The Government Pension Fund Norway (GPFN), managed by Folketrygdfondet, made a profit of NOK 5.6bn in the third quarter of 2024, its interim results reveal.

This corresponds to a return of 1.49 per cent, while capital totalled NOK 384bn at the end of the third quarter. The result was 0.4 percentage points higher than the benchmark index.

The total return for the GPFN was 8.56 per cent this year, 0.9 percentage points higher than the benchmark index.

Meanwhile, the return on the equity portfolio was -0.08 per cent in the third quarter, the manager announced a return that was 0.33 percentage points higher than the benchmark index for equities.

The return on the fixed-income portfolio was 4.26 per cent in the third quarter, 0.51 percentage points above the benchmark index for interest rates.

Folketrygdfondet CEO, Kjetil Houg, said: “After a period of high returns, performance was more moderate in the third quarter.

“The fixed income portfolio is being boosted by falling interest rates and favourable developments in credit margins.

“On the equity side, there is a marginal decline, with lower energy prices and positive developments in industrial companies pulling in opposite directions.

"So far this year, the fund has grown by more than NOK 30bn, and we are ahead of the market on both the equity and fixed income side.”

Folketrygdfondet added that the equity and fixed-income portfolios have contributed to the excess return.

However, at the sector level, the technology sector contributed most to the outperformance of the equity portfolio, followed by healthcare and energy.

Meanwhile, for the fixed-income portfolio, positions in finance and industry contributed most to its outperformance.

The manager said the Norwegian stock market was “virtually” flat with a decline of 0.4 per cent, while Sweden and Finland rose by 4.0 and 4.5 per cent respectively in the third quarter. After a period of high returns, the Danish market was down 12.8 per cent in the third quarter. 

Commenting on this, Houg said: "There is a wide gap in returns on the Nordic stock exchanges, but the Nordic region as a whole again appears to be a strong investment area."

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