The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority published a supervisory report on Forte Fondsforvaltning AS as part of a thematic review of eight fund managers’ compliance with sustainability-related disclosure rules. It found that the firm’s disclosures for funds marketed as promoting sustainability were, at the time assessed, highly deficient and that the presentation of sustainability ratings on its website was liable to mislead investors. The deficiencies were considered extensive enough to trigger a notified rectification order, but the authority decided not to issue the order after taking note of corrective actions implemented during the review and instead expects remaining deviations to be remediated. The report highlights missing pre-contractual and periodic product disclosures for an Article 8 fund (Forte Obligasjon) under the Disclosure Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and related delegated requirements, with the firm citing turnover in compliance and risk functions in 2023 and the authority noting the information was still not in place as of 8 January 2025. The firm subsequently produced pre-contractual disclosures and submitted 2024 periodic reports, which the authority asked it to review to ensure the results are presented using quantitative and/or qualitative indicators. On website disclosures, the required “Sustainability-related disclosures” section was initially absent and, although later published for Forte Strategisk and Forte Obligasjon, the authority identified ongoing issues including missing disclosure of the minimum share of investments used to achieve promoted characteristics and an approach that incorrectly incorporated sustainability risk into the assessment of those characteristics. The marketing presentation of sustainability ratings, including earth icons and limited explanations, was assessed as misleading under applicable fund marketing and business conduct requirements, and remained problematic in the website version reviewed as of 25 March 2025. Finanstilsynet also found inadequate documentation and public disclosure of how sustainability risks were integrated into investment decisions and risk management, and concluded the firm’s remuneration disclosures did not meet the Disclosure Regulation’s requirements. It noted updates to internal instructions, including a remuneration instruction adopted by the board on 10 March 2025, and expects the firm to complete the remediation work. The authority asked the firm to send the report to its auditor and depositary.

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