Norway’s wealth fund dropping oil and gas stocks isn’t popular
A government-appointed commission recommended against divesting petroleum stocks
Oslo — Norway’s $1-trillion sovereign wealth fund is meeting resistance to its plan to dump more than $40bn in oil and gas stocks. On Friday, a government-appointed commission recommended against divesting petroleum stocks. Such a move will have little effect on protecting Norway against falling crude prices and alter what has so far been a successful investment philosophy, it said. "This investment strategy is simple, well-founded and has served the fund well," the three-person group of Øystein Thøgersen, Harald Magnus Andreassen and Olaug Svarva said in a report. "If energy stocks are excluded from the fund, the composition of the investments will differ from market weights, and the fund will be expected to either achieve lower return or higher risk." The Norwegian government will now make its own assessment before the matter is considered by parliament. The report, together with the advice from the fund and the public consultation round, "constitute a solid foundation for decisio...
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