Norwegian sovereign wealth fund posts $76.4B profit in Q3

BERLIN

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, recorded a profit of $76.4 billion in the third quarter of 2024, the fund announced on Tuesday.

The fund's total return for the third quarter was 4.4%, just 0.1 percentage points below the benchmark index set by the Norwegian Finance Ministry, which is based on the FTSE Global All Cap and Bloomberg Barclays indices.

Trond Grande, deputy CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, which oversees the fund, credited the strong performance to gains across all investment sectors, driven by falling interest rates that spurred a significant rise in equity markets. The depreciation of the Norwegian krone against major foreign currencies further boosted the fund’s value in the third quarter.

The sovereign wealth fund, established in 1990, has been growing through investments in foreign stocks, bonds, and real estate using returns from Norway’s oil and gas production. While the government can draw small portions of the fund's revenues, the bulk is saved for future generations.

Currently, the fund holds shares in 8,763 companies across 71 countries, with 1.5% of those companies' shares tied to the fund's investments. In recent years, the fund has also expanded its investments into renewable energy projects.

By the end of September, the fund’s market value had reached approximately $1.7 trillion.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul