Good morning, and welcome to this presentation of CapMan's Q1 interim report 2026. Presenting today, we have Pia Kåll, CEO of CapMan, and after the presentation, we will have a Q&A session, and you are welcome to send in questions at any time using the chat in the webcast link.

Please Pia, hand over to you.

Thank you, Charlotte, and welcome also from my side. CapMan had a strong start to the first quarter.

Our fee profit growth accelerated, almost 50% up year-over-year. It's a result of the business scaling.

Fair values in our investments developed positively across the line, despite the turbulent markets, and we have realized some excellent exits from our funds, which prove the value creation capabilities in our investments, and also when those transactions close now in the second quarter will generate cash flow to CapMan. Fundraising momentum is strong, and we expect further closings in our key fundraisings in the coming months.

At the end of the first quarter, AUM at €7.2 billion, flat from the start of the year, but a strong growth compared to last year, which also shows in revenue. Revenue up 25%, €16.3 million, that is primarily driven by growth in fee income.

EBIT at €6.1 million, here the drivers: good fee profit growth and fair value developments. Our assets under management is from international institutional investors.

Out of the €7.2 billion, more than half from investors located outside of the Nordic region looking for attractive returns in our investments in this region. During the quarter, AUM stable, the exits decreased AUM, and that was balanced out with some €60 million of new capital that was raised.

At the same time, the momentum in fundraisings is very good, and we are making significant progress and expecting first closings in our key fundraisings over the coming months. With the capital that we manage, we are seeking attractive returns for our investors, but we are also investing so that we are building the society of the future.

With the investments we choose to make and the value creation we make during our holding periods, we are building the society of the future. We are creating value across a broad range in the society in the Nordics.

Our focus is on real assets, and €5.7 billion out of our €7.2 is invested in real asset investments. Real estate being the largest, where we have properties across the Nordics.

Infrastructure investing in energy, transportation, and telecom sectors, supporting local asset owners in the Nordic region. Natural capital, we have a large forest investment portfolio across Europe, 220,000 hectares of land, slightly down compared to last year because of some really excellent exits in the Baltics.

Real asset debt supporting real estate properties with debt across Europe, 210 properties in the portfolio. In private equity and wealth, €1.5 billion of AUM supporting small, mid-sized companies in their growth journeys and internationalization journeys.

As a shareholder, the value drivers for CapMan to follow are really fee profit from our asset management business, the profit from fee income from the funds, carried interest from the funds, and then investment returns from our balance sheet investments, which are primarily invested into our own funds to support the growth of asset management. These key financials for the first quarter: fee profit at €2.2 million, 48% growth, and growth accelerating compared to the development over the past 3 years, as both top line is growing, but also the business is scaling.

No significant carried interest during the quarter, but with good exits realized, several funds are approaching carry and with consequent exits will realize. Investment returns, positive development, the total portfolio 2% fair value uplift or €3.6 million, our own funds developing stronger, a 3.3% uplift and €4.7 million fair value change.

Looking more deeply at fee income and fee profitability development, we can see that fee income is growing 22% compared to last year. This is growing in line with the AUM growth, the assets under management that we took in during last year.

Fee profit, on the other hand, grows significantly faster, 48% growth, and also fee profit margin improving 2 percentage points to 14% in the first quarter. Here we have three drivers behind this one.

Of course, fee income growing drives also fee profit growth. Good cost control across the company, if we look at our operating expenses.

The main increases are really only from the large transactions last year, the acquisition of Cyrus and then the Midstar acquisition into or investment into our Hotels fund and the organization that transferred with that. Then as the third driver, where we start to see improvement in profit margin, is really active, continuous work to build efficiency, scalable operations into our own ways of operating.

Here we already see some benefits from the efforts, but it's also good to know that the full effect from these improvements will really come through when we reach the final closes in the ongoing large fundraisings. Looking at the balance sheet, currently portfolio of investments stands at €180 million in fair values, well-diversified.

At the end of the quarter, €56 million of remaining commitments into funds. It's a fairly low number, and the number will go up when we make commitments into the funds that we are now raising and when they keep their first closes.

During the first quarter, cash flow from investment operations was slightly negative, but we are expecting significant positive distributions now during the second quarter, then especially the exit of PDSVision in the Buyout 11 fund and then Valokuitunen from the Infra 1 fund when they are closing. Over time, we are expecting that the investment portfolio is generating significant positive cash flow.

