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Business Times
12-08-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Norway's US$1.9 trillion wealth fund returns 5.7% in H1
[OSLO] Norway's sovereign wealth fund returned 5.7 per cent and slightly missed its target in the first six months of 2025. The US$1.9 trillion fund's return was led by equities, which rose by 6.7 per cent, Norges Bank Investment Management said in a report on Tuesday (Aug 12). The fund missed the benchmark it measures itself against by 5 basis points, it said. 'The result is driven by good returns in the stock market, particularly in the financial sector,' chief executive officer Nicolai Tangen said. A stronger currency weighed on the fund, contributing to a drop in its overall value by 0.8 per cent to US$1.9 trillion. Norway's wealth fund, the world's largest, owns about 1.5 per cent of listed stocks globally. More than two thirds of the fund is in equities, all outside of Norway. A big chunk of its holdings are in the US, including tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms. Founded in the early 1990s, NBIM invests the Nordic country's oil and gas revenues abroad for the benefit of future generations. It follows a benchmark index set by the finance ministry and has limited scope for active investing. On equities, it tracks the FTSE Global All Cap index with holdings in about 8,700 listed companies in 44 countries, while the fixed-income portion of the fund follows Bloomberg Barclays indexes, with 70 per cent allocated to government bonds and 30 per cent to corporate securities. The fund has been under pressure lately due to its investments in some companies contributing to Israel's war in Gaza and on Monday said it had divested from 11 Israeli companies. It's also terminating all contracts with external managers in Israel following public outcry. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
12-08-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Norway's US$1.9 trillion wealth fund returns 5.7% in 1H
[OSLO] Norway's sovereign wealth fund returned 5.7 per cent and slightly missed its target in the first six months of 2025. The US$1.9 trillion fund's return was led by equities, which rose by 6.7 per cent, Norges Bank Investment Management said in a report on Tuesday (Aug 12). The fund missed the benchmark it measures itself against by 5 basis points, it said. 'The result is driven by good returns in the stock market, particularly in the financial sector,' chief executive officer Nicolai Tangen said. A stronger currency weighed on the fund, contributing to a drop in its overall value by 0.8 per cent to US$1.9 trillion. Norway's wealth fund, the world's largest, owns about 1.5 per cent of listed stocks globally. More than two thirds of the fund is in equities, all outside of Norway. A big chunk of its holdings are in the US, including tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms. Founded in the early 1990s, NBIM invests the Nordic country's oil and gas revenues abroad for the benefit of future generations. It follows a benchmark index set by the finance ministry and has limited scope for active investing. On equities, it tracks the FTSE Global All Cap index with holdings in about 8,700 listed companies in 44 countries, while the fixed-income portion of the fund follows Bloomberg Barclays indexes, with 70 per cent allocated to government bonds and 30 per cent to corporate securities. The fund has been under pressure lately due to its investments in some companies contributing to Israel's war in Gaza and on Monday said it had divested from 11 Israeli companies. It's also terminating all contracts with external managers in Israel following public outcry. BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Norway's $1.7 Trillion Wealth Fund Reports Tech-Driven Loss
(Bloomberg) -- Norway's $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund reported its biggest loss in six quarters in what was a roller-coaster period for markets globally, with the decline largely caused by a drop in the value of technology companies. Trump Gives New York 'One Last Chance' to End Congestion Fee Why Car YouTuber Matt Farah Is Fighting for Walkable Cities Backyard Micro-Flats Aim to Ease South Africa's Housing Crisis The Racial Wealth Gap Is Not Just About Money To Fuel Affordable Housing, This Innovation Fund Targets Predevelopment Costs Norges Bank Investment Management, the world's biggest single owner of listed companies, lost 0.6%, an equivalent of $40 billion, in the first three months of the year, it said in a statement on Thursday. That was the largest decline for its investments since the third quarter of 2023. The fund, largely an index tracker, lost 1.6% on stocks and gained 1.6% on its fixed-income investments. Still, its performance was 0.16 percentage point better than the benchmark in the quarter. 'The quarter has been impacted by significant market fluctuations,' Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen said in the statement. 