Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) which manages the country’s US$1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund has reported a full-year profit of 2.5 trillion kroner (US$222.4 billion) in 2024, driven primarily by a strong rally in U.S. technology stocks. Despite this impressive performance, the fund underperformed its benchmark by 45 basis points, partly due to a decline in real estate holdings. However, the 2024 profit surpassed the previous record of 2.22 trillion kroner set in 2023.
At the close of 2024, the Government Pension Global Fund was valued at 19.7 trillion kroner. Its returns were largely led by equity investments, which yielded 18%, while fixed-income investments returned 1%. In contrast, unlisted real estate investments fell by 1%, and unlisted renewable energy infrastructure recorded a steeper decline of 10%.
“The fund achieved very good returns in 2024, thanks to a very strong stock market, particularly American technology stocks,” said CEO Nicolai Tangen during a press conference. The Norwegian kroner weakened against major global currencies, which boosted the fund’s valuation by 1.07 trillion kroner, while inflows into the fund totalled 402 billion kroner. By year-end, 71.4% of assets were invested in equities, 26.6% in fixed income, 1.8% in unlisted real estate, and 0.1% in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure.
The fund’s annual report is set for release on February 25. As of June 30, 2024, Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) held significant stakes in several major U.S. technology companies, their largest equity holdings in the technology sector included:
- Microsoft Corp: Valued at approximately 453.8 billion kroner.
- Apple Inc: Valued at approximately 390.8 billion kroner.
- NVIDIA Corp: Valued at approximately 377.1 billion kroner.
- Alphabet Inc: Valued at approximately 258.3 billion kroner.
- Amazon.com Inc: Valued at approximately 241.3 billion kroner.
- Meta Platforms Inc: Valued at approximately 161.2 billion kroner.
Founded in 1990, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is among the world’s largest, holding stakes in around 9,000 companies and owning nearly 1.5% of all publicly traded shares globally. Additionally, the fund generates revenue from real estate holdings in major cities and income from sovereign and corporate lending, helping to diversify and safeguard Norway’s wealth.
