Oslo — Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, on Tuesday reached the value of $1-trillion for the first time, the Norwegian central bank, which manages the fund, said. This amount equals nearly $189,000 for each of the 5.3-million people living in Norway. Established in the 1990s to manage the Norwegian state’s oil revenues, the fund set the record thanks to the appreciation of the world’s major currencies against the dollar and good stock market health. The fund mainly invests in stocks (accounting for 65.1% of the portfolio at the end of the second quarter), but also in bonds and property. With stakes in nearly 9,000 companies, it owns 1.3% of the world’s market capitalisation, and 2.3% in Europe. "I don’t think anyone expected the fund to ever reach $1-trillion when the first transfer of oil revenue was made in May 1996," Norges Bank Investment Management CEO Yngve Slyngstad said in a statement. This jumbo piggy bank is intended to finance Norway’s welfare stat...
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