Norway’s GPFG returns 9.4% in H1 2021

Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) made a return of 9.4 per cent in the first half of 2021.

Publishing its interim results, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which is responsible for the investments of the fund, said the return of 9.4 per cent is equivalent to NOK 990bn.

The return on the fund’s equity investments was 13.7 per cent and the return on the fixed-income investments was -2.0 per cent, whereas investments in unlisted real estate returned 4.6 per cent. The return on unlisted renewable energy infrastructure was -1.9 per cent.

The fund’s return was 28 basis points higher than the return on the benchmark index.

“The equity investments had the most positive contribution to the return in the first half of the year, and especially the investments within the sectors of energy and finance. The investments in energy companies returned 19.5 per cent,” NBIM CEO, Nicolai Tangen, said.

NBIM noted that the health and technology sectors have had solid returns throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and the increase continued in the first half of the year. “Technology companies returned 16.8 per cent. Several major technology companies saw a continued increase within digital advertisement,” Tangen said.

The krone strengthened against several major currencies in course of the first half of the year. Currency movements contributed to a decrease in the fund’s value of NOK 79bn. In the first half of the year, NOK 147bn was withdrawn from the fund.

The fund had a value of NOK 11,673bn as at 30 June 2021 and 72.4 per cent of the fund was invested in equities, 25.1 per cent in fixed income, 2.4 per cent in unlisted real estate, and 0.1 per cent in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


Podcast: Stepping up to the challenge
In the latest European Pensions podcast, Natalie Tuck talks to PensionsEurope chair, Jerry Moriarty, about his new role and the European pension policy agenda

Podcast: The benefits of private equity in pension fund portfolios
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which stock markets have seen increased volatility, combined with global low interest rates has led to alternative asset classes rising in popularity. Private equity is one of the top runners in this category, and for good reason.

In this podcast, Munich Private Equity Partners Managing Director, Christopher Bär, chats to European Pensions Editor, Natalie Tuck, about the benefits private equity investments can bring to pension fund portfolios and the best approach to take.

Mitigating risk
BNP Paribas Asset Management’s head of pension solutions, Julien Halfon, discusses equity hedging with Laura Blows