Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) would be between NOK 400bn to NOK 600bn smaller if its investments had not been actively managed by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), according to a white paper on the fund.

The Norwegian Ministry of Finance’s white paper on the Government Pension Fund 2026, which includes both the GPFG and the Government Pension Fund Norway, was presented to the Storting last week.

It showed that although the active management gain of the NOK 21,300bn GPFG is small in percentage terms, it represents substantial amounts in Norwegian krone.

However, the ministry acknowledged that the performance of the GPFG’s actively managed real estate portfolio has been weak, prompting an overhaul of NBIM’s real estate strategy in November 2025.

Following its review of active management, the ministry confirmed that NBIM will continue to operate within the existing framework, allowing limited deviations from the benchmark index.

While such flexibility remains a key area of review, the ministry agreed with the bank’s assessment that the current limits are appropriate and does not propose any changes at this stage.

The white paper also summarised the GPFG’s performance in 2025, in which its assets increased by more than NOK 1,500bn. Its investment return for the year was around 15 per cent, equating to NOK 2,400bn.

Net inflows exceeded NOK 300bn, as the state’s revenues from petroleum activities were higher than the oil-adjusted budget deficit. However, a stronger Norwegian krone reduced the fund’s value in NOK terms by nearly NOK 1,200 billion in isolation.

The value of the Government Pension Fund Norway, which is managed by Folketrygdfondet and only invests in the Nordics, increased by more than NOK 35bn in 2025, reaching approximately NOK 420bn. The fund’s return was close to 13 per cent.

Commenting, Norwegian Minister of Finance, Jens Stoltenberg, said: “The value of the pension fund increased significantly in 2025, however in recent weeks we have once again seen that the fund can fluctuate considerably over short periods. The outbreak of war in Iran has pushed oil prices up while the value of the fund has declined.

“Today, the size of our financial wealth is roughly five times greater than the value of our petroleum resources in the ground. As an investor nation, this makes us more exposed to developments in global financial markets than to the price of oil.”

He added that the pension fund has a long-term investment strategy with “broad political support” that can be adhered to in “turbulent times”.

The GPFG’s Expert Council, created in 2025, has been tasked with reviewing the investment strategy this year, with a particular focus on bond investments.

The ministry has also asked NBIM to develop scenarios for geopolitical risk, as well as analyses of the bond portfolio and concentration risk in the equity portfolio.

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