTRØM SPAREBANK MARKER SPAREBANK MODUM SPAREBANK PRIVATBANKEN ROGALAND FYLKESKOMMUNE RINDAL SPAREBANK SPAREBANKEN 1 HALLINGDAL SPAREBANKEN 1 HALLINGDAL SPAREBANKEN HARDANGER SKUDENES OG AAKRA SPAREBANK SPAREBANKEN GRENLAND STOREBRAND STRØMMEN SPAREBANK STRØMMEN SPAREBANK TIME SPAREBANK TIME SPAREBANK TIME SPAREBANK TOLGA OS SPAREBANK TOTEN SPAREBANK TROGSTAD SPAREBANK VEST-AGDER ENERGIVERK VOLDA ØRSTA SPAREBANK NØTTERØ SPAREBANK 15-04-07 27-05-07 21-06-06 13-05-05 30-01-07 21-06-06 01-07-08 15-03-06 16-06-05 20-09-06 21-06-06 25-04-06 02-04-07 26-01-07 27-02-06 22-10-07 29-08-05 01-10-09 17-06-05 16-12-05 15-03-06 24-05-05 27-03-08 17-06-09 17-02-09 19-03-06 16-06-05 27-06-06 16-04-07 01-04-06 11-12-07 23-05-05 21-06-06 25-04-06 10-02-07 16-06-06 15-06-07 13-05-05 15-03-06 29-08-05 07-04-06 11-01-05 2,27 % 2,32 % 2,23 % 2,37 % 2,35 % 2,28 % 2,36 % 2,27 % 2,34 % 2,32 % 2,39 % 2,30 % 2,43 % 2,27 % 2,26 % 2,22 % 2,15 % 2,27 % 2,32 % 2,34 % 2,21 % 2,51 % 2,14 % 2,30 % 2,34 % 2,08 % 2,35 % 2,24 % 2,20 % 2,97 % 2,26 % 2,37 % 2,34 % 2,31 % 2,30 % 2,09 % 2,36 % 5,02 % 2,33 % 2,19 % 15-02-05 27-02-05 21-06-06 14-02-05 31-01-05 16-03-05 03-01-05 16-03-05 14-03-05 16-03-05 16-03-05 25-01-05 02-03-05 26-01-05 28-02-05 21-01-05 28-02-05 03-01-05 17-03-05 16-03-05 16-03-05 24-02-05 29-03-05 16-03-05 17-02-05 16-03-05 16-03-05 29-03-05 17-01-05 03-01-05 11-03-05 23-02-05 16-03-05 25-01-05 10-02-05 16-03-05 15-06-07 14-02-05 16-03-05 29-08-05 07-01-05 11-01-05 Government bonds NORSKE STAT 16-05-11 6,00 % 0 0 3,59 - Foreign government bonds*** HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT*** MEXICAN GOVERNMENT*** SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT*** 12-02-13 6,75 % 01-01-14 8,00 % 31-08-10 13,00 % 1 100 000 000 70 000 000 10 000 000 32 224 284 33 356 281 12 567 426 7,15 9,73 6,50 6,29 5,75 5,34 97,40 % 2 195 699 89,44 % 1 537 716 123,60 % 465 341 35 901 007 33 819 677 13 236 695 38 096 706 3 676 723 35 357 393 463 396 13 702 036 669 269 6,55 % 6,08 % 2,36 % Financial bonds SPAREBANKEN MØRE KOMMUNALBANKEN SPAREBANKEN PLUSS CHRISTIANIA BANK CHRISTIANIA BANK NORDLANDSBANKEN SANDNES SPAREBANK RYGGE VAALER SPAREBANK SANDNES SPAREBANK 23-06-05 17-03-06 06-10-05 30-05-05 28-04-06 10-03-05 13-06-06 11-10-06 06-03-06 5,65 % - 1 000 000 10 000 000 7 250 000 3 000 000 2 000 000 19 292 000 1 450 000 1 000 000 1 840 000 819 400 10 365 000 7 055 971 2 515 000 1 595 000 19 001 115 1 391 035 948 500 1 765 872 2,37 2,52 2,17 2,12 2,47 2,07 2,55 2,83 2,35 0,47 1,24 0,74 0,41 1,27 0,19 1,38 1,67 1,14 98,89 % 103,66 % 98,37 % 99,14 % 96,82 % 99,61 % 96,41 % 95,15 % 97,30 % 0 447 356 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 988 910 10 366 500 7 131 680 2 974 230 1 936 320 19 217 533 1 398 003 951 490 1 790 265 988 910 10 813 856 7 131 680 2 974 230 1 936 320 19 217 533 1 398 003 951 490 1 790 265 169 510 1 500 75 709 459 230 341 320 216 418 6 968 2 990 24 393 0,17 % 1,86 % 1,23 % 0,51 % 0,33 % 3,30 % 0,24 % 0,16 % 0,31 % Government notes NORSKE STAT 16-03-05 - 23 000 000 22 874 720 1,64 0,21 99,67 % 0 22 923 180 22 923 180 48 460 3,94 % Local government notes NORD TRONDELAG FYLKESKOMMUNE 15-04-05 6,94 % 3 000 000 3 135 000 1,93 0,31 101,41 % 148 307 3 042 270 3 190 577 -92 730 0,55 % Financial notes BN BANK NORDEA STOREBRAND BANK 21-12-05 04-04-05 24-08-05 2,11 % 5,60 % 2,28 % 15 000 000 5 000 000 7 000 000 14 994 120 5 071 760 7 006 580 2,15 1,91 2,14 0,96 0,27 0,63 99,96 % 100,93 % 100,08 % 8 671 207 890 0 14 993 700 5 046 400 7 005 670 15 002 371 5 254 290 7 005 670 -420 -25 360 -910 2,58 % 0,90 % 1,20 % 6 508 490 548 452 700 26 728 994 575 181 694 BONDS NOTES Total securities portfolio Disposable liquidity TOTAL SHARE CAPITAL Portfolio key figures Effective underlying return Effective return to clients* Interest rate sensitivity** 542 020 674 6 508 490 3.02 % 2.52 % 1.05 * Effective underlying return adjusted for management fee ** Interest rate sensitivity is a simplified expression of how much the price of the security will change if the interest rate changes by 1 percentage point *** With the exception of Hungarian government bonds all securities are traded on the Norwegian market. The Hungarian government bonds are traded in Budapest in Hungarian forents (HUF) Effective interest is the average annual return on an interest bearing security until maturity Share price as of 31.12.04 126.4580 554 961 190 6 432 026 95,40 % 26 728 994 4,60 % 581 690 184 6 432 026 100,00 % 37 Back to page one SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon SKAGEN Høyrente is a money market fund which only invests in money market instruments within finance and government. Up to 20 percent can be invested in bonds with floating interest rates with a maturity over one year. The fund can have varying interest rate sensitivity, but this cannot exceed 0.33. The fund satisfies a BIS risk weighting of 20 percent because it does not invest in industry certificates. The fund in the main consists of certificates in quality banks which have been thoroughly researched and analysed by the fund. The minimum subscription is 1 million NOK, and the fund is most suitable for institutions which want a secure return in the money market which is