A dramatic cull of private-sector bond managers at Europe's largest sovereign wealth fund appears to have been vindicated, as the internal team at Norway's €328bn ($446bn) Government Pension Fund outperformed the markets by 7.4 percentage points last year, contributing to a record profit.

The Norway fund made a 25.6% return on its money last year, amounting to a €76bn profit, compensating for its equally large slump in 2008, according to its annual report published this morning.