World’s largest wealth fund posts $30 billion loss after bond market turbulence
Nicolai Tangen, chief executive officer of NBIM, at the Norges Bank Climate Conference in Oslo, Norway, on Oct. 21, 2025.
Naina Helén Jåma | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — the largest in the world — said Thursday that its investment portfolio delivered a loss of $30 billion in the third quarter, as rising interest rates dented returns on its bond holdings.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the $2.3 trillion fund, said the accounting return for the period was a loss of 278 billion kroner ($29.7 billion). Around 70% of NBIM’s fixed income portfolio is allocated to government bonds, with the remainder invested in corporate debt.
The third quarter saw a global bond market rout. Government bond yields surged as major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, began rate-hiking cycles and concerns about inflation and government debt levels mounted.
NBIM’s fixed income investments delivered a negative return of 3.5%, with the fund’s management saying this was a key driver of the overall downturn.
“The fund’s return was close to flat, ending slightly negative as rising interest rates led to weaker results on our fixed-income investments,” NBIM’s Deputy CEO Trond Grande said in a statement.
Fixed income accounts for just over a quarter of the fund’s entire portfolio, with NBIM invested in 1,664 bonds across 51 countries.
Last month, NBIM said it wanted to cut its U.S. Treasury holdings as part of wider plans to reduce its allocation to government-issued debt.