higher than the money market interest rate and than the interest rate available in high interest bank accounts. There is no restriction on the number of withdrawals during the year, and there are no transaction costs. Fund start date Return since start 14th March 2003 (until 31st Dec 2004) Average annual return S&P’s quantitative rating Net asset value Number of unit holders Subscription fee Redemption fee Management fee Minimum subscription amount Tax schemes Authorised for marketing in Benchmark UCITS fund Portfolio Manager 5.76 % 3.16 % Not ranked 198 MNOK 29 0% 0% 0.25 % p.a. 1,000,000 NOK None Norway Oslo Stock Exchange State Bond Index 0.5 No Ross Porter Years Return on investment Benchmark Net asset value* Number of unitholders 2004 2003** 2,23 % 3,45 % 1,95 % 3,55 % 198 167 29 20 *MNOK **The fund was established during the year SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon. Note 8. Securities portfolio as of 31st December 2004. Security Maturity Coupon Interest adjustment point Face value Cost price 15.02.05 14.02.05 16.03.05 16.03.05 16.03.05 25.01.05 28.02.05 16.03.05 26.01.05 06.01.05 10.02.05 28.02.05 10.01.05 16.03.05 16.03.05 18.02.05 10.05.07 16.03.05 14.03.05 16.03.05 11.02.05 14.03.05 11.01.05 8 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 4 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 10 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 6 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 5 000 000 8 000 000 5 000 000 8 000 000 5 000 000 10 000 000 10 000 000 8 004 328 5 007 000 4 975 000 5 000 000 5 017 500 4 000 720 5 004 850 5 000 500 5 003 950 10 000 000 5 000 000 5 006 125 4 997 250 6 010 200 5 003 500 5 006 500 5 014 500 8 000 000 5 004 500 8 017 432 5 003 000 10 014 240 9 997 500 2,04 2,03 2,11 2,14 2,11 2,08 2,04 2,11 2,10 2,00 2,03 2,06 2,11 2,11 2,10 2,07 2,12 2,42 2,06 2,17 2,07 2,08 2,01 Effective Inerest Interest rate sensitivity** Market value Marketincl. accrued Unrealised Share of value interest gain/loss the fund Market price Accrued interest 0,19 0,19 0,02 0,25 0,22 0,21 0,26 0,11 0,22 0,25 0,09 0,14 0,11 0,16 0,11 0,04 0,06 0,11 0,06 0,13 0,14 0,23 100,09 % 100,08 % 100,33 % 100,53 % 100,40 % 100,37 % 100,03 % 100,29 % 100,60 % 99,99 % 100,01 % 100,13 % 100,23 % 100,27 % 100,16 % 100,13 % 100,45 % 100,21 % 100,12 % 100,32 % 100,17 % 100,12 % 99,99 % 23 102 14 247 5 244 4 896 5 156 17 792 10 089 4 792 22 275 50 644 15 512 9 867 24 975 6 160 4 833 13 318 16 504 8 333 5 454 8 427 15 903 11 200 36 500 8 007 040 5 003 900 5 016 450 5 026 750 5 019 900 4 014 680 5 001 600 5 014 750 5 030 100 9 999 000 5 000 550 5 006 300 5 011 750 6 016 260 5 007 800 5 006 750 5 022 650 8 017 200 5 006 000 8 025 920 5 008 700 10 012 400 9 999 400 8 030 142 5 018 147 5 021 694 5 031 646 5 025 056 4 032 472 5 011 689 5 019 542 5 052 375 10 049 644 5 016 062 5 016 167 5 036 725 6 022 420 5 012 633 5 020 068 5 039 154 8 025 533 5 011 454 8 034 347 5 024 603 10 023 600 10 035 900 2 712 -3 100 41 450 26 750 2 400 13 960 -3 250 14 250 26 150 -1 000 550 175 14 500 6 060 4 300 250 8 150 17 200 1 500 8 488 5 700 -1 840 1 900 4,02 % 2,51 % 2,52 % 2,52 % 2,52 % 2,02 % 2,51 % 2,51 % 2,53 % 5,04 % 2,51 % 2,51 % 2,52 % 3,02 % 2,51 % 2,52 % 2,52 % 4,02 % 2,51 % 4,03 % 2,52 % 5,02 % 5,03 % FLOATING RATE SECURITIES Financial BLAKER SPAREBANK ASKIM SPAREBANK BERG SPAREBANK ETNE SPAREBANK HØNEFOSS SPAREBANK HJELMELAND SPAREBANK HOLLA SPAREBANK HOLLA SPAREBANK INDRE SOGN SPAREBANK KLEPP SPAREBANK KRAGERØ SPAREBANK KRAGERØ SPAREBANK KVINNHERAD SPAREBANK LARVIKBANKEN LILLESTRØM SPAREBANK NARVIK SPAREBANK OPDAL SPAREBANK PRIVATBANKEN SOKNEDAL SPAREBANK STRØMMEN SPAREBANK SUNNDAL SPAREBANK TOLGA OS SPAREBANK NØTTERØ SPAREBANK 18-05-05 13-05-05 15-03-06 18-06-07 21-06-06 25-04-06 28-02-05 16-06-06 26-01-07 06-04-05 10-02-05 29-08-05 09-07-07 15-03-06 16-12-05 18-11-05 10-05-07 16-03-07 14-06-05 21-06-06 11-11-05 13-09-05 11-01-05 2,26 % 2,23 % 2,36 % 2,35 % 2,32 % 2,39 % 2,27 % 2,30 % 2,43 % 2,12 % 2,19 % 2,22 % 2,22 % 2,31 % 2,32 % 2,23 % 2,33 % 2,50 % 2,31 % 2,37 % 2,29 % 2,24 % 2,19 % Local government NORDTRØNDELAG FYLKESKOMMUNE 15-04-05 6,94 % 7 000 000 7 315 000 1,93 0,31 101,41 % 346 049 7 098 630 7 444 679 -216 370 3,73 % Financial DEN NORSKE BANK FINANSBANKEN NORDLANDSBANKEN SPAREBANK KREDITT AASEN SPAREBANK SPAREBANKEN ØST SPAREBANKEN SØR STOREBRAND BANK VOSS VEKSEL OG LANDMANDSBANK 15-07-05 03-05-05 10-03-05 15-03-05 02-12-05 22-03-05 03-03-05 24-08-05 14-02-05 5,85 % 2,29 % 6,95 % 1,80 % 2,28 % 2,20 % 1 000 000 400 000 5 100 000 10 000 000 9 000 000 10 000 000 7 000 000 3 000 000 5 000 000 977 700 396 360 5 063 066 10 314 930 9 001 332 10 412 500 6 975 234 3 000 555 5 000 000 2,00 2,30 2,07 2,06 2,28 1,90 1,89 2,14 2,03 0,53 0,33 0,19 0,21 0,91 0,24 0,18 0,68 0,12 98,94 % 99,23 % 99,61 % 100,78 % 100,00 % 101,09 % 99,98 % 100,08 % 100,02 % 0 0 0 171 493 16 375 540 767 104 597 80 581 42 192 989 400 396 940 5 080 314 10 078 500 9 000 090 10 109 500 6 998 740 3 002 430 5 000 900 989 400 396 940 5 080 314 10 249 993 9 016 465 10 650 267 7 103 337 3 083 011 5 043 092 11 700 580 17 248 -236 430 -1 242 -303 000 23 506 1 875 900 0,50 % 0,20 % 2,55 % 5,14 % 4,52 % 5,34 % 3,56 % 1,54 % 2,53 % 1 