As exits are realizing from the portfolio, those distributions are expected to be larger than the commitments we make into new funds, and that way generating positive cash flow for us. Looking at the fair value changes in the quarter, 2% on total uplift in the investment portfolio, own funds €4.7 million or above 3% fair value uplift, all investment areas contributing positively, our external fund investments slightly negative, and therefore the total at 2%.

Looking then at the composition of our EBIT, the largest contributors really strong fee profit growth, almost 50% growth, and then good fair value changes despite a very turbulent market, taking us to a total comparable EBIT of €6.1 million. We continue to maintain a very solid balance sheet, very strong liquidity, equity ratio above 55%, almost €70 million of cash and other short-term financial assets, keeping a strong liquidity to be able to continue to support growth of our business and that way deliver strong shareholder value creation.

If we then look into our strategy implementation and starting with the market outlook at the moment, our chosen focus segment is really European real asset investments, and over time this is an segment that is expected to show healthy double-digit annual growth. It's also a good segment to be in in the short and mid-term, specifically for two reasons: it's real asset and it's Europe.

With the current volatility in the equity markets driven by both geopolitics—Iran, the US ongoing war—but also artificial intelligence and AI disrupting a lot of valuations and operating models for a lot of companies, we see that real assets, where we talk about physical assets like properties, infrastructure, forests, are less impacted, in the sense that they will not be replaced by AI. They are also, as they are investments into physical assets, the outcomes are more controllable than in many other segments, and this will continue to attract investors who look for diversification and who look for more stable, controllable outcomes in their portfolio.

Europe is also a good place to invest at the moment and is attracting capital. It's a long-term investment business where investors are looking for geographies where you have stable economies, stable political environments, and here Europe, and especially Northern Europe and the Nordics, are in a good position to attract capital from all regions globally at the moment.

In this market, we continue to implement our growth strategy with the focus on real assets and Europe, our stated objective to reach €10 billion in assets under management by end of 2027 and driving our strategy through our four wins programs. When we look at the target for assets under management reaching €10 billion, we are in a good position.

Over the past 2 years, we've been growing assets under management on average 20% per year. We need to keep up that momentum.

To reach our targets, we need on average a 16% per year growth, and we have several ongoing fundraisings across our investment areas that when they realize will take us to that target. Taking a more detailed look investment area by investment area on the ongoing fundraisings, within real estate, we have the Nordic Real Estate IV fundraising ongoing.

Here we now see strong momentum, and we expect a first close over the coming months. Target size at final close for this fund at €750 million.

In addition, our specialized open-ended funds in real estate are continuing to raise capital. This is our Residential fund, Hotels II fund, Social Real Estate fund, and several mandates.

During the last 3 years, we have on average taken in some €300 million per year into these funds, and we see continued good appetite for these funds. Within infrastructure, we have now this year launched the fundraising for Nordic Infrastructure III fund, supported by an excellent exit from Valokuitunen earlier this quarter, and we are expecting to hold a first close in this fund also within the coming months.

Target size also at this fund €750 million when we reach final closing. Within natural capital, the European Forest Fund IV held its first close in December.

The fund has also made its first investment already in a Finnish portfolio during April, and here we see continued appetite, are expecting to take in more capital also over the summer. Target size here at final closing above the previous fund, above €300 million.

Within real asset debt, the Cyrus VIII fund fundraising continues. This is focused on real estate debt, and in addition, during the first quarter now, we in line with our real asset debt strategy also launched the expansion into infra debt strategy as a separate fund, a separate investment area under real asset debt.

Within private equity and wealth, we have continuous fundraising. The wealth, CapMan Wealth is fundraising both for their private equity programs and their other products.

On average, during the last 3 years, they have taken in some €200 million per year. In addition, our private equity funds and credit for Nest IV special situations, and when we go into 2027, also Growth IV, our fundraising.

Succeeding with these fundraisings will take us to our AUM target. A couple of words on infrastructure debt, which we during the quarter announced that we are expanding into.

It's in line with our original plan when we acquired Cyrus last year that, in addition to real estate debt, also expand the investment focus into more broadly real asset debt, and infrastructure debt being especially attractive at the moment. There's a strong demand across Europe to invest in critical infrastructure, decarbonization, digitalization, strengthening the sovereignty of European infrastructure, and this requires financing also in the form of debt, private debt financing.

