The Norwegian Government Pension Fund: Moving Forward on Responsible Investing and Governance

Abstract

The previous article in this Journal by Clark and Monk reviews the history of Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global. It goes on to discuss a number of issues related to the Fund’s responsible investing policies and governance practices. A specific theme in their article was the role the established ethical protocols play in relation to the Fund’s perceived legitimacy in the eyes of the Norwegian electorate. A related theme was the impact ethical practices such as excluding companies from the Fund may have on the functionality and efficiency of the Fund’s management. The Ministry of Finance itself has been reviewing these issues. Below, we set out the current status of our deliberations on these questions.

Keywords: Ethics, Governance, Norway, Pension Fund, Responsible Investment, Sovereign Wealth Fund