An article about Ermitage Partners was published in the Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat today on 10 May 2023.
The article contemplates whether the business of Ermitage Partners would require an investment service license issued by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (the “FIN-FSA”). As of the date hereof, Ermitage Partners does not provide any investment services. However, last year, we submitted an application for an investment service license with the FIN-FSA as such a license would enable us to strategically expand our operations into certain new business areas. For the sake of clarity, Ermitage Partners is not an asset manager or a fund manager and does not provide investment advice, which sets us apart from many other Finnish market players. We do not have any assets under management, we are not a custodian, we do not hold any client funds, and we do not charge any fees from the investors.
The article suggests that we may have somehow benefited from our business activities not requiring a license and that this would have been a key component in the rapid growth of Ermitage Partners, which is naturally not true. The rapid growth of our business is due to our long-term exceptional fund manager and local investor relationships.
We have been creating increasing value in the Finnish private equity space. Meeting the high expectations of both our fund manager clients and their regional investors has always been and will continue to be of paramount importance to us. This has been reflected in the satisfaction and continued confidence of our managers and the investors in us, for which we are truly grateful.
