Yngve Slyngstad: “We Have A Higher Risk Tolerance”

Norway’s clout in financial markets far outweighs its economy, which is about a 10th the size of Germany’s.

- Jonas Bergman And Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam

The central bank’s $1 trillion investment fund plows the Nordic nation’s oil income into public securities and has become the biggest of its kind, owning about 1.4 percent of global stocks. Yngve Slyngstad, who grew up in Asker just outside Oslo and received multiple graduate degrees before devoting himself to finance, has been chief executive officer of Norges Bank Investment Management since 2008. The 56-year-old spoke to Bloomberg Markets about what makes a good money manager, how he learns about China’s economy, his concerns regarding information monopolies, and why all investing is active. He also explains his strategy for private equity and real estate and why his fund’s potential divestment from oil company stocks has nothing to do with climate change concerns. While the fund now aims to be 70 percent in equities, he foresees that increasing in the future. “With the larger funds you have a larger buffer,” he says. “We have a higher risk tolerance.”

BLOOMBERG MARKETS: When people look at your CV, one of the things that pops out is that you have four degrees—in politics, economics, law, and business. Why did you choose to take all those degrees when normal people make do with one or two, or maybe even none?

YNGVE SLYNGSTAD: Yes, and the best part of it is that most of my studies were actually in philosophy, and I never put that on my CV—that I have a degree in philosophy—at all. Why did I do all of these degrees? I would simply say that’s just a reflection of curiosity, a genuine desire to learn, and to read a lot of books. I don’t think you necessarily need to narrow down your profession, definitely not in investing. Investing is really something that is broad. It’s all about the future, so having an open mind probably was the most important thing for me.