"We had a positive return for all our investment areas. Falling interest rates gave broad increases on the stock market", says Vice CEO Trond Grande in a press release.
The return of 4.4 percent gave a lot in kronor and ören, even though it was 0.1 percentage points lower than the index that the fund compares itself with.
The value of the fund's holdings increased even more, up by 1,125 billion during the quarter, to a total of 18,870 billion Norwegian kronor. This includes a positive contribution of 191 billion, which is related to the Norwegian krone having weakened during the quarter.
The majority, 71 percent or 13,469 billion, consisted of shares in nearly 9,000 companies. While 5,060 billion, 26.8 percent, consisted of interest-bearing investments. The fund also has smaller positions in unlisted real estate and infrastructure for renewable energy.
Since the end of September, the value of the fund's assets has continued to increase and is currently around 19,312 billion Norwegian kronor, according to the fund's website.