The Association is a non-profit organisation that operates on the principle of self-regulation, which means that experts from different fields collaborate on the setting of regulations and standards, interpret regulations and review how the sector complies with regulations. It is made up of five executive bodies. The Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) has delegated certain tasks to two of these.

• The Swedish Securities Council (Aktiemarknadsnämnden) issues rulings, advice and information on good practice in the Swedish stock market, and the Financial Supervisory Authority has delegated the right to issue rulings on public takeover bids;
• The Stock Market Self-Regulation Committee (Aktiemarknadens självregleringskommitté) produces and administers rules and recommendations for the stock market regarding public takeover bids (the Takeover Rules), remuneration of senior executives, incentive programmes and private placements in listed companies;
• The Swedish Corporate Governance Board (Kollegiet för svensk bolagsstyrning) develops and manages the Swedish Corporate Governance Code (“Koden för bolagsstyrning”);
• The Council for Swedish Financial Reporting Supervision (Nämnden för svensk redovisningstillsyn) scrutinises the financial reporting of Swedish listed companies, a task delegated by the Financial Supervisory Authority;
• The Swedish Corporate Reporting Board (Rådet för hållbarhets- och finansiell rapportering) continuously adapts and develops high quality accounting standards as well as sustainability and financial reporting requirements for Swedish companies, whose securities are listed on a regulated market within the EEA.

You can read more about each of these executive bodies by following the links above.

The board of the Association appoints the members of the executive five bodies and grants budgets for their activities, while the Association's secretariat administers and manages issues of a general nature.

Self-regulation means that the corporate sector and other stakeholders in the market design and decide themselves on the rules in the securities market and what is generally accepted practice. The aim is to create and maintain confidence among both domestic and foreign market actors, as well as to ensure a robust and efficient securities market with good conditions for listed companies, investors and other stakeholders.

The benefits of this model have led the Swedish parliament and the Financial Supervisory Authority to delegate certain public authority powers and standard setting to self-regulation.

The principals/members of the Association are the Swedish Association of Listed Companies (Aktiemarknadsbolagens Förening), the Institute for the Accountancy Profession in Sweden (FAR), the Association of Mutual Funds (Fondbolagens förening), the Institutional Owners Association for Regulatory Issues in the Stock Market (Institutionella ägares förening), the Swedish Insurance Federation (Svensk Försäkring), the Swedish Bankers’ Association (Svenska Bankföreningen), the Swedish Securities Markets Association (Föreningen Svensk Värdepappersmarknad), the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv) and Nasdaq Stockholm.

How the Association/self-regulation is financed

The non-profit activities of the Association for Generally Accepted Principles in the Securities Market, its secretariat, its wholly-owned subsidiary (Självregleringen i Sverige Service AB) and its five executive bodies, (the Swedish Securities Council, the Swedish Corporate Governance Board, the Stock Market Self-Regulation Committee, the Council for Swedish Financial Reporting Supervision and the Swedish Corporate Reporting Board), provide service to the Association’s principals/members and to the business community regarding generally accepted practice in the Swedish stock and securities market.

The activities are financed by various fees. The majority of the fees consist of the self-regulation fee and the reporting supervision fee, which are invoiced annually in advance and are not subject to VAT. Previously, these fees were mainly collected through Nasdaq Stockholm and Nordic Growth Market NGM, which passed on the fees to the Association, but as of 2024, the fees will be invoiced directly by the Association.

The self-regulation fee is paid by companies listed on Nasdaq Stockholm's main market ("Main Market"), in accordance with the provisions of Nasdaq Stockholm's Rule Book for Equity Issuers. The fee is an amount corresponding to a percentage of the annual listing fee that each company pays to Nasdaq Stockholm. The percentage shall reflect the cost price of a sustainable and high-quality self-regulation in the stock market. The Association's board decides, after consultation with the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, on the size of the percentage. Since 1 January 2024, the self-regulation fee is 5.5 per cent of the annual fee paid by the issuer to Nasdaq.

The reporting supervision fee is paid by issuers whose home Member State is Sweden and whose transferable securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market. These issuers, which in addition to issuers of shares also consist of certain issuers of bonds and alternative investment funds, have, in accordance with Chapter 16 of The Securities Market Act (2007:528), an obligation to disclose regular financial information in the form of e.g. annual reports and half-yearly reports. The review of regular financial information is carried out by the Association's executive body, the Council for Swedish Financial Reporting Supervision (the Council), by delegation from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, which has the ultimate responsibility for the supervision. The reporting supervision fee finances the Council's activities and is levied pursuant to Chapter 23, Article 13, Paragraph 2 of the Securities Market Act. According to the law, the fee must be reasonable, and the Financial Supervisory Authority has been informed of the guiding principles for the calculation of the fee. More detailed information regarding the reporting supervision fee can be found on the Council's website 

Fees paid by the Association's principals/members account for a small part, as do payments for rulings and consultations delivered for by the Swedish Securities Council. More detailed information regarding the fees charged by the Swedish Securities Council can be found on its website  

You can read more about the fees here (in Swedish)