We have also an excellent recruitment here with René Kassis, who has some 30 years of experience of specifically building infrastructure debt platforms across Europe, who is joining the Cyrus management board and will specifically lead expansion into infra debt. With this step, we are also strengthening our Western European presence as we are opening a location and office in Paris.

Yet another step in our strategy to focus and strengthen our focus on real asset investments. Then from fundraisings to ongoing value creation and portfolio work, also here, great start to the year.

Positive fair value development across our funds, and also very active on the transaction side. During the first quarter, six new platform investments and some more in the pipeline and some already announced now during the second quarter.

During the first quarter, especially Growth, investing in their third fund in two new investments, and real estate being active across the Nordics: several residential investments in Sweden, a joint venture with a Danish pension fund in Copenhagen, which also secures our first investment or option for a first investment into our Nordic Real Estate IV fund, and then social real estate investing in Norway, a police headquarters. Strong development across the board there.

On the exit side, during the first quarter, announced the exit of Valokuitunen from Infrastructure I, which is an exceptionally strong exit. Valokuitunen is also an excellent example of the value creation we do in our portfolio and our approach of active ownership.

In March this year, we announced that the Nordic Infrastructure I fund has signed the sale of Valokuitunen to Brookfield and Telia. This investment is something that it was a proprietary deal idea by our infrastructure team back in 2020, when it was established as a JV with Telia.

During the fund ownership, our team has been working closely with management and through board work in the company, developing the organization, strengthening operational capabilities, strengthening sales and customer interface in the company. To give you some headlight numbers, the company has grown into the largest fiber-to-the-home company in Finland, starting from some 20,000 households in the network to now way over 430,000 households.

Growing the organization from six persons to more than 100 employees, and receiving a Great Place to Work certificate, also building a great culture in the company. Financially, strong success: revenue growth fivefold during our ownership period, profitability growth 25-fold during the same period, and doing this in parallel with strong sustainability focus, Valokuitunen is ranked third in its peer group in the international GRESB sustainability ranking, achieving 95 out of a maximum of 100 points.

All of this taken together, strong value creation resulting in an excellent exit from the Infra I fund, taking that fund closer to carry, and also strongly supporting our fundraising for the Infrastructure III fund. In parallel then with value creation in our investments and in our funds, we are also systematically developing our own operations, building scalable operations, utilizing AI, automation, and creating more efficient processes.

There's been several development projects ongoing for the last 2 years, some 20 projects just during last year, where implementation continues into this year with the next wave of development projects. You can broadly categorize these into two categories: enabling scalable revenue growth on one hand, and on the other hand, efficiency and cost savings in our operations.

It's around fund structures, fund operations, fund management, reporting, automating that, making it systematically in a scalable format, and improving our own internal process efficiency across the board. These combined with a strong cost control that will continue into this year, we see that we will get scalability in the operations.

We already see that in the numbers, and it's good to know that from these efficiency improvement programs, really the full impact we will see when we reach the final closes in our large funds, when we take that step change in AUM. That's when it fully will fall through, but already now we can see a step change last 2 years from the previous years in fee profit margin, and also now in the first quarter, a 2 percentage points improvement compared to last year.

Continuing our work in value creation, doing it hand in hand with sustainability and making sustainability count also for the financial performance. Again here looking at our funds, we are in the GRESB ratings coming out extremely well, four to five stars across the board in this international, highly ranked benchmarking.

We're also ranked by the ISS STOXX sustainability index where CapMan is ranked among more than 170 global peers, and we come out in the first decile of this sample with a very strong rating, also that showing that sustainability is something that goes across our operations. Taken together, we are positioned for strong, profitable growth.

When it comes to AUM, currently at €7.2 billion, targeting the €10 billion with the ongoing fundraisings that we have. Fee income growing now in this quarter 22% compared to last year, and we expect fee income to continue to grow in line with AUM development.

When it comes to fee profit, already now we see an improving profit margin in our operations, and here we expect fee profit to continue to grow faster than fee income as the business scales, but taking into account that it's not necessarily linear, but really the full impact we see when we get to final closings in several of the funds. Our long-term financial objectives remain unchanged: on average, more than 15% growth in revenue excluding carried interest—here 22% growth now in the first quarter; keeping a strong balance sheet; targeting return on equity above 20%; equity ratio above 50%; and keeping a distribution policy where we pay sustainable distributions that grow over time; and based on last year's result, a dividend distribution of 12 cents per share, of which half has already been paid and the other part is paid during the fall.