'Our equity investments had a negative return, largely driven by the tech sector.' The worst of the recent markets turmoil following US President Donald Trump's sharp increase in tariffs in early April is not reflected in the first-quarter earnings. The fund is tech-heavy, with Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp, Alphabet Inc, Inc and Meta Platforms Inc among its biggest investments. It also owns shares in Tesla Inc. Those holdings have in the past generated stellar returns, including 13% last year. The fund's been underweight those stocks for about 18 months, deputy CEO, Trond Grande, told reporters. The plan is now to correct the underweight position in US equities, Tangen said at the news conference. Because the fund is mainly index-driven, this leaves little room for active investment. Its benchmark index is set by the Finance Ministry and based on the FTSE Global All Cap Index for equities and Bloomberg Barclays indexes for fixed income. The government deposited 78 billion kroner ($7.5 billion) into the fund during the quarter. The fund follows a set of ethical guidelines, which contain criteria for the exclusion of companies based on their products or conduct, serious violations of human and labor rights, as well as contribution to severe environmental damage. In addition, the rules exclude investments in companies that produce certain weapons, such as nuclear arms and cluster bombs. Norway's opposition Conservative Party has argued for changing the guidelines to include investments in companies manufacturing nuclear weapons, saying it's illogical to restrict the wealth fund from investing in businesses such as Lockheed Martin Corp. when Norway buys products from them. The fund owns stocks in more than 8,600 companies globally. Norway's Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg recently announced it will seek to reduce that number by selling off many small cap firms in emerging markets. Given the fund's size, such changes take time to work through. (A previous version of the story was corrected to remove drop in fund value in fifth paragraph.) --With assistance from Stephen Treloar and Ott Ummelas. (Updates with comments from executives in seventh paragraph.) As More Women Lift Weights, Gyms Might Never Be the Same Why US Men Think College Isn't Worth It Anymore Eight Charts Show Men Are Falling Behind, From Classrooms to Careers India's 110% Car Tariffs Become Harder to Defend in Trump Era The Guy Who Connected Donald Trump to the Manosphere ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Mint
24-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Norway's $1.7 Trillion Wealth Fund Reports Tech-Driven Loss
(Bloomberg) -- Norway's $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund reported its biggest loss in six quarters in what was a roller-coaster period for markets globally, with the decline largely caused by a drop in the value of technology companies. Norges Bank Investment Management, the world's biggest single owner of listed companies, lost 0.6%, or $40 billion, in the first three months of the year, it said in a statement on Thursday. That was the largest decline in its value since the third quarter of 2023. The fund, largely an index tracker, lost 1.6% on stocks and gained 1.6% on its fixed-income investments. Still, its performance was 0.16 percentage point better than the benchmark in the quarter. 'The quarter has been impacted by significant market fluctuations,' Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen said in the statement. 'Our equity investments had a negative return, largely driven by the tech sector.' The worst of the recent markets turmoil is not reflected in the first-quarter earnings. The fund's value dropped by about $200 million in the days following US President Donald Trump's sharp increase in tariffs in early April. The fund is tech-heavy, with Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp, Alphabet Inc, Inc and Meta Platforms Inc among its biggest investments. It also owns 1.8% of Tesla Inc. Those holdings have in the past generated stellar returns, including 13% last year. Still, the fund started reducing that position during 2024, partly to reduce the risk of a correction among companies that dominate global stock markets, deputy CEO, Trond Grande, said then. Because the fund is mainly index-driven, this leaves little room for active investment. Its benchmark index is set by the Finance Ministry and based on the FTSE Global All Cap Index for equities and Bloomberg Barclays indexes for fixed income. According to the mandate, the fund can manage about 1.45 percentage points actively without following the index. It only used 0.21 percentage points of its leverage last year. The government deposited 78 billion kroner ($7.5 billion) into the fund during the quarter. The fund follows a set of ethical guidelines, which contain criteria for the exclusion of companies based on their products or conduct, serious violations of human and labor rights, as well as contribution to severe environmental damage. In addition, the rules exclude investments in companies that produce certain weapons, such as nuclear arms and cluster bombs. Norway's conservative opposition party has argued for changing the guidelines to include investments in companies manufacturing nuclear weapons, saying it's illogical to restrict the wealth fund from investing in businesses such as Lockheed Martin Corp. when Norway buys products from them. The fund owns stocks in more than 8,600 companies globally. Norway's Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg recently announced it will seek to reduce that number by selling off many small cap firms in emerging markets. Given the fund's size, such changes take time to work through. --With assistance from Stephen Treloar and Ott Ummelas. (Updates with details, context from first paragraph.) More stories like this are available on First Published: 24 Apr 2025, 02:02 PM IST
