Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which is the largest one in the world, on Thursday, October 22, said its investment portfolio reported a loss of $30 billion in the third quarter of the calendar year 2026, as increasing interest rates dented returns on its bond holdings.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) manages the $2.3 trillion fund. It said accounting return for the period was at a loss of 27.8 billion kroner or $29.7 billion. About 70% of its fixed income portfolio is allocated to the government’s bonds while the remaining is invested in corporate debt.
The September quarter witnessed a global bond market rout. Government bond yields increased as major central banks started rate-hiking cycles and concerns regarding inflation and government debt levels rose as well.
NIBM’ fixed income investment reported a negative return of 3.5%. The fund’s management said this was a key driver in the overall downturn.
NBIM’s Deputy CEO Trond Grande, in a statement, said that the fund’s return was close to flat, ending a marginally negative as increasing interest rates led to weaker results on its fixed-income investments, CNBC reported.
Fixed income amounts to just over a quarter of the entire portfolio of the fund, with NBIM invested in across 51 countries in 1,664 bonds.
In September, NBIM said it wanted to reduce its US Trasury holdings as part of its wider plans to lessen its allocation to government-issued debt.