Our outlook estimate for the year remains unchanged, in essence we estimate assets under management to grow and fee profit to grow compared to last year. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Pia. Now we also welcome Atte Rissanen to the stage, CFO of CapMan.

Should we start with questions from the audience here?

Now the mic is hopefully on. Jaakko Tyrväinen from SEB.

Good morning. Overall market uncertainty related to geopolitics and the events in the Middle East, how have you seen this impacting on your market environment, opportunity to continue the fundraising as planned, and especially on the exit market and the sentiment over there?

Will you be able to continue the exits throughout the '26?

Overall, you could say we've seen quite limited impact so far. You can basically, I think, divide it into three categories.

Fundraising, where we see continued strong momentum and investors continuing to commit capital, limited impact there. If anything, we see more interest into Europe and the Nordics overall as a region due to this overall geopolitical uncertainty.

When we think about the fund investments and the portfolio, so far transaction activity has not slowed down, and we haven't seen any negative impact on that side, at least not yet. When it comes to the development in our portfolio companies, what we see is that, and in the assets, overall real assets are less impacted by the equity market volatility.

We continue to see good value creation there, and also in our portfolio companies strong development operationally. Where we see an impact is, of course, where we use peer group multiples in valuations, there, of course, especially on the software side, there is an impact from the AI disruption.

I would say, large by large, very limited impact. Fundraising continues, value creation very limited impact except for peer groups, and transactions so far going ahead.

The related rise in interest rates, have you seen the higher rate level impacting especially on the, let's say, real estate and on the infra side, where it's perhaps a bit more relevant?

Actually no, more limited, because, on one hand, many of our strategies are more higher-returning, value-add strategies, core-plus. Then, say for example, infrastructure, there is very strong appetite for the asset class as a whole in Europe at the moment, no, no material impact seen.

Good to note that natural capital and infrastructure are both asset classes which traditionally fare very well in an inflationary environment. Also the recent increase in the rates hasn't been as dramatic as what we saw in '22, the overall impact is not going to be of similar significance, I think.

Thank you. If I may continue a bit on the sentiment-related question, we've all seen the news flow regarding the US private credit.

Or in the customer and investor discussions in Europe, have you seen any impact on the sentiment here regarding the investors' kind of a appetite for illiquid asset classes?

Here I would actually say that well, what we see in the US at the moment on private credit, it's good to know two things. On one hand, it's private credit investments into private companies specifically, which means that private credit investments, real asset debt as we call it, into physical assets, a kind of asset-backed investments, are actually coming out more attractive due to this kind of worries around private credit investments into especially software companies, I think.

Secondly, I think what we see in the US is primarily it's open funds focused for retail investors, and retail investors now worrying in this sentiment around the valuations of the portfolios and making redemptions. There's been less actual defaults in the portfolio as such, it's more a retail investor impact so far that we've seen.

Our main segment is really the institutional investors. Those are the counterparties for our funds, again, not impacting those discussions.

Overall, again, I would say, if anything, infrastructure, real estate debt investments in Europe, if anything, fare well in a comparison within the private credit space.

Thank you. Then my final one: you already touched about the possible timeline for the first infra debt fund launch, but could you elaborate a bit more on the planned strategy for this new segment?

Will you kind of apply similar Nordic strategy there, or are you seeing more targets also from Europe, and how you are going to differentiate yourself from the competition?

Within infra debt, the strategy is, in a sense, very much following our real estate debt strategy, it's a European strategy as the debt strategies usually are more broad geographically. We're staying true to our core of staying in the mid-market segment when it comes to investments.

It's around financing infrastructure investments into then critical infrastructure, decarbonization, but in the lower-mid-market where there is less competition in the market, but a lot of financing need. That's where the strategy goes.

Very much in line with our DNA of what Cyrus, on one hand, is doing in real estate debt and CapMan's core of staying in the mid-market and lower-mid-market. We're building the team and the fundraising there at the moment.

