Norway Wealth Fund Boosts Its Biggest Real Estate Company Stakes

(Bloomberg)—Norway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund increased its stakes in the four property companies where it has the biggest absolute positions among real estate stocks.

The fund ended the year with an almost 15% stake in Germany’s Vonovia SE, valued at $2.7 billion, compared with a 11% stake a year earlier, when it was worth $4.8 billion, according to holdings posted on Tuesday on Norges Bank Investment Management’s website. It discloses the contents of its portfolio once a year.

It also boosted stakes in three US based real estate groups, including Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., which acquires, manages, expands and develops office and laboratory properties, as well as Equity Residential and Invitation Homes Inc.

The values of all those holdings fell from a year earlier as global real estate markets struggled with soaring inflation and higher borrowing costs, which dent landlords’ ability to raise rents. In the US, home prices are expected to post a full-year drop in 2023 for the first time in more than a decade.

The fund also invests directly in real estate, with holdings in over 890 properties at the end of last year. It’s due to report key figures at year-end later on Tuesday.

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