Norway's Oil Fund Reaches Milestone

Norway’s Oil Fund’s total return since its 1990 inception has exceeded its total inflow to the fund for the first time.

The central bank, which administers it, said April 7 that the Fund’s total cumulative return has amounted to Norwegian kroner 3,421bn compared to a total inflow of NKr 3,375bn at the end of 1Q2017 – the first time this has happened.

The Fund invests in almost 9,000 companies worldwide and is a nest-egg for when Norway's revenues from oil and gas taper out post-2050. It had a total market value of NKr 7,867bn on March 31 2017 ($913.8bn). One week later, on April 7, it was little changed. 

"Measured in Norwegian kroner, this was the third best quarter in the history of the fund, driven by strong returns on the equity investments. In the last month of the quarter, the total return exceeded the total inflow to the fund", said Yngve Slyngstad, CEO of the central bank’s investment management. The fund receives royalties from oil and gas production. Figures are preliminary, with definitive data to be released later this month.

The Fund returned 3.8%, or NKr 298bn, in 1Q2017 alone – and NKr 23bn was withdrawn by the government from it that quarter.

Mark Smedley