Lan Marie Berg (MDG) and Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (KrF) believe the public should hear the lecture by star investor Ole Andreas “Tigergut” Halvorsen.
Lan Marie Berg in MDG (tv) and Kjell Ingolf Ropstad in KrF (th) believe it is “unfortunate” and “a shame” that Nicolai Tangen (in the middle) will speak to one of Norway’s richest men at the Oil Fund’s annual investment conference without it being streamed to the public. Photo: Terje Pedersen/NTB, Fredrik Varfjell/NTB, Frode Hansen/VG (Collage E24) Published: Published:
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The media-shy investor from Fredrikstad has had great success on Wall Street with the hedge fund Viking Global Investors, and is among the USA’s best-paid managers and one of Norway’s very richest.
Halvorsen is therefore among the big draws at the Oil Fund’s annual investment conference, but only those invited to the conference are allowed to hear what “Tigergut” has on his mind.
Mediesky Ole Andreas Halvorsen has achieved great success on Wall Street with the hedge fund Viking Global Investors. Photo: Scott Olson/AFP
This causes several politicians in the Storting’s finance committee to react.
– I think it is a waste to keep parts of the seminar closed to the general public, says Kjell Ingolf Ropstad of the Kristelig Folkeparti (KrF).
– It is an unfortunate assessment of the Oil Fund, says Lan Marie Berg of the Green Party (MDG).
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– Hard to understand
The Oil Fund has complied with Halvorsen’s own wish to speak outside the official program which is streamed to the public. It is also not permitted to reproduce the content of the lecture outside the conference.
Berg in MDG finds it “difficult to understand” that the lecture cannot be streamed.
– Ole Andreas Halvorsen is one of Norway’s very richest people, and has a lot of financial power. Therefore, it would also have been interesting for the public to hear what he has to say, she says.
– It is incredibly important that the Oil Fund actually contributes to transparency, states Berg.
Facts about “Tigergut”
- Founder and CEO of the American hedge fund Viking Global Investors, with 150 employees and offices in Greenwich, New York, Hong Kong, London and San Francisco.
- Number two on Capital’s rich list in 2023 with an estimated fortune of NOK 63 billion.
- Grew up in Borge in Fredrikstad, went to the Naval Academy and then studied finance at Stanford University in California, where he graduated with top marks.
- Got the nickname “Tigergut” as a result of his time at Tiger Management in the 1990s.
- Manages over 42 billion dollars, corresponding to around NOK 430 billion. When the fund started in 1999, the capital was 520 million dollars.
- However, in 2022, when many stock markets fell heavily, he made a big loss, according to the Bloomberg news agency. Last year, the fund recovered and was able to show a positive return, according to Bloomberg.
Sea view
Ropstad in KrF points out that “several other heavyweights” within hedge funds are participating in the open seminar, including Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management and Marc Rowan of Apollo Global Management.
– The oil fund depends on trust. Openness and accessibility in such seminars can help maintain the fund’s high level of trust among the people, he says.
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– Want to be as open as possible
Oljefondet’s boss Nicolai Tangen, who has built up a hedge fund himself, is scheduled to talk to Halvorsen about building an investment organisation.
Tangen does not want to give an interview about the matter, and refers to the Oil Fund’s communications manager Line Aaltvedt.
– We want to be as open as possible. And we will always strive to share what we do with the public, which is why we have chosen to stream the main part of the conference, writes Aaltvedt to E24.
– But we do not own other people’s content. Every person has the right not to have their content shared, she writes.
The oil fund’s own goal is to be “the world‘s most open fund”. Last year, the fund won the transparency award Global Pension Transparency Benchmark.
The Ministry of Finance, led by Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp), has overall responsibility for the Oil Fund. The ministry has not answered E24’s questions in the matter, and refers to the Oil Fund.
Three were exempted last year – were still streamed
The Oil Fund launched the conference in 2023. Last year, three speakers – Kenneth Rogoff, Kai-Fu Lee and Chris Miller – were allowed to opt out of being included in the recording from the conference, but they were still streamed live and could be quoted from.
– They use their lectures elsewhere and therefore do not want to have recordings lying around on the internet forever, explains Aaltvedt.
Space for 270 guests
Aaltvedt states that the conference has the capacity to receive 270 guests.
– The invitation list consists of representatives from the asset management environment in Norway, the Finance Committee in the Storting, other politicians, the civil service in the Ministry of Finance, the Executive Board of Norges Bank, the Board of Representatives, academia, the media and students, writes Aaltvedt.
– As far as students are concerned, this year, given the theme of the conference, we have invited a selection of the exchange groups at various universities and colleges.
This year’s theme is “how to become a better investor”, after last year’s session on geopolitics.
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Farahmand (H): – Must weigh up different considerations
Right-wing politician Mahmoud Farahmand, who also sits on the Finance Committee, believes it is important that the Oil Fund holds conferences, events and gatherings to gain new insight and knowledge.
– In this context, it is important to have access to competent speakers and new perspectives. The fund itself has to weigh up various considerations when gathering inspiration, says Farahmand to E24.
He says that the Oil Fund largely practices openness and transparency, and that it is something that should be considered in “all parts of the business“.
At the same time, the Conservative politician understands that investors and the wealthy stay away from the media.
– The coverage is all too often extremely critical, and can contribute to unnecessarily negative consequences for these people who have their daily work in business, says Farahmand.