Norway's sovereign wealth fund posts record $222B annual profit

By Tuba Ongun

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest of its kind, on Wednesday reported a record annual profit of 2.5 trillion kroner ($222 billion) in 2024, marking its highest-ever annual gain in kroner terms.

The Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), saw a 13% return on investment for 2024.

"The fund achieved very good returns in 2024, as a result of a very strong stock market. The American technology stocks in particular performed very well," NBIM CEO Nicolai Tangen said in a statement.

Equity investments led the way with an 18% return, while fixed income investments gained 1%. However, unlisted real estate investments and renewable energy infrastructure lagged, returning minus 1% and minus 10%, respectively.

Despite the strong performance, the fund’s return was 0.45 percentage points lower than the return on its benchmark index.

The Oslo-based fund, established in 1996, had a total value of 19.7 trillion kroner ($1.75 trillion) at the end of 2024.

The depreciation of the Norwegian krone against several major currencies added 1.1 trillion kroner ($97.8 billion) to the fund’s value.