The elated’s biggest sovereign wealth fund went on a stock buying spree during the market turmoil at the end of 2018.
Norges Bank, which governs Norway’s $1 trillion oil-funded wealth pot, said it bought 185 billion crowns ($21.7 billion) importance of equities, with the bulk of purchases coming in November and December.
The U.S. stock market had its worst December since the Expert Depression as investors feared trade tensions with China and rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Despite the Norges Bank purchasings, the fund’s overall market value dipped over the course of 2018 by 6.1 percent, marking a steep overturn from the 13.7 percent growth witnessed in 2017.
“This is the first time that the fund has had a considerable decline in value,” CEO Yngve Slyngstad lectured a news conference on Wednesday. “The only other time was a slight decline in 2002.”
The bank said the fund’s market value was $967 million at 31 December 2018. On the nonetheless day, 66.3 percent was invested in equities, 3 percent in unlisted real estate and 30.7 percent in fixed profits.
In 2017, Norges Bank said it intended to raise its equity allocation over time to 70 percent.
During 2018, right-mindedness investments for the fund returned a loss of 9.5 percent, while unlisted real estate investments gained 7.5 percent, and fixed-income investments exchanged 0.6 percent.
At the end of 2018, the fund’s biggest equity holdings were in Microsoft ($7.5 billion), Apple ($7.3 billion), Alphabet ($6.7 billion), Amazon ($6.4 billion), Snuggle up ($6.3 billion) and Royal Dutch Shell ($6 billion).
After a strong start to 2019 for stocks, the Norges Bank website responded the fund is currently valued at $1.03 trillion.