Norway continues to invest for a non-fossil-fuel future

Article Excerpt

The current $1.4 trillion U.S. value of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund corresponds to around a whopping $254,000 per citizen. This sovereign fund is now the world’s largest wealth fund, followed by the China, Kuwait, and Abu Dhabi funds. Although revenue from oil and gas production is transferred to the fund, these deposits account for less than half the value of the fund. Most of it has been earned by investing in equities, fixed income and real estate. The fund’s asset mix is 60% equities, 35% in fixed income, and 5% in real estate. The fund is managed by Norges Bank on behalf of the Norwegian government. Its mission is to build financial wealth for the Norwegian people. The overall objective is to achieve a return on investment higher than the growth in the global economy. Since 1998 the fund has generated an annual return of 6.6%, with its worst return coming in 2008 when it declined by 23.3%. The best returns came in…