Kommunal Landspensjonskasse, Oslo, divested $320 million worth of investments from 90 alcohol and gambling companies, a spokeswoman said.
Effective Tuesday, KLP sold companies that derive their revenues or activity from alcohol and gambling and have more than 5% of the revenues from the production of alcohol and gambling.
"We manage (pensions) for more than 1 million Norwegians," said Sverre Thornes, CEO of KLP, in a news release. "It is a great responsibility, and we therefore regularly consider whether we do this in a good enough way."
Mr. Thornes added: "We acknowledge, however, that alcohol and gambling addiction have major negative consequences for individuals and their loved ones, as well as great costs for society. With these changes, we want to invest the pension funds we manage in other businesses, which to a greater extent contribute to a safe and better world for everyone."
Also Tuesday, KLP added companies deriving revenues from adult entertainment to its list of excluded investments. However, the 699 billion Norwegian kroner ($80 billion) pension fund did not have any exposure to such companies as of Tuesday.