Launching the first fund is still out in time, will happen most likely during this year. Now it's really also finding the right balance exactly for the focus of the strategy, having discussions with potential anchor investors in there.

It will be a Western European plus Nordic strategy, not just Nordics, similarly to the Cyrus.

Very good. Thank you.

Hi, it's Patrick Campbell from Nordea. Maybe jumping over to fee income, it was quite strong in Q4 and also quite strong now in Q1.

Is it kind of correct to assume that this level is the new normal when accounting for upcoming exits and new funds?

The Q1 fee income, as you saw, the intake of new AUM was very limited, basically the growth actions completed during '25 are the factors that drove the fee income growth during Q1, you could very much assume that this is the run rate fee income, if that was the question.

Yes, it was. [Laughs]

Very good.

All right, then just quickly on carried interest. What kind of drove the carried interest in Q1, and how do you kind of see it developing in Q2 relative to Q1?

In Q1, it was quite limited and it was from our Nest credit strategy, exits from that one, that drove it. Then when we look ahead, we have both within real estate, now infrastructure, also Buyout, excellent exits that are pushing the funds towards carry in those, require consequent exits for carry to realize.

I would say that within the next 6 to 12 months in all of those three areas, we should see carry.

All right, thank you. What about Valokuitunen, how big of an impact should we expect from the carry side?

Valokuitunen alone doesn't take the Infra 1 fund into carry, so that closing is not generating carry. It is clearly securing the fund returns on a level that takes that fund very much closer to realizing carry.

All right. Perfect.

Thank you very much.

You have to keep in mind that Valokuitunen was only the second exit of the fund, there's a lot of portfolio companies remaining. As Pia mentioned, it basically solidified the performance to be stellar for that fund.

Thanks.

Thank you very much. Then we continue with questions.

Do you see the €10 billion AUM target achievable in target timeline without M&A?

When we succeed with the ongoing fundraisings and the target sizes that we have, that will take us to the €10 billion target. Achievable without M&A.

Risk, of course, if something happens in the market or something gets delayed, then it's a timing risk more than reaching the absolute target risk. That said, of course, we are open to continue to look at inorganic growth as well, the same way we have been doing over the years, but really core focus now is executing organically on ongoing fundraisings.

Do you see a need to refinance 2027's bond or could you deliver? Could delever?

[Laughs] But

yes, of course, given that the maturity is in Q2 '27, we will need to refinance that. We see this sort of also an opportunity to consider the capital structure in sort of more comprehensive way.

We are reviewing the alternatives related to that refinancing.

What is a fee profit level percentage which you see realistic when current fundraising cycle is over?

We have not communicated a specific target, but I think you can look at the uplift that has been achieved over the previous years now, and as the business is growing, there is significant uplift potential.

As it was evident by the graph that Pia showed basically how it worked with the last fundraising cycle, there was an uplift of some 5 to 6 percentage points, yes, there is always an uplift when we reach the next fundraising cycle, but as Pia mentioned, we don't communicate that kind of a guidance.

Regarding speed of the fundraising, why Infra fundraising is able to move with the speed of light while others are clearly struggling? Is it purely asset class question?

Fundraising is always a combination of track record, theme, and market. Infra has all of those things very strongly in place.

There is a strong market demand, it is a stellar team with a stellar track. That said, I would not agree with that all other fundraisings are struggling.

The Forest fund held their first close with less than 12 months of fundraising, less than 9 months of fundraising, which is also very strong development, and as said, we are seeing to take in more capital into that fund also in the coming months. Real estate, there, yes, the Nordic Real Estate fund has taken longer.

There clearly it's a market that has been very challenging over the years. At the same time, good to note that in real estate, we have also shifted focus between what investors have wanted, when there's been stronger demand for the open-ended specialized funds, that is where we have taken in, on average, more than €300 million per year over the past years, and then the Nordic Real Estate fund has delayed.

Now we see very strong momentum there, investors really strongly moving ahead, also there expect the first close now.

The last question, you touched on this already regarding the interest rate, but how that then affects the fundraising activity?

As said, we see very, very good, strong momentum at the moment, and not so much impact. Like Atte was saying earlier, these are investment areas where they are favored in inflationary environments, and the interest rate increases haven't been that drastic, we expect the fundraisings to go ahead.

Thank you. That was then the last question for today.

Thank you very much for coming, and we wish you all a nice day.

Thank you.