Norwegian Finance Initiative (NFI)
The Norwegian Finance Initiative (NFI) shall support NBIM’s mission to safeguard and build financial wealth for future generations by strengthening financial economic research and education in areas relevant to the long-term management of the Government Pension Fund Global.
Main objectives
The initiative shall provide long-term incentives to promote excellence in financial economic research and teaching at academic institutions in Norway. It shall also be a catalyst for sustainable and long-term improvements in the research output at these institutions.
The NFI shall strengthen the scientific foundation of NBIM’s management of the Government Pension Fund Global by emphasising areas within financial economics of particular relevance to the fund’s management. These may include asset pricing and portfolio theory, corporate finance and corporate governance and market microstructure.
Supporting academic research in Norway
The NFI will provide an incentive-based scheme to help academic institutions in Norway attract talent by co-financing professorships in financial economics at these academic institutions when predefined criteria are fulfilled. The initiative may reward excellent research contributions by faculty members at institutions in Norway. It will also support PhD students at top-ranked international programmes, while also aiming to support a nationally coordinated PhD programme in financial economics.
Strengthening ties with the academic community
NBIM aims to strengthen its ties with the academic community through various initiatives. These may include a visiting scholar programme at NBIM, research seminars, research conferences and occasional academic courses that will be organised under the NFI. NBIM will also expand its internal research capacity to support the development of investment processes that are long-term oriented and scalable.
The NFI was officially announced on 30 August 2011 at the NBIM Financial Research Conference.
