The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund made a loss of more than 150 billion euros last year. According to fund boss Tangen, all sectors of the stock market have achieved negative returns – with one exception. In the long term, the fund has nevertheless gained massively in value over the years.
The Norwegian oil fund had a clearly negative return in the crisis year 2022. In the past year it was minus 14.1 percent, which corresponded to almost 1.64 trillion crowns, as announced by the Norwegian central bank. At today’s exchange rate, that’s around 150 billion euros. In percentage terms, the minus was the largest since the financial crisis of 2008, making the year the second weakest in the history of the sovereign wealth fund, which is officially called the foreign pension fund.
“It’s been a tough year all over the world,” fund boss Nicolai Tangen said at a press conference in Oslo. The market was affected by the war in Europe, high inflation and rising interest rates. This has affected both the stock and bond markets at the same time, which is very unusual. All sectors of the stock market had negative returns – with the exception of the energy sector.
Because the Norwegian krone has lost value against several major currencies, the volume of the sovereign wealth fund increased slightly despite the negative return: at the end of 2022 it was around 12.43 trillion krona. In addition to currency effects, this was also related to cash inflows. In the long term, the fund has increased in value massively over the years. In 2019 it reached the 10 trillion crown mark for the first time.
In the morning it was just over 13.4 trillion crowns (1.23 trillion euros). The pension fund abroad is seen in Norway as a long-term insurance for future generations when drilling for oil is no longer possible. It is fed with the income from Norwegian oil and gas production. It is managed by the Central Bank on behalf of the Treasury and has invested in over 9,300 companies worldwide, including the likes of Apple, Nestlé and Microsoft.