637 277 197 031 294 918 782 197 950 076 198 668 571 918 782 199 587 353 -513 978 99,54 % 0,46 % 100,00 % NOTES Total secutities portfolio Disosable liquidity TOTAL SHARE CAPITAL Portfolio key figures Effective underlying return Effective return to clients* Interest rate sensitivity** 197 545 272 1 637 277 2.11 % 1.86 % 0.20 * Effective underlying return adjusted for management fee ** Interest rate sensitivity is a simplified expression of how much the price of the security will change if the interest rate changes by 1 percentage point All securities are traded on the Norwegian market Effective interest is the average annual return on an interest bearing security until maturity Share price as of 31.12.04 102.1623 -513 978 Back to page one General notes Note 1 : Accounting principles Financial Instruments All financial instruments, such as shares, bonds and certificates, are valued at fair value (market value). Determination of fair value: Securities listed in markets where trading had not closed are valued at market prices as of 30.12.2004 and 31.12.2004. Bonds and notes, for which there are no "marketmaker" prices, are at all times valued against the applicable yield curve. Unlisted equities are valued according to the latest trading price, value adjustments made by brokers and internal valuations. Currency exchange rates: Securities and bank deposits/overdrafts in foreign currency are valued at the prevailing exchange rate at the time of pricing 31.12.2004. Treatment of transaction cost: Transaction cost in the form of commission to brokers accrues at the time of the transaction. Allocated for distribution to unit holders: All distributions to unit holders in fixed income funds are treated as allocations of profits in accordance with the regulation for annual financial statements for securities funds. Distributions from fixed income funds are entered by entering reinvestments as new units in the fund during the financial year. Adjustment of acquisition cost: For the equity funds, the average acquisition value has been used to arrive at the realised gain/loss on the sale of shares. For the fixed income funds, the FIFO principle has been used to calculate realised gain/loss on sale. Note 2 : Financial derivatives The funds have not held financial derivatives during the year. Note 3 : Financial market risk The balance sheets in the annual financial statement for the funds reflect market value on the last stock market day of the year expressed in Norwegian kroner. Through investment in Norwegian and foreign businesses, the equity funds are exposed to share price and exchange risks. The fixed income funds are exposed to interest and credit risks. Note 4 : Tax calculation Tax costs are associated with withholding tax on foreign dividends as well as calculated tax on taxable income. Gain/loss on realisation of equities in securities funds are not taxable/deductible. Note 5 : Custodian cost The funds are not charged custodian cost. Note 6 : Velocity Velocity is measured by the size of the trading volume adjusted by subscriptions and redemptions of shares. The velocity is calculated as the sum of all purchases and sales of securities divided by 2, with a deduction of net subscriptions to the fund and then divided by the average net assets during the period. The velocity of the funds during 2004 was: SKAGEN Vekst SKAGEN Global SKAGEN Kon Tiki SKAGEN Avkastning SKAGEN Høyrente SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon Note 7: Subscription fee equity funds Subscription fee: 0.27 0.11 0.26 1.61 2.32 1.07 NOK 0 499,999 NOK 500,000 999,999 NOK 1,000.000 - 4.999,999 NOK 5,000.000 - 0.7 % of the subscribed amount 0.5 % of the subscribed amount 0.2 % of the subscribed amount 0.0 % of the subscribed amount Redemption fee: 0.0 % of the redemption proceeds 0.0 percentage points of the above mentioned fees is credited the fund in the case of both subscription and redemption. Notes to SKAGEN Global Note 8. See page 27. Note 9. Management fee The management fee constitutes 1% of average daily net asset value in addition to the variable management fee: 1/10 of the return above the Morgan Stanley Daily Net $ World Index expressed in Norwegian kroner. Note 10. Equity reconciliation Equity capital as of 1.1.2004 Issue of units Redemption of units Annual profit/loss Equity capital as of 31.12.2004 Unit capital 1 269 469 834 623 -494 480 1 609 613 Premium 2 110 809 2 454 388 -1 427 071 3 138 126 Retained earnings 1 026 116 1 184 432 2 210 548 Total 4 406 396 3 289 011 -1 921 551 1 184 432 6 958 288 Notes to SKAGEN Vekst Note 8. See page 29. Note 9. Management fee The management fee constitutes 1% of average daily net asset value in addition to the variable management fee: 1/10 of the return above 6 %. Note 10. Equity reconciliation Unit capital Premium Retained earnings Total Equity capital as of 1.1.2004 795 174 1 635 587 1 823 714 4 254 475 Issue of units 345 094 1 746 825 2 091 919 Redemption of units -329 954 -1 666 108 -1 996 062 Annual profit/loss 1 361 166 1 361 166 Equity capital as of 31.12.2004 810 314 1 716 305 3 184 880 5 711 498 Note 11. Risk amount RISK amount determined for RISK amount determined for RISK amount determined