NBIM Hits Record Profits, But There’s a Catch

NBIM Hits Record Profits, But There’s a Catch

Wed, August 12, 2026 at 8:31 PM GMT+3 2 min read

COMMENTARY

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Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) CEO Nicolai Tangen has every reason to be happy this week.

The fund reported a half-year profit of more than $184 billion, with investments in more than 7,000 companies across more than 50 countries, with a 9.4% investment return for the six months.

The stocks carrying the fund to new highs are exactly who you would expect: Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft, with 40% of NBIM's portfolio containing U.S. equities. Tangen also said he's been a big fan of tech stocks based in Asia.

"The result is driven by good returns in the equity market, particularly from Asian technology stocks," Tangen said in a statement, per CNBC. They hold 1.88% ownership of Samsung and 1.44% ownership of SK hynix, and, among the top five countries they hold stakes in, Japan is number two, per NBIM's website. NBIM also holds a considerable number of Chinese holdings (658, to be exact), with some of its largest holdings in tech, consumer discretionary, financials, and industrials. Tencent at $6.78 billion and Alibaba at $4.75 billion are a quarter of the China book, along with CATL, PDD, and China Construction Bank.

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The fund also revealed that it holds a 0.05% stake in SpaceX, valued at around $1.2 billion. They also hold a 1% stake in Tesla, valued at approximately $15.7 billion.

Tangen has his doubts that these kinds of record-breaking profits and returns can continue, though, telling CNBC, "We should not be expecting the same kind of returns going forward as we've seen over the last six months."

This kind of level-headed, objective take is quite different from the American attitude that stocks only go up, as the CEO of the company with the largest market cap in the world, Nvidia, plays financial engineer with Wall Street using its own chips.

NBIM's lead has every right to be cautious. The fund accounts for about 25% of Norway's fiscal budget, so any market downturn could mean even rougher times ahead for the country's public goods.