Norway sovereign wealth fund drops investments in 11 Israeli companies

Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund has terminated contracts with asset managers handling its Israeli investments, and divested parts of its portfolio in the country, over Israeli actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. 

It follows an urgent review launched last week after media reports emerged that the fund had built a stake in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel’s army, including the maintenance of fighter jets.

“All investments in Israeli companies that have been managed by external managers will be moved in-house and managed internally,” the fund said.

The wealth fund, an arm of Norway’s central bank, previously held stakes in 61 Israeli companies as of 30 June. 

But in recent days it has divested stakes in 11 of these, it said in a statement, without naming the companies.

“We have now completely sold out of these positions,” the fund said, adding that it continued to review Israeli companies for potential divestments.

“The fund’s investments in Israel will now be limited to companies that are in the equity benchmark index. However, we will not be invested in all Israeli companies in the index,” it said.

Nicolai Tangen, chief of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages the fund, said the decision was taken “in response to extraordinary circumstances”.

“The situation in Gaza is a serious humanitarian crisis,” Tangen said. “We are invested in companies that operate in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently worsened.”

According to its records, the sovereign wealth fund – which owns stakes in 8,700 companies globally – held shares in 65 Israeli companies at the end of 2024, valued at a total of $1.95bn. 

Over the past year, the fund has sold its stakes in an Israeli energy company and a telecoms group over ethics concerns. Its ethics watchdog has also said it is reviewing whether to divest holdings in five Israeli banks.

In June, Norway’s parliament rejected a proposal for the fund to divest from all companies with activities in occupied Palestine.

Jens Stoltenberg, Norway’s finance minister and the former head of Nato, said he had confidence in Tangen, amid the ongoing review of its Israeli investments.