Norway’s $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund delivered an 11.5% return in the second quarter, its strongest quarterly performance in six years, as gains in global technology shares lifted results. The fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, said equities returned 16% in the quarter, while fixed income gained 1.1% and both unlisted real estate and infrastructure returned 1.8%. The first-half return reached 9.4%, outperforming its benchmark index by 22 basis points, with telecommunications, technology and energy driving what it said was an all-time high six-month result when measured in kroner. Chief Executive Officer Nicolai Tangen said chipmakers were boosting the fund’s value on an unprecedented scale, reflecting its large exposure to artificial intelligence-linked companies. Nvidia remained its biggest holding at the end of the first half, ahead of Microsoft and Apple. Tangen said the ten largest holdings account for 20% of the portfolio and U.S. investments make up 55%, while the fund’s broad index-tracking mandate leaves limited room to reduce concentration risk. The fund, which owns about 1.5% of all listed stocks globally and is funded by Norway’s oil and gas wealth, remains under political scrutiny at home over ethics rules and investments tied to Israel’s war in Gaza. It is still invested in 29 Israeli companies that meet its ethical guidelines, and a review requested by Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg is due by Oct. 15. NBIM has also widened its internal use of artificial intelligence, including large language models to screen new portfolio companies for governance, corruption and human-rights risks.