for RISK amount determined for RISK amount determined for RISK amount determined for 1994: -0.35 1995: -0.37 1996: 3.28 1997: -0.50 1998: 1.73 1999: 1.26 RISK amount determined for 2000: RISK amount determined for 2001: RISK amount determined for 2002: RISK amount determined for 2003: RISK amount determined for 2004: 3.62 3.77 0.51 2.03 3.10 38 Back to page one Notes to SKAGEN Kon-Tiki Note 8. See page 31. Note 9. Management fee The management fee constitutes 2.5% of average daily net asset value in addition to the variable management fee: 1/10 of the return above/under the Morgan Stanley Capital International Daily Total Return Net Dividends $ Emerging Markets Index expressed in Norwegian kroner. It is, however, limited upwards and downwards in such a way that the total management fee does not exceed 4% p.a. and cannot be lower than 1% p.a. of the average net asset value. From 01.01.2004 the benchmark index for the fund was changed from the Morgan Stanley Daily Net $ World Index to the Morgan Stanley Capital International Daily Total Return Net Dividends $ Emerging Markets Index. Note 10. Equity reconciliation Unit capital Premium Retained earnings Total Equity capital as of 1.1.2004 1 219 279 144 532 365 302 1 729 111 Issue of units 1 635 761 1 032 104 2 667 864 Redemption of units -1 143 382 -663 360 -1 806 743 Annual profit/loss 636 434 636 434 Equity capital as of 31.12.2004 1 711 656 513 275 1 001 736 3 226 667 Note 11. Risk amounts RISK amount determined for 01.01.2003: 3.26 RISK amount determined for 01.01.2004 1.80 Note 12. Taxes Interest Dividend Fee income Currency exchange gain/loss Total taxable cost 2004 335 498 69 048 046 -781 8 622 393 78 005 156 2003 2 045 985 19 121 915 2 388 178 20 659 925 44 216 004 Management fee Total deductible cost 97 248 181 97 248 181 24 338 372 24 338 372 Net taxable income -19 243 026 19 877 631 Change in temporary differences (B) 0 10 447 717 Basis for calculation of taxes payable (A) 0 30 325 348 4 065 408 0 0 4 065 408 8 491 098 -2 925 361 173 087 5 738 824 Operating statement tax cost Tax payable (A x 28%) Change in deferred taxes (B x 28%) Insufficient tax provisions 2002 Total tax cost Taxes payable are part of other debt. *For 2004 only tax at source is included. Notes to SKAGEN Avkastning Note 8. See page 35. Note 9. Management fee The management fee constitutes 0.5% of average daily net asset value. No subscription fee is charged. Note 10. Equity reconciliation Share capital Premium Retained earnings Total Equity capital as of 1.1.2004 113 283 20 626 1 362 135 271 Issue of units 521 144 110 501 631 645 Redemption of units -174 597 -40 903 -215 500 Allocated for distribution to participants -25 179 -25 179 Correction of prior years’ provisions for distributions to shareholders 59 59 Annual profit/loss 30 215 30 215 Equity capital as of 31.12.2004 459 830 90 224 6 457 556 512 Notes to SKAGEN Høyrente Note 8. See page 33. Note 9. Management fee The management fee constitutes 0.3% of average daily net asset value. No subscription fee is charged. Note 10. Equity reconciliation Share capital Premium Retained earnings Total Equity capital as of 1.1.2004 621 516 6 006 372 627 894 Issue of units 3 003 604 57 946 3 061 549 Redemption of units -2 480 441 -52 268 -2 532 709 Allocated for distribution to participants -23 655 -23 655 Correction of prior years’ provisions for distributions to shareholders -60 -60 Annual profit/loss 23 072 23 072 Equity capital as of 31.12.2004 1 144 680 11 684 -271 1 156 091 Notes to SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon Note 8. See page 37. Note 9. Management fee The management fee constitutes 0.25% of average daily net asset value. No subscription fee is charged. Note 10. Equity reconciliation Share capital Premium Retained earnings Total Equity capital as of 1.1.2004 161 733 -37 -15 161 680 Issue of units 164 439 1 013 165 452 Redemption of units -130 806 -954 -131 760 Allocated for distribution to participants -4 713 -4 713 Annual profit/loss 4 214 4 214 Equity capital as of31.12.2004 195 365 23 -514 194 874 39 Back to page one PricewaterhouseCoopers AS Forus Atrium Postboks 8017 N-4068 Stavanger Telephone +47 02316 Auditor’s report for 2004 We have audited the annual financial statements of the mutual funds as of December 31, 2004, showing the following results: SKAGEN Vekst SKAGEN Global SKAGEN Kon-Tiki SKAGEN Avkastning SKAGEN Høyrente SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon NOK 1 361 166 126 NOK 1 184 431 932 NOK 636 433 791 NOK 30 214 706 NOK 23 072 050 NOK 4 214 434 We have also audited the information in the directors' report concerning the financial statements, the going concern assumption, and the proposal for the allocation of the profit. The financial statements comprise the balance sheet, the statements of income and cash flows and the accompanying notes. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Fund Management Company’s Board of Directors and Managing Director. