The Norwegian state fund, the largest in the world, earned a profit of 1.75 trillion Norwegian kroner (about 184.3 billion dollars) in the first half of the year. This result was made possible by the rapid growth of technology company stocks in the second quarter, which offset the losses recorded in the first quarter.
The fund’s head, Nicolai Tangen, noted that the high performance is explained by the rise in stock market prices, primarily of Asian technology companies. The Norwegian state fund invests the country’s revenues from the oil and gas business to ensure the well-being of future generations after oil extraction in Norway ceases. In 2025, the fund achieved a return of over 15 percent and a profit of 2.36 trillion kroner, equivalent to 213 billion euros. For the first half of the year, the fund’s managers reported a return of 9.4 percent.
Investments and fund size
With assets worth 2.3 trillion dollars, the fund is the largest state fund in the world. It owns shares in approximately 7,100 companies and also invests in real estate and energy projects. In the first quarter, the fund recorded a loss of 58 billion euros, mainly due to the decline in the value of shares of American technology companies.
On Tuesday, the fund published an overview of its investments. As of June 30, it owned 1.7 percent of the shares of Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC, valued at 34 billion dollars. The fund also had a stake of 0.05 percent in Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX worth 1.22 billion dollars.
The fund’s stakes in other American technology companies are significantly larger: 1.28 percent of Nvidia shares are valued at 62 billion dollars; 1.24 percent of Apple shares are worth 52 billion dollars; 1.17 percent of Alphabet shares are valued at 50 billion dollars; and 1.27 percent of Microsoft shares are valued at 35 billion dollars.
Ethical standards and their review
The fund’s activities are governed by strict rules regarding ethical issues, human rights, and environmental protection. However, in November of last year, the fund relaxed its ethical standards following a decision by the Norwegian parliament. Previous standards, among other things, prohibited investments in companies involved in serious human rights violations in military or conflict situations. During the one-year break, the state fund’s guiding principles are to be thoroughly reviewed.
Source: Der Spiegel
