After lengthy debate, the Norwegian government buffer fund has signalled its intention to invest in property for the first time, writes Caroline Liinanki

New investment regulations for Norwegian pension and insurance companies will cut the limits on equities and bonds and open up a larger allocation to alternatives, the market expects. Some funds have already started planning how to take advantage of the new investment changes, which are expected to be announced by the ministry of finance this month (December).

Norwegian life insurance company Storebrand’s acquisition of Handelsbanken’s subsidiary SPP in Sweden is the first step in Storebrand’s expansion into the Nordic pensions market.

Asset manager and fund are now more clearly defined in Norway’s domestic government pension scheme, which completes a shake-up that has also seen a shift in the fund’s investments, writes Caroline Liinanki.

Norway’s Government Pension Fund - Global may be looking to secure a sound return based on moderate risk, but keeping an eye on the ethical practices of the firms in which it invests is a key consideration as it grows. James Hydzik speaks to Martin Skancke of the Norwegian Ministry of Finance about this policy.

Norway has introduced mandatory occupational pensions, which is fuelling competition within the industry. Prudent person rules and a new solvency regime are also under discussion. Reeta Cevik reports.

The Norwegian ministry of finance has created a new asset management department in a bid to make the investment procedures of the NKr1,505bn (€184.9bn) Government Pension Fund “more efficient and sophisticated”.

Kredittilsynet, the Norwegian financial supervisory authority, has pushed the ministry of finance to adopt the prudent person principle for pension fund investments.

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global has excluded the world’s largest retailer Wal-Mart and mining company Freeport from its investments following recommendations from the fund’s council on ethics.

Kredittilsynet, Norway’s financial services regulator, is drafting a set of new investment regulations for local pension funds. Hanne Myre, head of the pension and insurance department of Kredittilsynet, told nrpn that the purpose of the new regulations is to bring the existing investment regulations closer to the pan-European occupational pension fund directive (2003/41/EC), which has also been adopted in Norway. The regulator aims to send the draft regulations to the ministry of finance by May this year.

Kredittilsynet has also outlined plans to introduce a new system to supervise the capital requirements for Norwegian insurance companies and pension funds. The proposal is currently being considered at the ministry of finance.

Velkommen til vinterutgaven av Nordic Region Pensions & Investment News, den tilegnede publikasjonen fra Financial Times Business for pensjons- og investeringsindustrien i nordiske land som nå går inn i sitt andre år.

As Norway’s State Petroleum Fund has seen assets grow almost eight-fold over the past seven years, it is now realising the need to invest in new asset classes and is looking towards diversifying into alternative assets, writes Reeta Cevik.