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(Bloomberg) — Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, reported its best quarterly return in six years, helped by gains from its large holdings in global technology companies.
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The $2.3 trillion fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, returned 11.5% in the second quarter, according to a statement Wednesday. It was the best result since the second quarter of 2020.
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Equity investments drove the gains, with 16% return, while fixed income contributed 1.1%. Unlisted real estate and infrastructure investments both returned 1.8% in the quarter.
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“The result is driven by good returns in the equity market, particularly from Asian technology stocks,” Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen said.
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The fund owns about 1.5% of all listed stocks globally and has become one of the world’s biggest investors in artificial intelligence-linked companies. Nvidia Corp. remained the fund’s biggest holding as of the end of the first half, followed by Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc.
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The first-half return was 9.4%, beating the fund’s benchmark index by 22 basis points. The first-half performance, driven by telecommunications, technology and energy, follows a 15.1% return in 2025. Tech stocks, led by AI-related companies, were also the biggest driver of those gains.
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The fund is mandated by Norway’s Finance Ministry to closely track a benchmark index, with only limited scope to deviate through active management. Most of its performance therefore reflects movements in global equity and bond markets rather than discretionary stock picking.
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The results come as the fund remains at the center of a domestic political debate over its ethical guidelines and its investments in companies involved in Israel’s war in Gaza.
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Norway’s parliament last year ordered a review of the ethical guidelines governing the sovereign wealth fund, temporarily suspending company exclusions while a committee examines whether the rules should be changed. The review, requested by Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, is due to conclude by Oct. 15.
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NBIM has also expanded its own use of artificial intelligence internally, deploying large language models to screen newly added portfolio companies for governance, corruption and human-rights risks, to complement traditional monitoring.
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—With assistance from Anton Wilen and Veronica Ek.
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English (US)