Norwegian State Fund with Negative Return in the First Quarter
Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund Dips in Q1 2026 Despite Outperforming Benchmark
Oslo, 23. April 2026. At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the value of the Norwegian state fund was 19.998 billion NOK. The market value of the investment portfolio was 20.004 billion NOK. The return on the fund's equity investments was -2.6 percent, the return on fixed-income investments was -0.2 percent, and the return on unlisted real estate investments was 1.2 percent. The return on unlisted renewable energy infrastructure was -1.9 percent. The fund's return was 0.01 percentage points above the benchmark index.
"The result reflects a quarter with challenging market conditions. We saw limited impacts on interest rates and the real estate market, but the decline in stock prices, particularly among the large US technology companies, was decisive for the overall result," says Trond Grande, deputy head of investment management at Norges Bank.
The fund's value fell by 1.270 billion NOK in the first quarter. The accounting return was minus 636 billion NOK. The appreciation of the krone against several major currencies contributed to a loss in the fund's value of 646 billion NOK during the quarter. After deducting management costs, 13 billion NOK were allocated to the fund in the first quarter.
70.2 percent of the fund's assets were invested in stocks, 27.6 percent in fixed-income securities, 1.8 percent in unlisted real estate, and 0.4 percent in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure.
