Norway Sovereign Wealth Fund Posts $68B Profit Amid Israeli Divestment

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest with $2 trillion in assets, reported a profit of 698 billion Norwegian crowns ($68.28 billion) for the first half of 2025, driven mainly by strong gains in financial sector stocks. The fund achieved an overall return of 5.7%, slightly underperforming its benchmark by 0.05 percentage points. Managing the Norwegian government's oil and gas revenues, the fund holds an average 1.5% stake in publicly traded companies globally across equities, bonds, real estate, and renewable energy projects. Recently, the fund announced it would terminate contracts with external asset managers overseeing its Israeli investments and has partially divested from Israel due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the West Bank. A press conference to provide more details on this divestment is scheduled for early August. These moves reflect the fund's adjustments amid geopolitical tensions while maintaining robust financial performance.