INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Norway's sovereign wealth fund tends to always buy stocks, even when markets are low.Oslo: Norway's sovereign wealth fund has lessons for
retail investors according to a book out this week: Think long-term, don't sell when stocks markets go down and be mindful of your home
biases.The fund invests revenues from the Nordic country's oil and gas production in stocks, bonds and property.Set up as a sovereign wealth
fund in 1998, after a first cash injection in 1996 of 1.98 billion crowns ($255 million), the fund has grown into the world's largest and is
now worth $1 trillion, or $197,000 for every Norwegian man, woman and child.For Clemens Bomsdorf, a financial journalist who has worked for
the Wall Street Journal, Die Zeit and Focus, there were lessons that retail investors could learn from.His book, "How to Become Rich Like
Norway: Easy Tips on How to Build a Fortune", is out in Germany this week with translations into English and Norwegian planned."What strikes
me about the Norwegian wealth fund is that many countries have been rich because of oil
But they have squandered the riches whereas Norway has not," the 41-year-old told Reuters."For the average investor, the fund is a very good
blueprint."The first lesson is to think long-term, he said
The fund was set up for future generations not to generate cash for every purpose."So for retail investors, that means think of putting it
away for 15 years at least," said Bomsdorf.The fund tends to always buy stocks, even when markets are low
The 2008 financial crisis coincided with a period when the fund was increasing its share of equities in the fund to 50 per cent from 60 per
cent, which in hindsight was an opportunity.The fund's worst ever year, 2008, when the fund lost 23.3 per cent of its value, was followed by
its best, when it returned 25.6 per cent in 2009, partly as a result of that move.But Bomsdorf also said there were things retail investors
the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
