Government Petroleum Fund, Oslo, Norway, hired five active equity managers and two active fixed-income managers, officials said at a news conference today. The equity managers are: Fidelity Pensions Management; MFS Investment Management; Aberdeen Asset Management; NWQ Investment Management; and Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss, said Knut N. Kjaer, executive director of Norges Bank Investment Management, which runs the 1.28 trillion Norwegian krone ($190.5 billion) fund. The bond managers are Babson Capital Management and Smith Breeden Associates. Mr. Kjaer would not provide further details about the portfolios.
The fund has 40% in equities and 60% in fixed income. In the third quarter, it returned 3.2% on investments, 18 basis points above its benchmark. The overall return for the year ended Sept. 30 was 8.27%, 53 basis points above benchmark, according to the fund's quarterly report.