Norway Decides to Drop Russia From $1.3 Trillion Wealth Fund

Norway is starting a process to remove Russian assets from its $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, in a rare case of politics steering investments for the country’s savings.

The government decided to freeze Russian holdings in the fund in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine and plans to divest them in due course, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told reporters in Oslo on Sunday. Norges Bank Investment Management held about 25 billion kroner ($2.8 billion) there at the end of the year, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said.

The Oslo-based fund is the world’s biggest owner of publicly traded companies with a portfolio of about 9,000 stocks. The government made its decision despite Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen on Friday describing such a move as a “wrapped gift to the oligarchs” who would buy the shares.

Sourse: bakertilly