EQT started life in 1994 as a small Stockholm-based startup: an idea that was first dreamt up a year earlier between Conni Jonsson, at the time working at Investor AB, the industrial holding company founded by the Wallenbergs in 1916, and his CEO, Claes Dahlbäck, over dinner in Stockholm’s Old Town.

Inspired by the Wallenberg family’s philosophy of responsible ownership, Jonsson launched EQT as a purpose-driven investment organization, dedicated to being, as the company’s founding slogan put it: “More than capital”.

Today, as EQT celebrates its 30th birthday, that mission is still the same — even as the company has blossomed into a global, cross-industry, public firm that is entrusted with EUR 242 billion of capital from institutional investors and pension funds to some of the world’s wealthiest. This is a level of trust that EQT has worked incredibly hard to secure. But how did we do it?

An investment approach

“We like investing in good companies in strong sectors,” says Peter Beske, EQT’s Global Head of Private Wealth Management. “Our aim is to future-proof companies by developing a good company and making it great.”

It’s this approach that has helped EQT to grow our portfolio over the past three decades – a journey that has taken us through various market cycles and industries. History is no guarantee of future returns, but it speaks volumes about our ability to create value over time.

It might sound simple enough, but behind the scenes, there’s a complex, ever-evolving strategy at play. One guided by the social, economic, and technological trends that shape the future and informed by an extensive local presence, with people building insights and relationships worldwide via our network of over 600 industrial advisors. Today, those networks are commonplace in private equity, but EQT was ahead of the curve in 1994 when we brought in global business expertise to give them the edge.

As Marcus Wallenberg put it: “To move from the old to what is about to come is the only tradition worth keeping”, and an ethos of never standing still continues to drive EQT. In a recent ThinQ article, Conni explained that EQT’s strategy relies on continuous challenges – essential to force the company to innovate, stay ahead of the competition, and enhance its culture. This is strengthened by our investment capabilities across different stages of the funding journey, says Peter. “Having investment capabilities across venture, growth and buyout helps us quite a lot. [It] gives us a strong position to see what are the new emerging technologies of today that will impact the large companies tomorrow.”

Laser focus on performance

While our methods are constantly being fine-tuned, there are certain tried and tested fundamentals that we bring to every investment. Above all, a laser focus on performance. Or, as Conni put it: “Everything can always be improved, everywhere, at all times”.

This all starts with a full “potential plan” that prioritizes what is essential and drives efficiency to get more things done, better and faster. Supported by our global industrial advisor network, we then take on an active owner role in the companies EQT invests in, built around a governance model that we call the Troika. This includes the Chairman, the CEO and the leading EQT partner.

We’re vocal and transparent about this focus and how we put it into action, so any individual or institutional investors know how we plan to put their money to work.

A responsible approach to investment

Back in 1994, Conni launched EQT with a mission to show that private equity can work alongside societies and do tangible good, looking beyond capital to build future-shaping businesses. This is still the case today.

This starts with the types of companies and assets we invest in and the way we actively manage them. “We like investing in markets that already have tailwinds,” says Peter. “We strive to conduct business in a way that future-proofs companies.”

But becoming a successful and active owner requires trust from multiple stakeholders. Trust that is earned over time. This has meant a continuous quest to gain and preserve confidence from a broad set of stakeholders, such as portfolio companies’ employees and customers, fund investors, unions, the media, politicians – and, since the public listing, EQT AB’s shareholders.

In short, while our investors trust us to deliver consistent returns, they also trust that we’ll be guided by our belief that doing good is good business.