Annual report 2008
The global financial crisis in 2008 presented major challenges to all parts of the portfolio of the Government Pension Fund – Global. The results for the year were the weakest in the fund’s history and have led to a number of changes.
1 March 2009
The results in brief
- The financial crisis and global economic downturn presented major challenges for all areas of investment management.
- The market value of the Government Pension Fund – Global was NOK 2 275 billion at the end of 2008.
- Inflows of capital into the fund were record-high at NOK 384 billion and invested entirely in global equity markets.
- The fund’s ownership of global equity markets rose to 0.77 per cent.
The fund’s allocation to equities was 49.6 per cent. - The return on the fund was -23.3 per cent in international currency, the weakest result in the fund’s history.
- The operational management of the fund produced a negative excess return of 3.37 per cent, which is considerably weaker than we would have expected given our investment strategy.
- Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) is making significant changes to its investment strategy in order to make better use of the fund’s size and long-term investment horizon.