The National Insurance Fund grew by NOK 4.3 billion
Good growth in the world economy led to National Insurance Fund to increase by NOK 4.3 billion to NOK 220 billion in the second quarter of 2017.
– We see that fresher growth in the world economy, better earnings in business and optimism in the financial markets have increased the value of the portfolio, says Olaug Svarva, Managing Director of the National Insurance Fund (Folketrygdfondet).
The return on the Governmental Pension Fund Norway, which Folketrygdfondet manages, was 2.0 percent in the second quarter. It is 0.1 percentage point weaker than the benchmark the fund is compared to, but with a total 3.7 per cent growth in the first half of the year, the fund is 0.2 percentage point higher than the index.
Average returns over the last ten years are 6.5 percent, which is 1.0 percentage point higher than the benchmark.
Strong fixed income portfolio
The return on the equity portfolio was 2.7 per cent in the first quarter, 0.3 percentage points weaker than the benchmark index. In the first half of the year, the return is 4.7 per cent, 0.1 percentage point lower than the index.
However, the fixed income portfolio beat the market, with a return of 1 percent, which is about 0.3 percentage points better than the index. In the middle of the year, development is even stronger, and with a return of 2.2 percent, the fixed income portfolio is 0.7 percent better than the index.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today