Norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world with some $1.4 trillion in assets under management. That’s $244,000 for every man, woman, and child in this country of 5.4 million people. Lucky Norwegians! Its formal name is Government Pension Fund Global, and it is managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) which is part of the Norwegian Central Bank. NBIM reports to the Ministry of Finance (MoF). In 2021 the fund had a 14.5 percent return for $177 billion, it’s second largest return on record.

Professor Trond Døskeland, Norwegian School of Economics

On August 10, 2021, the MoF issued a mandate for a review of NBIM’s active management strategy. This review was done by Professor Rob Bauer of Maastricht University and the European Centre for Sustainable Finance (ECCE), Professor Charlotte Christiansen of Aarhus University-CREATES, and Professor Trond Døskeland of the Norwegian School of Economics. On January 10, 2021, they published “A Review of the Active Management of Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global.” This thorough 117 page analysis with a clear set of recommendations was delivered to the MOF on January 3, 2022. When asked why this group decided to take on this assignment, Døskeland explained that “NBIM has a fiduciary responsibility to earn returns for its beneficiaries. At the same time, due to its sheer size and influence it also has a responsibility to influence corporate behavior in a way that ensures it will be able to do so over the long term. It invests in over 9,000 companies all over the world and is in a good position to do so.” Amanda White of top1000funds has written an excellent summary of the report.

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