Norway wealth fund posts $30B investment loss in Q3 as bond market turbulence weighs on returns

Norway’s $2.3T sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, said Thursday that its investment portfolio reported a loss of 278B kroner ($29.7B) in the third quarter, as rising interest rates weighed on its bond holdings.

Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund, recorded a 3.5% negative return on fixed-income investments, a key driver of the overall decline. About 70% of its fixed-income portfolio is allocated to government bonds, with the remainder invested in corporate debt.

“The fund’s return was close to flat, ending slightly negative as rising interest rates led to weaker results on our fixed-income investments,” Deputy CEO Trond Grande said.

Fixed income accounts for 25.8% of the fund’s portfolio, which includes 1,664 bonds across 51 countries. Last month, NBIM said it planned to reduce its US Treasury holdings as part of a broader effort to lower its allocation to government debt.

The fund’s total value fell by 670B kroner during the quarter to 22.014T kroner ($2.3T) at the end of September. Currency movements contributed to the decline, with a stronger Norwegian krone reducing the fund’s value by 472B kroner. After management costs, the fund received an additional 80B kroner during the quarter.

Equities, which accounted for 72.1% of the portfolio, returned 0.5%, while unlisted real estate gained 0.4% and renewable energy infrastructure returned 7.5%. Overall, the fund underperformed its benchmark index by 0.18 percentage points.

“Equity returns were also close to zero, but there were large differences between sectors. Energy companies rose the most, while interest-rate-sensitive sectors such as utilities and real estate fell,” Grande added.

The fund’s largest disclosed equity holding was Nvidia (NVDA), with a 1.28% stake worth about NOK 612.0B as of June 30, 2026. It also held significant positions in Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM).

NBIM's top 10 holdings by value (as of June 30):

• Nvidia (NVDA) — 1.28% ownership — NOK 612.0B
• Apple (AAPL) — 1.24% ownership — NOK 521.7B
• Alphabet (GOOGL) — 1.17% ownership — NOK 499.4B
• Microsoft (MSFT) — 1.27% ownership — NOK 347.5B
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) — 1.70% ownership — NOK 331.8B
• Amazon (AMZN) — 1.24% ownership — NOK 315.3B
• Broadcom (AVGO) — 1.30% ownership — NOK 231.6B
• Samsung Electronics — 1.88% ownership — NOK 222.8B
• ASML Holding (ASML) — 2.32% ownership — NOK 175.0B
• SK Hynix — 1.44% ownership — NOK 174.1B