Norway sovereign wealth fund to keep 70% of funds in stocks, finance minister says

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's $1.6 trillion sovereign wealth fund will maintain its goal of investing 70% of its assets in the stock market, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday following a plunge in global equities.

"We must maintain the political guidelines and stay at around 70%, and if it drops below 70% we will raise it back up," Stoltenberg told reporters.

The Norwegian fund, one of the world's largest investors, manages the state's revenues from oil and gas production, owning on average 1.5% of all listed stocks worldwide.

The fund has seen record gains in recent years thanks to strong stock markets, but has fallen in recent weeks.

At the end of 2024, 71.4% of the fund's assets were allocated to equities, up from 70.9% in 2023, bonds declined to 26.6% from 27.1%, unlisted real estate fell to 1.8% from 1.9% and renewable infrastructure represented 0.1% of investments.

(Reporting by Nora Buli, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Stine Jacobsen)