OSLO: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund rose 544 billion kroner ($67 billion) last year as it broadened its holdings to capture more growth in emerging and frontier markets.
The Government Pension Fund Global returned 7.6 percent in 2014, its smallest gain since 2011, the Oslo-based investor said on Friday. The $860 billion fund’s stocks rose 7.9 percent and its bonds advanced 6.9 percent. Real estate investments increased 10.4 percent.
The fund, the world’s biggest, has warned it expects diminished returns amid record low, and even negative, yields in key government bond markets combined with slow growth in developed markets. The fund boosted its holdings in emerging markets to 10.6 percent, adding countries such as Ghana and Mauritius. It also invested in Nigeria’s currency for the first time.
“2014 was a good year for the fund, with positive results for all its asset classes,” said Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive officer of Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the fund. “Strong stock markets in the first half of the year and falling yields made a positive contribution to the results.”