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and on other information according to the requirements of the Norwegian Act on Auditing and Auditors. We conducted our audit in accordance with the Norwegian Act on Auditing and Auditors and auditing standards and practices generally accepted in Norway. Those standards and practices require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. To the extent required by law and auditing standards an audit also comprises a review of the management of the mutual funds financial affairs and accounting and internal control systems. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, x the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the law and regulations for mutual funds and present the financial position of the mutual funds as of December 31, 2004, and the results of operations and cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with accounting standards, principles and practices generally accepted in Norway x the management has fulfilled its duty to produce a proper and clearly set out registration and documentation of accounting information as required by law and accounting standards, principles and practices generally accepted in Norway x the information given in the directors' report concerning the financial statements, the going concern assumption, and the proposal for the allocation of the profit in each mutual fund is consistent with the financial statements and comply with the law and regulations. Stavanger, January 24, 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers AS Gunnar Slettebø State Authorised Public Accountant (Norway) Note: This translation from Norwegian has been prepared for information purposes only. Offices: Oslo Arendal Bergen Drammen Fredrikstad Førde Hamar Kristiansand Mandal Mo i Rana Stavanger Tromsø Trondheim Tønsberg Ålesund PricewaterhouseCoopers refers to the member firms of the worldwide PricewaterhouseCoopers organization Members of Den norske Revisorforening | Foretaksregisteret: NO 987 009 713 www.pwc.no 40 Back to page one Our employees Anne S. Langhelle Lise Holm Jacobsen Stein Haben J. Kristoffer C. Stensrud Jan Kjetil Nystrøm Samantha Dean Skurtveit communication manager investment director Nicolai Martin Stærfeldt asset manager financial director Asbjørn Vagle asset manager communication manager Kristian Falnes Synnøve Fjeld accounting Harald Espedal managing director Ross Porter Signe Vaula Beate Bredesen communication manager portfolio manager Lisen Dybdahl Ellen K. Ersland communication manager Åge K. Westbø asset manager Helge B. Rutgersen board secretary head of asset managment portfolio manager portfolio manager deputy managing director Trond Svela May Silje Bjørkhaug Helge Braaten Mette Helgevold Årstad Trond Østrådt IT manager back office employee Marianne Gillies Eva Marie Sollie Sølvi Marie Tonning Kristen Kvame Leiv Erik Nes market analyst customer host asset manager Synnøve Hellestø Ramslie asset manager Hans Petter Hammernes asset manager, Trondheim Tom Gamlem asset manager, Trondheim accounting customer host asset manager Anne Grete Løvås back office employee back office employee Eli G. Anda Berly Sleire Filip Weintraub Sølve Rasmussen Christian Bethuelsen Torgeir Høien Jonas A. Eriksson Truls Langballe Anne Ludvigsen Rønning asset manager portfolio manager Janniken Støldal Pål Kjeldsen back office employee Arild Rødal asset manager, Ålesund Johan Frisvold asset manager, Ålesund human resources IT consultant Richard Haugland asset manager, Bergen Dag Straume asset manager, Bergen asset manager portfolio manager asset manager, Oslo Fredrik Astrup asset manager, Oslo accounting asset manager Stockholm communication manager Stian Ikdal project assistant Marit Østhus financial assistant Per Wennberg MD, Stockholm Tore Bang manager pensions, Oslo asset manager, Oslo Henning Aas Vibeke Monsen Langaard asset manager, Oslo asset manager, Oslo 41 Back to page one SKAGEN Fondene opens office in Sweden In order to take care of the increasing interest for our funds, also across borders, SKAGEN Fondene opened a branch office in Stockholm on the 2nd August 2004. The objective is to further strengthen relationships with our existing clients in Sweden and to actively work towards securing potential new clients. This is in line with our fundamental belief in staying close to our markets ment of our branch office in Stockholm is the first step along the way. Our initial objective is to achieve 1% market share of equity funds in Sweden by 2007. This may not sound so ambitious, but based on the fact that the Swedish equity fund market is much larger than the Norwegian one, this represents good business.” Over 30,000 client relationships Net subscriptions from Swedish clients in 2004 was 375 million kroner. Through the Swedish pension system, PPM, we have over 30,000 client relationships. The total capital under management in Sweden is almost 600 million kroner. The office in Sweden is managed by Per Wennberg, who is a graduate of King's College, University of London. He has previously worked as mutual funds advisor and stockbroker for ABB Fondförvaltning/ABB Investment and Enskilda Securities respectively. The office in Sweden is managed by Per Wennberg, who is a graduate of King's College at the University of London. He has previously worked as mutual funds advisor and stockbroker for ABB Fondförvaltning/ABB Investment and Enskilda Securities