The fund's market value nok
We work to safeguard and build
financial wealth for future generations
The aim of the oil fund is to ensure responsible and long-term management of revenue from Norway’s oil and gas resources in the North Sea so that this wealth benefits both current and future generations. The fund’s formal name is the Government Pension Fund Global.
The fund has a small stake in more than 9,000 companies worldwide, including the likes of Apple, Nestlé, Microsoft and Samsung. On average, the fund holds 1.4 percent of all of the world’s listed companies.
The Norwegian oil fund is one of the world's largest funds. Investments are spread across most markets, countries and currencies to achieve broad exposure to global growth and value creation, and ensure good risk diversification.
Most of the fund is invested in equities, which are ownership interests in companies. Another part is invested in bonds, which are a type of loan to governments and companies, and a final slice is invested in real estate.
Search all of the fund’s investments by country, asset class and sector. This information is updated annually and is available for every year since our first investment in 1998.
The oil fund exists to help finance the Norwegian welfare state for future generations. The future value of the fund is dependent on sustainable growth, well-functioning markets and value creation at the companies we invest in.
The market value as at end of second quarter 2019. Billions of kroner.
The fund's market value is affected by investment returns, capital inflow and withdrawals, and exchange rate movements.
Since 1998 the fund has generated an annual return of 5.9 percent, or 4,660 billion kroner.
All of the fund’s investment decisions are based on in-depth research and analysis. We believe that the fund will benefit in the long term from close links with the research world. We help academic institutions to attract international researchers, reward outstanding research contributions, issue grants to students for doctoral studies in financial economics, and provide long-term incentives to promote high-quality financial research.
In Recommendation 344 S (2018-2019), the Storting agreed that bonds issued by governments and companies in emerging markets should be removed from the benchmark index for bonds, and that a limit of 5 percent of the bond portfolio should be set for investments in such bonds. The Storting also agreed to permitting the fund to be invested in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure within the limit for the environment-related mandates.
In its letter of 27 March 2019, the Ministry asked Norges Bank to report on its experience of investing in unlisted companies where the board has expressed an intention to seek a listing and consider whether the current provision needs to be amended. The Bank has published its response today in a letter.
In its letter of 6 November 2018, the Ministry of Finance asked for Norges Bank’s assessment of the geographical distribution and composition of the benchmark index for equities for the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG). The Bank has published its response today in two letters.