The Norway Model

Abstract

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global was recently ranked the largest fund on the planet. It is also highly rated for its professional, low-cost, transparent, and socially responsible approach to asset management. Investment professionals increasingly refer to Norway as a model for managing financial assets. We present and evaluate the strategies followed by the Fund, review long-term performance, and describe how it responded to the financial crisis. We conclude with some lessons that investors can draw from Norway’s approach to asset management, contrasting the Norway Model with the Yale Model.

Keywords: Sovereign wealth funds, endowment, pensions, Norway, Government Pension Fund Global

JEL Classification: E44, F21, G15, G23, G28, J26