The world's biggest fund skips private equity on purpose
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world at about US$2.1 trillion, returned 15.1% in 2025. It does it with almost no private markets: roughly 70% listed stocks, 27% bonds, and about 2% in unlisted real estate and renewable infrastructure. Its managers have repeatedly asked to buy private equity, and Norway's government has repeatedly said no. It stays cheap, broad, and public on purpose.
Key numbers, and what they mean
~US$2.1T
The fund's value at end-2025 (about NOK 21 trillion), the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. It owns pieces of more than 7,000 companies.
15.1%
Its 2025 return, just under its benchmark. It tracks broad indexes closely rather than trying to beat them.
~2%
Everything the fund holds in private, unlisted assets (real estate and renewable infrastructure). It holds no private equity at all.
6.6%
Its annualized return since 1998, earned almost entirely from cheap, public, index-like exposure.
Asset mix, end-2025
Equities (listed)71%
Fixed income27%
Unlisted real assets2%
The read-through
From the report
Takeaway: how to apply it to a portfolio
The largest fund in the world runs about 70% public stocks and near-zero private markets, and compounded 6.6% a year since 1998.
You do not need private markets to get a good long-run result. Broad, cheap, public exposure held for decades is a complete strategy on its own.
Its managers wanted to add private equity; the government said no, citing cost, transparency, and governance.
Private markets carry fees and opacity that public index funds do not. If you cannot see through the marks or justify the cost, it is fine to pass.
The fund tracks its benchmark tightly rather than making big bets, and reports its slight underperformance plainly.
Low cost and broad diversification are a decision, not a default. Owning the whole market cheaply beats most attempts to be clever.
The Argus lensNorway can index because it is buying the entire market. When you do go into private funds, where the fee and the mark are the whole game, an independent read on what you are paying and what it is worth is exactly what we provide.
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About the source
NBIM's 2025 annual results, published February 2026, cover the calendar year: the fund's 15.1% return, its roughly NOK 21 trillion (about US$2.1T) value, and its allocation. The fund is managed by Norges Bank Investment Management for Norway's Ministry of Finance.