Norges Bank Investment Management will integrate its real assets and equity investments units into a new “active strategies” division, the manager of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund said.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, NBIM’s new division will be led by Daniel Balthasar and Pedro Furtado Reis, co-CIOs equities. Both are London-based. They will be responsible for all active investment in equities, credit and real assets.
The change aims to strengthen the management of both sets of asset classes by bringing together executives with complementary expertise, NBIM said in a statement. Energy investors at NBIM covering both listed and unlisted renewable infrastructure opportunities will also be brought together under the change, with NBIM’s ambition to become a global leader in energy investing. Investment strategies will not be affected, and NBIM will remain active real estate investors, the firm added.
As well as the changes to the structure, NBIM said Mie Caroline Holstad, CIO real assets, has decided to leave. The real assets unit, consisting of unlisted and listed real estate and unlisted infrastructure for renewable energy, was consolidated under Holstad’s leadership in 2020.
"During this period, we have had continuous dialogue regarding how to best organize real assets and how to best utilize the competence within real assets and the wider organization. This adjustment will integrate real assets in a way that strengthens our management of both asset classes,” Holstad said in the statement. “As the fund further cements its energy expertise and ambition, pulling on all areas of active management under one umbrella will also benefit the other parts of real assets. I therefore firmly believe that the optimal platform for real assets going forward is in close partnership with the fund’s other active investment strategies. Hence, I have decided that my time here has come to an end. While not an easy decision, it is the right one. I will miss my wonderful colleagues and most of all the people in real assets,” Holstad added.
NBIM also said the asset strategies unit would be renamed as market strategies, “to make a clearer distinction between our fundamental active and index enhancement strategies.” Malin Norberg will continue to lead that unit.
NBIM runs the assets of the 19.24 trillion Norwegian kroner ($1.73 trillion) Government Pension Fund Global, Oslo. Its asset allocation had a 71.4% allocation to equities, 26.8% to fixed income, 1.7% to unlisted real estate and 0.1% allocation to renewable energy infrastructure as of Sept. 30.
NBIM could not immediately be reached for comment.