respectively Huge potential With regards share of market objectives in perhaps the toughest funds market in the world, Sweden, managing director in SKAGEN Fondene, Harald Espedal, has the following to say: “Our goal is to become a Nordic fund provider, and the establish- Jonas A. Eriksson (left) and Per Wennberg. Swede Filip Weintraub receives a multitude of Swedish stars Portfolio manager for SKAGEN Global, Filip Weintraub, has received in 2004 - and previous years as well - various accolades in the Swedish press for his brilliant management of the fund. He can now boast the following titles: ★ Späroversikt's Global Manager of the Year ★ Dagens Industri and Morningstar's Star Manager of the Year ★ Privata Affärer's Foreign Fund of the Year SKAGEN Fondene with 23 partner banks SKAGEN Fondene has now signed distribution agreements with in total 23 independent banks throughout the whole country. These are banks which share our philosophy regarding closeness to the client, service and competent follow-up – based on whatever is best for the individual client. Our partner banks have a wide coverage in their marketing regions. They also have a long tradition for strong and long-term relationships with their clients. • Flekkefjord Sparebank • Spareskillingsbanken • Finanshuset Ringerike (previously Hønefoss Kapital) • Voss Veksel- og Landmandsbank • Skudenes & Aakra Sparebank • Haugesund Sparebank • Kvinnherad Sparebank • • • • • • • • The main role of the banks vis á vis SKAGEN Fondene is two-fold. Firstly the banks will follow up and provide service to existing SKAGEN Fondene clients. Secondly they will provide information and sell fund units to potential new clients. For information about and/or to purchase or redeem funds managed by SKAGEN Fondene you can contact the following partner banks: Sauda Sparebank Sparebanken Volda Ørsta Sparebanken Bien Sparebanken Hardanger Etne Sparebank Romsdals Fellesbank Lillesands Sparebank Harstad Sparebank • • • • • • • • Narvik Sparebank Fana Sparebank Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane Sparebanken Sør Luster Sparebank Sparebanken Rana Klæbu Sparebank Hegra Sparebank 42 Back to page one History Highlights Number of clients 80 000 70 000 1993 Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS receives approval from the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway to manage securities funds • Equity fund SKAGEN Vekst started 1st December • 448 clients • Assets under management: 20 MNOK • 1994 • • • • • • Bond fund SKAGEN Avkastning launched 14th September SKAGEN Vekst as best AMS-fund of the year out of 22 funds Return SKAGEN Vekst: 19.1 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: 7.1 % Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 5.7 %. Bond index BRIX: 5.5 % 2,438 clients Assets under management: 130 MNOK 1995 • SKAGEN Avkastning as best bond fund of the year • SKAGEN Vekst number 5 of in total 25 AMS-funds • Return SKAGEN Vekst: 14.7 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: 11.6 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 16.1 %. BRIX: 14.1 % • 4,087 clients • Assets under management: 234 MNOK 1996 • SKAGEN Avkastning best bond fund of the year • SKAGEN Vekst number 8 of in total 28 AMS-funds • Return SKAGEN Vekst: 39.1 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: 32.0 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 9.8 %. BRIX: 8.7 % • 6,527 clients • Assets under management: 532 MNOK 1997 • SKAGEN Vekst voted as best AMS-fund by the media as a result of good returns and low risk • SKAGEN Global launched 8th August • Office established in Ålesund • Return SKAGEN Vekst: 29.2 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index 31.6 % • Return SKAGEN Global: -3.1 %. Morgan Stanley World Index (MSWI): -8.2 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 3.7 %. BRIX: 6.1 % • 12,160 clients • Assets under management: one billion NOK 1998 • SKAGEN Vekst once again best AMS-fund in the market • SKAGEN Global becomes best fund for investors outside of Norway • Money market fund SKAGEN Høyrente launched 18th September • Office established in Oslo • Return SKAGEN Vekst: -6.5 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index -26.7 % • Return SKAGEN Global: 47.2 %. MSWI 26.5 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 3.6 %. BRIX: 2.9 % • 21,411 clients • Assets under management: 1,171 MNOK 1999 • SKAGEN Vekst 6th best AMS-fund • SKAGEN Global number one in its class • SKAGEN Høyrente number seven amongst money market funds • SKAGEN Fondene third largest in terms of new subscriptions in Norway • Return SKAGEN Vekst: 77.0 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: 45.5 % • Return SKAGEN Global: 113.4 %. MSWI: 31.7 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 4.6 %. BRIX: 5.5 % • Return SKAGEN Høyrente: 6.6 %. State Bond Index: 6.3 % • 39,074 clients • Assets under management: 4,561 MNOK 2000 • Return SKAGEN Vekst: -2.3 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: -1.7 % • Return SKAGEN Global: -4.7 %. MSWI: -5.1 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 6.1 %. BRIX: 4.6 % • Return SKAGEN Høyrente: 6.2 %. State Bond Index: 6.0 % • 