Norway has always said its sovereign wealth fund belongs to the people. But recently, that’s needed a bit of clarification.
Since hitting a record 10 trillion kroner ($1.1 trillion) last month, the fund has noticed an uptick in inquiries from Norwegians wondering whether they can now withdraw their share. Requests range from people asking for their full pro-rata stake — which, given Norway’s population of about 5.3 million, comes to more than $200,000 per person — to less serious pleas for a few coins to buy a can of soda.
“It’s nice that people get involved and are aware that this fund belongs to everyone,” said Marthe Skaar, a spokeswoman for Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the fund from Oslo.
Though some Norwegians may be disappointed to learn they can’t make withdrawals, Skaar says the sudden spike in public interest in the fund represents a good opportunity to explain it’s also supposed to benefit future generations. She said that such requests are nothing new and the fund doesn’t keep a precise tally, although there had been an “upswing” after the valuation milestone.
The Government Pension Fund Global, as it is officially known, isn’t really a pension fund. Its purpose is to ensure that Norway keeps profiting from its oil wealth long after the fossil-fuel era ends. It only invests outside Norway, to avoid overheating the domestic economy.
Fiscal Stimulus
The government also spends some of its oil wealth on present-day Norwegians. After a drop in crude prices, it was forced to tap the fund to pad its budget in a rare example of fiscal stimulus in Europe.
A lot of oil-producing countries have set up wealth funds, but Norway’s remains a unique experiment in natural-resource wealth management. The fund’s mandate is anchored in Parliament, and has evolved over time with ethical restrictions on tobacco, certain weapons and most coal producers.
Norway’s wealth fund holds roughly 1.5% of the world’s listed equities. The past decade has seen a steep increase in its value, after a buying spree on cheap stocks during the financial crisis resulted in a quadrupling of its size since 2008. More than half the investor’s value is from its returns.
Source: Bloomberg
Can’t stop reading? Read more
H.I.G. Capital eyes £800m exit from Interpath four years after KPMG carve-out
H.I.G. Capital eyes £800m exit from Interpath four years after KPMG carve-out H.I.G. Capital is preparing to launch a formal sale process for Interpath Advisory, the restructuring and professional services firm it acquired from KPMG in 2021. The private equity firm is...
Trader Joe’s-anchored retail portfolio sold to Bain Capital and 11North in $212m deal
Trader Joe’s-anchored retail portfolio sold to Bain Capital and 11North in $212m deal Bain Capital Real Estate and 11North Partners have jointly acquired a $212m portfolio of open-air lifestyle retail centres in Oklahoma City. The off-market deal includes Nichols...
Armònia Italy Fund II merges three firms to create high-tech manufacturing group
Armònia Italy Fund II merges three firms to create high-tech manufacturing group Armònia Italy Fund II, managed by Armònia SGR, has finalised its second investment with the acquisition of a majority stake in a newly created industrial group formed by the integration...