Norway SWF Puts the Brakes on European Equities

(October 28, 2013) — Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive officer of Norges Bank Investment Management and aiCIO power 100 member, has ceased allocating investment to European equities.

Speaking at a Norwegian press conference, the sovereign wealth fund investor said he was preparing for a stock market correction.

“Our share in the stock market has been stable or falling even though markets are rising, and that means in practice that we’re not using inflows to buy stocks,” he said, according to Bloomberg.

“In general, we see market corrections more as opportunities than as threats, so it’s not something that worries us. If they come, that’s just a positive sign for us as an investor.”

For more stories like this, sign up for the CIO Alert newsletter. 

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund had benefitted from the recent equities rally in Europe. A surge in stock values added 7.6% to the fund’s equity portfolio last quarter, helping the $810 billion fund to post a 5% overall return in the third quarter— a DK228 billion ($39 billion) gain.

The fund currently holds 63.6% in equities, 35.5% in bonds, and 0.9% in real estate.

“If you’re not buying equities these days, we’re buying bonds or just hold this as cash,” Slyngstad told Bloomberg. “We would of course like to invest more of it in the real estate market but that takes longer. As long as there are strong markets we don’t see any urge to increase our equity holdings.”

While European equities are off the menu for now, it appears Slyngstad is one of the believers of China’s continuing growth story.

The fund is seeking permission from Norwegian authorities to increase its investment in Chinese funds from $1 billion to $1.5 billion. can invest up to $1.5 billion in China after authorities increased its investment quota from $1 billion, the fund’s chief executive told Reuters on Friday.

“We have applied for a bigger quota (than $1.5 billion) but we have not been able to receive it. We want to invest considerably more in the Chinese market,” Slyngstad told Reuters.

Slyngstad was named the 9^th most influential investo in the aiCIO Power 100 this year. Read his profile here.

(October 28, 2013) – Stefan Dunatov, CIO of the £21 billion Coal Pension Trustees Investment fund, has become the latest investor to be inducted into the 300 Club.

The group, which is an independent cluster of the world’s leading investment professionals brought together to raise awareness about the potential impact of current market thinking and behaviours, was launched in 2011.

The 300 Club takes its name from the legendary 300 Spartans who held off the vast Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, giving the Greek forces sufficient time to regroup.

Among its members are the California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s CIO Chris Ailman, the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho CIO Bob Maynard, and the State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s CIO David Villa, who are also members of aiCIO’s Power 100.

Want the latest institutional investment industry news and insights? Sign up for CIO newsletters. 

Speaking about his appointment, Dunatov said: “With the economic and financial landscape constantly changing, there is a need for investment professionals to challenge conventional thinking. I look forward to joining my colleagues in the 300 Club to continue the debate and increase market awareness”.

Saker Nusseibeh, chairman of the 300 Club, welcomed Dunatov as an “experienced investment professional with a deep understanding of the uncertain and complex set of global economic fundamentals facing the industry”.

Dunatov was also named in aiCIO’s Power 100 listing for the first time in 2013, having also made it into this year’s 40 Under 40.