49,018 clients • Assets under management: 5,659 MNOK 2001 • Return SKAGEN Vekst: -1.3 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: -16.6 % • Return SKAGEN Global: -4.2 %. MSWI: -16.1 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 6.2 %. BRIX: 7.7 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 7.5 %. State Bond Index: 7.6 % • Office established in Bergen and Trondheim • 51,260 clients • Assets under management: 5 billion NOK 2002 • Return SKAGEN Vekst: -21.9 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: -31.1 % • Return SKAGEN Global: -23.2 %. MSWI: -38.0 % • *Return SKAGEN Kon-Tiki: -29.8 %. MSWI: -35.5 % • Return SKAGEN Høyrente: 6.9 %. State Bond Index: 6.8 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning; 6.7 %. BRIX: 8.1 % • SKAGEN Kon-Tiki launched 5th April • Our funds approved for sales in Sweden and Denmark • 51,925 clients • Assets under management: 5,300 MNOK *Return from 5th April. 2003 • Return SKAGEN Vekst: 66.3 %. Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: 48.4 % • Return SKAGEN Global: 62.8 %. MSWI: 28.0 % • Return SKAGEN Kon-Tiki: 102.9 %. MSWI: 28.0 % • Return SKAGEN Høyrente: 4.2 %. State Bond Index: 4.9 % • Return SKAGEN Avkastning: 6.2 %. ST4X: 11.1% • SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon launched 14th March • All of our three equity funds receive A-rating from Standard & Poor’s • 53,911 clients • Assets under management: 12,100 MNOK 2004 • Return SKAGEN Vekst: 31.8%, Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index: 38.5% • Return SKAGEN Global: 24.6%, MSWI: 4.5% • Return SKAGEN Kon-Tiki: 32.4%, MSEMWI: 14.3% • SKAGEN Avkastning: 5.7%, ST4X: 5.5% • SKAGEN Høyrente: 2.1%, State Bond Index 0.5: 2.2% • SKAGEN Høyrente Institusjon: 2.2%, State Bond Index 0.25: 2.0% • SKAGEN Global and SKAGEN Kon-Tiki upgraded to AA rating by Standard & Poor's • We are second largest equity fund manager in Norway 63,049 clients • Office opened in Stockholm • Assets under management: 19,670 MNOK 60 000 50 000 40 000 30 000 20 000 10 000 0 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Assets under management (MNOK) 20 000 17 500 15 000 12 500 10 000 7 500 5 000 2 500 0 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Number of employees 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Market Share 1995 – 2004 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Total Equity funds Fixed income funds 43 Back to page one SKAGEN Fondene's business concept and philosophy SKAGEN Fondene is an integrated management company with the overall goal of creating for clients the highest possible returns at the lowest possible risk – in addition to providing the best possible communication, service and competent follow up. By having portfolio management, client communication and client advising in the same organisation we ensure that the interests of the clients are taken care of in the best possible way. SKAGEN Fondene offers clients six funds, making it easy to choose – three equity funds and three fixed income funds. With this clear and simple product range we are able to meet the investment product demands of all our clients. • We have the freedom to choose what is best for our clients The advice we give to our clients will be based on each individual’s risk profile and time horizon for his/her investment. Thanks to our broad investment mandate we ensure that our clients’ money is invested where it can earn the highest returns at the lowest possible risk. Based on the client’s requirements, our clear goal is to provide correct advice which results in a profitable investment for the client, and therefore for us. • We hate to lose money We started with the management of our own assets: We then assumed responsibility for ensuring the best possible return on the savings of friends and family. By the time the public was invited to participate, we had long since developed risk aversion. We are used to being able to look our clients in the eyes – and we intend to be able to do that in the future as well. It is the following unique aspects of the organisation which enable SKAGEN Fondene to pursue its distinctive investment style: • The management company behind SKAGEN Fondene is privately owned by five key employees and one board member We are free to focus on the long-term management of clients’ money. We are not distracted by short-term requirements, for example the next quarter results. This means than we can focus 100 percent on achieving the best long-term management of client assets. • SKAGEN Fondene focuses on what we do best Our strength lies in long-term value based investments and active investment philosophy. We only have the one investment style in our organisation. We do not take part in trading activities,”corporate finance”, property management or other financial activities. • SKAGEN Fondene does not follow fashions and fads In spite of the popularity of sector funds and index funds we have never offered them. We believe that the best long-term management results come from selecting equities within a broad mandate, where the focus is on the pricing of companies rather than their index value. • SKAGEN Fondene is only involved in