Norway's $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the largest of its kind globally, delivered a 9.4% return in the first half of the year, driven by gains in its substantial holdings of U.S. technology companies.
Managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, the fund's performance surpassed its benchmark index by 22 basis points. By the end of June, the fund's market value had reached 22.7 trillion kroner, equivalent to approximately $2.4 trillion.
Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen attributed the results to strong equity market returns, particularly from Asian technology stocks. The fund, which holds roughly 1.5% of all publicly listed companies worldwide, has emerged as one of the largest investors in businesses linked to artificial intelligence.
As of mid-year, NVIDIA remained the fund's top holding, followed by Microsoft and Apple. Equity investments generated a 13% return, while fixed-income securities returned 0.9% and real estate posted a 5.9% gain. Unlisted renewable energy infrastructure investments, however, recorded a slight loss of 0.2%.
This first-half performance follows a full-year 2025 return of 15.1%, which, measured in kroner, was the second-highest annual gain in the fund's history. Technology stocks, led by AI-related companies, were the primary driver of that performance as well.
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