A chaotic week for the Norwegian Oil Fund

The fund took a 1.3% stake in BSEL in 2023 and raised this to 2% in 2024. The holding was worth about $15 Million by the end of 2024. Since the war started on the 7th of October 2023 the share price increased with over 500%. In addition to its holdings in BSEL, the fund had stakes in 65 different Israeli companies by the end of 2024, totaling just under $2 billion in value. As of Tuesday 12.08.2025, the fund has sold their entire stake in BSEL and several other Israeli companies. It is still currently sitting on ownership stakes in 44 different companies from Israel. 

The total value of the fund is approaching $2 Trillion, equivalent to 1.5% of the value of all listed companies worldwide. The fund was established in 1990 to invest and manage the Scandinavian country ‘s newfound wealth after oil was discovered in the North Sea in 1969. The idea behind the fund was to shield the Norwegian economy fluctuations in oil revenue. It would also serve as a financial reserve and as a long-term savings plan so both current and future generations of Norway will benefit from the oil wealth. The government is allowed to withdraw up to 3% of the fund’s value each year, however, this amount equals almost 20% of the government budget.

The largest holdings in the fund include tech giants as NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon. These stakes represent a significant portion of the firm’s total share, at 1.32%, 1.35%, 1.25% and 1.17% respectively. NVIDIA is currently the largest holding based on value in Norwegian Krone. Over the last three years the stock has surged more than 875%, largely connected with the AI-boom. Most recently NVIDIA together with AMD have agreed to pay the U.S. Government 15% of their Chinese revenues as part of a deal to secure export licenses to China due to national security concerns.  

Investments in the technology sector has led to substantial gains for the Oil Fund. Microsoft which is currently the fund’s second largest holding based on value in Norwegian krone, has had a strong performance over the recent years, yielding more than 150% over the last 5. The fund released the numbers for the first half of 2025 on the 12th of August, showcasing a return of 698 billion Norwegian krone, equal to almost $65 billion U.S. Dollar.

The fund invested in 65 different Israeli companies, including a 1.2% stake in Next Vision Stabilized Systems, a company that produces cameras used in drones. One of their main customers is the Israeli military. According to Aftenposten, the leading newspaper in Norway, the war in Gaza contributed to increased earnings for the firm, leading to higher dividends for the shareholders, including the Oil Fund. The amount received in 2024 has yet to be disclosed.

In 2004 the Ethical Council was established, to ensure that the investments made by the fund follow certain guidelines. The fund cannot invest in companies that directly or indirectly contribute to killing, torture, deprivation of freedom or other violations of human rights in conflict situations or wars. Contrary to popular belief, the fund is allowed to invest in some arms-producing companies, as only certain arms, like nuclear weapons are banned by the ethical guidelines. Several Israeli firms have in the previous years been excluded from the fund due to violations of international law and human rights. The fund has also previously divested from firms producing tobacco and coal.

The Norwegian asset manager KLP which has about $114 Billion in assets under management, has mostly divested from Israeli companies. The Oil Fund on the other hand still has about $4 Billion invested in different Israeli companies KLP has excluded completely from their portfolios. The reason for the exclusion of the companies is the worry of their involvement on the west bank and in Gaza. Going forward it will be interesting to see what the Oil Fund decides to do regarding their remaining investments in Israeli companies and which ones they will potentially divest form after pressure from the public.

Despite the recent turmoil for the government pension fund, it continues to create strong returns. The tech giants NVIDIA and Microsoft are by far the largest holdings in the Norwegian Oil Fund. Both have provided significant returns over the last few years, and both are trading close to their all-time highs. Will they continue to provide solid returns for investors in the time coming or is the party over? The Oil Fund has not announced selling any of its ownership stakes in the firms. Since its inception in 1990, the fund has returned good returns , reaching a value of $1 Trillion in September 2017, equaling a thirteen-fold since 2002.