Madeleine Bergh

In the 1990s Måns went on a school trip.

He’s still not back.

As a young kid, Måns Levin went with his school to visit the trading floor of a Swedish bank. He glimpsed into an office and saw books, a computer, tennis rackets and golf clubs.

“It was like a perfect image of everything I loved at the time”, he laughs. “Maybe what attracted my young self was what we today would call work-life balance. Hard work and total focus in a competitive environment, but also never forgetting why we work and what we value in life”.

That visit sparked an early interest in finance that eventually would take him to the Stockholm School of economics and onwards to a career at financial institutions across Europe. “The start of my career coincided with the turbulent times of the 2008 financial crisis” he says. “Given the circumstances, I guess it was hard not to develop an interest in calculated risks and long-term investments.”

Looking back, Måns says that these years, offered him the best possible schooling, but that he also saw inefficiencies, imperfections and sometimes misaligned agendas. “Extreme volatility, crashing markets, wiped out fortunes and panicking people wasn´t fun.” he recalls. “But I also learned that the world didn´t end. And I understood that not following the crowd, and to dare to be contrarian can be of great value.”

Years later he would bump into Christoffer Malmström, an old friend from business school. They had both had successful careers, but they also shared the same ideas and values and a common dream of one day starting and building something of their own.

“We realised that the time was right”, says Måns. “There was a gap in the market. Over the years we had both developed knowledge, expertise and the networks needed. In Nordic high-yield investments in particular we saw an underdeveloped market filled with potential that others did not see. Or at least did not explore.”

“My conviction is that challenges in the financial markets quite often are opportunities in disguise. It is all about finding better ways to do things,” Måns says. “It’s not easy, but that’s where the excitement lies. We started Ridge Capital to form a team that could build something that would last over time”

Måns says his leadership philosophy is similar to his view on investments. “It’s about the long run, not the short-term wins. Whenever we make a decision, it is with the next decade in mind. We want to be profitable, but with purpose and passion.”

And so, the journey that began with a school trip continues. While Måns’ growing family has added a new dimension to his life, his dedication to long-term goals and doing work that matters has only strengthened. Step into his office, and you’ll often see what that young boy once saw – tennis and padel rackets, books, and a computer. Ready for challenges and a life in balance.