A record first-half return for Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund is “as good as it gets,” its chief executive officer said.
“Of course, after a rally like that, you are a bit more nervous, a bit more conscious about all the dangers out there,” Nicolai Tangen said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “We are seeing a lot of reasons to be really cautious. We are seeing, you know, AI valuations. We are seeing geopolitics.”
Tangen spoke after the fund reported an all-time high gain of 1.4 trillion kroner ($150 billion) for the first half of the year, helped by gains from its holdings in global technology companies.
Read More: Norway $2.3 Trillion Fund Posts Best Quarter Since 2020
The chief executive’s comments follow warnings earlier this year about political risk, with an expert panel naming such risks in the US and concentration risk in tech companies. The fund has earlier said an AI bubble could potentially cost the world’s largest wealth fund 35% of its value. Geopolitical risk, including global investment restrictions and severe tariffs, could wipe out as much as 37% of the fund’s value in a worst-case scenario.
The largest 10 holdings account for “nearly” 25% of the value of the fund, Tangen said, adding “we’ve never seen a concentration risk like that.”
Founded in the early 1990s, NBIM now owns about 1.5% of the world’s total listed companies. It invests in line with a benchmark index set by Norway’s finance ministry and its scope for active moves is limited. Its portfolio spans equities, fixed income, real estate, and renewable infrastructure, all outside Norway.