Yngve Slyngstad is one of the most influential asset owners in the world. As chief executive of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), he oversees the day-to-day affairs of the Government Pension Fund Global , the sovereign wealth fund that claims ownership of 1% of all equities worldwide – and 2.5% of those listed on European exchanges. Norway’s $860bn oil fund laid out its growing clout as a responsible investor as the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund revealed it had divested itself from more than 100 companies in the past three years and voted against thousands of resolutions at annual meetings. Yngve Slyngstad, the oil fund’s chief executive, said the fund had divested from 49 companies last year – predominantly in coal and gold mining – as it worried about the sustainability of their business models. Since 2012, it has sold out of 114 companies, reports Richard Milne.The oil fund also revealed it had supported 85 % of board recommendations on the 105,000 resolutions it voted on at annual meetings last year. The world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund is finally under growing pressure to use its growing clout – on average it owns 1.3 per cent of every listed company in the world – to change companies’ behavior. Mr Slyngstad has told the Financial Times that the oil fund will begin from this year’s annual meeting season revealing beforehand how it intends to vote at select companies. That has caused a stir in corporate governance circles with some praising it as a step towards greater transparency.
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