Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the manager of Norway’s NOK21trn (€1.9trn) sovereign wealth fund, saw its unlisted real assets holdings deliver positive results in 2025, led by an 18.1% return from its unlisted renewable energy infrastructure portfolio.
NBIM said that the Government Pension Fund Global returned 15.1% overall for the year. This performance was supported by the unlisted real estate portfolio, which returned 4.4%, moving back into positive territory following a -0.6% return in 2024. Similarly, the unlisted renewable energy swung from a -9.8% return the previous year.
While unlisted renewable energy infrastructure is a relatively new allocation for NBIM, currently accounting for 0.4% of the fund, the manager has invested in unlisted real estate since 2010, which now represents 1.7% of the total portfolio.
| Asset Class | 2024 Return | 2025 Return |
| Unlisted Renewables | -9.8% | 18.1% |
| Unlisted Real Estate | -0.6% | 4.4% |
The sovereign wealth fund is close to the bottom range of its target allocation for real estate of between 3% and 7%. Its real estate portfolio is currently evenly split between listed and private investments, but NBIM plans to grow the latter.
In 2025, the fund’s equity investments generated a 19.3% return, while its fixed income portfolio returned 5.4%.
Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, said: “The fund delivered very strong results in 2025. Stocks in technology, financials and basic materials stood out, making a significant contribution to the overall return.”
Despite the strong nominal results, NBIM noted that the fund’s 15.1% total return was 0.28 percentage points lower than the return on its benchmark index.
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