First half-year 2021: Strong returns

The Government Pension Fund Norway, which is managed by Folketrygdfondet, achieved earnings of NOK 25 billion in the first half of 2021, equating to a return of 8.62% – 0.18 percentage points better than the market. The fund capital totalled NOK 317 billion as at 30 June.

Government Pension Fund Norway

“Stable stock market growth and improved profit forecasts for companies resulted in strong returns in the first half of the year,” says Folketrygdfondet CEO Kjetil Houg.

The return on the Government Pension Fund Norway (GPFN) totalled 4.58% in Q2 2021, 0.34 percentage points above the market return.

The equity portfolio achieved a quarterly return of 7.03%, 0.49 percentage points higher than the equities benchmark index. The return on the fixed-income portfolio was 0.94%, 0.13 percentage points better than the fixed-income benchmark.

“Our investment decisions during the quarter proved successful,” says Kjetil Houg.

Over the past 10 years, the GPFN has achieved an average annual return of 9.10%, beating the market by 0.64 percentage points per year.

Government Bond Fund

Folketrygdfondet has managed the re-established Government Bond Fund since 27 March 2020. As at 30 June 2021, the fund capital totalled NOK 50.5 billion. Earnings in the first half of the year amounted to NOK 182 million. The return on invested capital was 2.12% as at 30 June.

“The activity level of the Government Bond Fund has been low thus far in 2021 because the bond market is now functioning well, with satisfactory access to capital from other investors,” says Kjetil Houg.

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