securities funds Securities funds are a practical way of managing capital. All unit holders in the securities funds are treated the same. Integrity, equality, independence and variable management fees mean that we have a unique shared interest with the unit holder. • The better the returns for the client, the more we earn Our focus on highest possible return at lowest possible risk means that the client receives the most optimal product based on his/her time horizon and risk profile. In line with this our remuneration is based on how well we do our job. With SKAGEN Vekst, SKAGEN Global and SKAGEN Kon-Tiki a part of our management fee is linked to the return we manage to achieve for our clients. This means that the unit holders and the management company have a shared goal of highest possible returns. We would nevertheless like to point out that the goal of highest possible returns will not tempt us to assume higher risk. • We find undervalued, high quality companies SKAGEN Fondene focuses on companies. We spread risk over a large number of companies in different parts of the world and in various industries. In comparison to many other investment managers who invest in a company because it is represented in an index, index representation is not an investment criteria for SKAGEN Fondene. On the contrary, we exploit the distortions in company valuations which index management implies to invest in low valued companies which, over time, will provide a high fundamental return combined with low risk. Our investment strategy is oriented towards value. Our value creation will come primarily from investment in undervalued companies with high quality. The companies’ growth and earnings, combined with a reasonable starting point, as well as the management’s ability to create and willingness to share added value, will primarily provide investment results in the long term. • Thorough analysis reduces risk We spend a lot of time on thorough research of each individual company and of the main trends in Norwegian and international business. This is necessary in order to reduce risk. We put more faith in our own analysts' judgement than in others. We strive to create excess return by picking up on and weighing what other investors can not or will not consider. SKAGEN Fondene also carefully considers political and other risk elements, is attentive to sector imbalances and too narrow geographic spreads and closely watches the companies’ debt exposure. • Own-account trading and business ethics Employee trading in the funds is not allowed if it conflicts with the funds’ investments. Investments in SKAGEN Vekst, SKAGEN Global, SKAGEN Kon-Tiki and SKAGEN Avkastning can not be redeemed until at least one week after the subscription date for the entire amount in the relevant fund. There is no lock-in period for SKAGEN Høyrente. The managing director can suspend access to own-account trading in the funds. Other securities trading is not allowed if it conflicts with the interests of the funds or existing laws and regulations. Securities outside of fund units can only be acquired with prior approval of the managing director, and can not be traded until at least one year after acquisition. Employees with insight in portfolio management are subject to harsher rules regarding own-account trading. These restrictions are also applicable for the employees’ immediate family and associates. • Ethical norms and guidelines for placement of our unit holders’ assets SKAGEN Fondene’s management activities will avoid economic risk by not investing in companies with activities which can result in considerable liabilities and losses through damage to health, changes in law or environmental encroachment. SKAGEN Fondene will not accept investments in companies who willingly and knowingly harm the local population, environment or elected government. These factors are evaluated before we go into a new company. A company’s intentions are more important than its history in such an evaluation. SKAGEN Fondene will only take objective and substantiated facts into consideration, and will not react to mood swings or rumours. If it should become apparent that SKAGEN Fondene has invested in companies which, in spite of its declared intentions, break our ethical regulations, disposal of our equity interest will be evaluated. Any disposition will be made in a way which conserves value for our unit holders. From the top floor of Torgterrassen in Stavanger we keep a watchful eye over the Norwegian and international equity markets – 24 hours a day. SKAGEN Fondene Stavanger Fondsforvaltning AS Telephone Customer Service +47 04001 E-mail [email protected] www.skagenfondene.no Fax +47 51 86 37 00 Stavanger Skagen 3, Torgterrassen (5th floor), P.O. Box 160, 4001 Stavanger Ålesund Myrabakken Næringssenter, 6010 Ålesund Oslo Klingenberggt. 5, 0161 Oslo Bergen Foreningsgaten 3, 5015 Bergen Trondheim Kongensgate 8, Mercursenteret, 7011 Trondheim Stockholm Kungsgatan 72A, 111 22 Stockholm, Sweden NB! Employees at our branch offices outside of Stavanger are often out visiting customers. This means that the offices are not always manned. We kindly ask you therefore to arrange meetings in advance. 44