The Norwegian Government Pension Fund, one of the largest in Europe, has posted negative returns for the first six months of this year following losses in global equities and bonds, while the universe of Swiss pension funds has suffered for the same reason.

The Norwegian fund, previously known as the petroleum fund, showed a return of 0.7% in the first half of the year. But measured in Norwegian Kroner, the return was negative by 3.1% due to the krone's appreciation against the currencies in the benchmark portfolio.