Norway Wants Its Wealth Fund to Invest in Fewer Companies
- World’s biggest wealth fund won’t enter more emerging markets
- Saudi stocks among those affected by new recommendation
The wealth fund said it intends to become a global leader in sustainable investing.
Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/BloombergNorway’s $1.3 trillion wealth fund may be forced to exclude a number of stocks as the government seeks to adjust the portfolio by imposing the same ethical and environmental standards across its investments.
The world’s biggest sovereign investment vehicle should follow a revamped set of guidelines that could result in a 25-30% reduction in the number of companies it holds, Finance Minister Jan Tore Sanner said in a speech on Friday. Companies in the portfolio will be cut to 6,600 from 8,800, though those represent only about 2% of the total market value, Sanner said in an interview. The plan includes not adding any more emerging markets to the index it tracks.