Norway’s Wealth Fund Reports Record $222 Billion Annual Gain Amid Tech Surge

OSLO: Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the largest globally at $1.8 trillion, announced on Wednesday a record yearly profit of 2.51 trillion crowns ($222 billion), fueled by the tech surge of last year. It marked the second consecutive year of record profits yearly, surpassing the 2.2 trillion crowns achieved in 2023. "The American technology stocks, in particular, had a strong performance," stated Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund.

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Norway’s Wealth Fund Hits Record Profit

The fund, which channels the Norwegian state's earnings from oil and gas extraction, ranks among the largest investors globally, holding an average of 1.5 per cent of all publicly traded shares worldwide. It also allocates funds into bonds, real estate, and renewable energy resources. At the close of 2024, nine of the ten largest equity stakes in the fund were technology firms, with the leading three being Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Nvidia (NVDA.O). In 2024, the fund achieved a return on investment of 13 per cent for the year, which is 0.45 percentage points below the return of its benchmark index.

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Contributions from the Norwegian government to the fund in 2024 totalled 402 billion crowns, falling short of the nearly 1.1 trillion crowns record established in 2022. According to NBIM, the equity investments yielded an 18 per cent return last year, fixed income investments increased by 1 per cent, unlisted real estate saw a decline of 1 per cent, while unlisted renewable energy infrastructure experienced a return of minus 10 per cent. By year's end, 71.4 per cent of the fund's assets were invested in equities, an increase from 70.9 per cent in 2023. Bonds decreased to 26.6 per cent from 27.1 per cent, unlisted real estate dropped to 1.8 per cent from 1.9 per cent, and renewable infrastructure accounted for 0.1 per cent of investments, remaining the same as the prior year.