The Cool Hand Steering Norway's Billions

The man who manages what may be the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund looks relaxed as he holds court in shirtsleeves and tie in his sunlit corner office on the fifth floor of the Norwegian central bank. And why not? It's Friday afternoon; spring is finally arriving in Oslo. More important, after taking a 23 percent loss in 2008 and plenty of political heat during the financial crisis, Norway's oil fund, which Yngve Slyngstad runs, is recovering, with a 26 percent surge in 2009 and a 10 percent jump in 2010. The fund's dramatic shift to 60 percent equities from 40 percent in the midst of the meltdown, a controversial move at first, helped power the gains. Now, he says, political backing for taking that risk "is even stronger today in 2011 than it was before the financial crisis."

Norway's fund, officially known as the Government Pension Fund Global, holds $570 billion—double the size of Pimco Total Return, the world's largest mutual fund. That's more than $100,000 for each of Norway's 4.9 million people, and it's growing rapidly, adding $82 billion from state contributions and investment gains last year.