Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), has reported a robust performance for 2025, generating $247 billion in returns. This significant profit, equivalent to 2.36 trillion Norwegian kroner, marks the fund’s highest annual return since its inception in the 1990s. The fund’s total value reached 21.27 trillion Norwegian kroner by the close of the year, with an overall return of 13.5 trillion kroner.
The stellar performance was largely driven by the fund’s substantial investments in equities, which constitute approximately 71% of its portfolio. These holdings delivered a compelling 19.3% return in 2025. NBIM, which manages the fund on behalf of the Norwegian populace, has a diversified investment strategy, holding stakes in over 7,000 companies across 60 countries. The fund’s genesis was to strategically invest excess revenues generated from Norway’s vital oil and gas industry.
Key contributors to the fund’s strong equity performance included significant positions in technology, financials, and basic materials sectors. NBIM CEO Nicolai Tangen highlighted these sectors as standouts, playing a crucial role in the overall profitability. Among the fund’s most valuable holdings are substantial stakes in technology giants such as Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft, underscoring the continued dominance of these firms in the global market.
In the basic materials sector, NBIM’s portfolio includes mining behemoth Fresnillo, which notably experienced a remarkable surge of 452.5% on London’s FTSE 100 last year, fueled by a silver price boom and its acquisition of Probe Gold. The financial sector also saw strong performance, with NBIM holding significant interests in major U.S. banks like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs. Furthermore, the fund maintains considerable investments in European financial institutions, including Santander, UBS, HSBC, and UniCredit, reflecting a broader trend of strong returns within the European banking sector in recent years.
Beyond equities, NBIM’s fixed income investments yielded a solid 5.4% return in 2025. The fund’s unlisted real estate portfolio also performed well, returning 4.4%, while its renewable energy infrastructure holdings delivered an impressive 18.1%. These diversified returns contributed to an overall increase in the fund’s value by 1.53 trillion kroner, approximately $159.9 billion, during 2025.
Despite the positive financial outcomes, the fund faced scrutiny over certain investment decisions. In September, the U.S. State Department expressed concern regarding NBIM’s divestment from American machinery manufacturer Caterpillar and five Israeli banks. The department cited “unacceptable risk” of the companies contributing to rights violations in Palestinian territories. A spokesperson suggested that NBIM’s exit from Caterpillar appeared to be based on unsubstantiated claims. Norway’s Finance Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, later clarified that the divestment was not politically motivated, emphasizing the fund’s long-term investment strategy, which aligns with the economic significance of the U.S. market, representing 38.8% of the fund’s total investments. Stoltenberg reiterated at the World Economic Forum in Davos that there was no reason for the fund to withdraw from the United States, given its market size and the fund’s long-term horizon.
Original article, Author: Tobias. If you wish to reprint this article, please indicate the source:https://aicnbc.com/16794.html
