The first 20 years of investing in equities

From oil wealth to financial wealth

The fund was set up to shield the Norwegian economy from ups and downs in oil revenue. This book tells the story of how we started buying shares two decades ago and gradually built the world’s largest single owned global portfolio of listed companies.

Published 09 Dec. 2020

Download the review (pdf) Read the press release

The publication was presented at a virtual NBIM Talk

Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen introduces former CEO Yngve Slyngstad and several people from the fund who talk about the fund's equity investments. The participants in the talk are: Emil Framnes, Global Head of Trading, Geir Øivind Nygård, Chief Asset Strategies Officer, Per Einar Ellefsen, Global Head of Equity Enhanced Indexing, Matt Brunette, Global Head of Financing and Brad Katsuyama, who is the CEO and co-founder of the IEX, the Investors Exchange.

The fund was set up to diversify the nation’s natural wealth through buying global financial wealth. We converted oil to equities by acquiring a small stake in all easily traded companies in major markets. The review looks at our approach to buying and holding a broadly diversified equity portfolio, representing the whole global equity market. Many may be familiar with the ease of buying the equity market through an exchange traded fund, but few know what it entails 'to buy the market'. The review also tells the story about how we started buying equities two decades ago, and over time built the world’s largest single owned global portfolio of listed companies. This is the fifth book in a series of historic reviews about how the fund got to where it is.