Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has come under more pressure over its investments in Israel, as the continuing war in Gaza draws increasing criticism of Israeli government policy in the Nordic country.
This week Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which runs the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) announced swift action as finance minister Jens Stoltenberg insisted changes had to happen. Several stocks have been quickly divested, with indications of more to follow.
NBIM’s CEO Nicolai Tangen has rejected calls from politicians for him to resign amid public outrage in Norway when it emerged the SWF had increased its investment over the last few months in an Israeli engineering company which maintained fighter jets used to bomb Gaza.
The episode coincidentally erupted at a time when Tangen was busy promoting his new book on management, in which he revealed tactics he had used to keep his job during the furore last winter when his text messages with Elon Musk became public.
In Denmark, Pædagogernes Pension (PBU) last week announced it had sold off DKK642m (€86m) in shares of three major US travel technology companies – Booking Holdings, Airbnb and Expedia – because they all had business activities in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The situation in Gaza and the West Bank was becoming increasingly unsustainable, said the Danish pension fund for early childhood teachers.
Meanwhile, against the background of European rearmament – and partly as a result of rising share prices in the sector – Danish pension funds have seen the value of their investments in defence companies double in just over a year, according to new figures from the country’s pensions lobby IPD.
After the Danish government boosted investment in the defence sector, many pension companies followed suit, said Kent Damsgaard, IPD’s CEO.
“The industry has proven to be quick to adapt, and many Danish pension savers have changed their views on defence investments,” he said.
Items to note:
- The Swedish government has taken the next step in its review of basic security benefits within the public pension system, appointing Johannes Hagen, associate professor at Jönköping University, to lead a working group.
- The IPE Iceland one-day forum event for pension funds, investment decision-makers, asset managers and others, will take place on 8 October at Reykjavik’s Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre.
Rachel Fixsen
Nordic Correspondent
This news briefing was published earlier in the week. If you would like to receive it regularly, on your ‘IPE profile’, go to ‘My Newsletters‘ and select any from the list.
