Capital, which had to disclose its position after going above 5% of the stock, previously held a 3.03% voting stake.

Its holdings now overtake Cevian Capital, the activist investor group, which holds 4.89% of ABB, according to Refinitiv data. The biggest investor in ABB remains Sweden's Investor AB, founded by the Wallenberg family, with 12.24%.

Capital, which has more than $2 trillion in assets under management, did not respond to requests for comment. The company describes itself as a long-term strategic investor.

ABB's share price has risen by 38% in the past 12 months since former Sandvik boss Bjorn Rosengren took over as CEO, outperforming the Swiss blue-chip SMI index, which has gained 9.9%.

ABB declined to comment.

(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Michael Shields)