Until last month, Nicolai Tangen, the Norwegian-born hedge-fund manager, was best-known outside the world of finance for holding the world’s largest private collection of modern Nordic art – his AKO Foundation sponsored last year’s Munch exhibition at the British Museum.
Now, Tangen’s surprise elevation to head Norway’s giant $930bn oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign-wealth fund, has plunged him into a full-blown “morality play” in his home country, says Bloomberg, with union leaders and left-leaning politicians “voicing their outrage” that a risk-loving, jet-setting financier – whose firm, AKO Capital, is registered in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands – should have been made “guardian” of their national savings pot.
A breath of fresh air
The situation hasn’t been helped by the somewhat murky circumstances surrounding Tangen’s appointment as boss of Norges Bank Investment Management, which runs the fund. Suspicions aroused by his absence from the official short-list of candidates turned to “furore” when a tabloid newspaper revealed details of the hospitality he’d showered on the current head, Yngve Slyngstad, says The Economist. Tangen, who is due to take up the post in September, treated Slyngstad to “concerts by Sting and Gregory Porter, meals cooked by Jamie Oliver and a ride on a private jet”. Shocking stuff given the strict code of conduct that usually prevails at the fund where, as one insider recalls, “we even had to pay for our cup of coffee in meetings”.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
There are, nonetheless, plenty of people in Norway prepared to welcome Tangen, 54, as a breath of fresh air, says the Financial Times. “Investment professionals are delighted, hailing him as one of Norway’s most gifted and intellectually curious fund managers”, whose record speaks for itself: AKO’s flagship European fund has returned 10.1% annually since launching in 2005. Compare that to the mess he’s inheriting. Norway’s sovereign-wealth fund has just recorded the worst quarterly performance in its 24-year history, returning –14.6% in the first quarter.
Renaissance man
Born in 1966 in Kristiansand, Tangen began dabbling in equities as a child – investing money he earned selling newspapers and flowers, or recycling bottles after football matches. But he also had military interests. In the 1980s, he trained with Norway’s intelligence services. Then, after taking a degree at Wharton, he entered finance in the 1990s, becoming head of the Nordic region for Cazenove and then a partner at hedge fund Egerton Capital. In 2005, he set up AKO, which now manages more than $16bn of assets.
Tangen’s muscular background is apparent in the way he manages. AKO employees are trained in “conversation management” and how to build “mental resilience”. And he has a Renaissance man roster of outside interests, from cooking to studying for a masters in history of art at London’s Courtauld Institute and another in social psychology from the London School of Economics.
The big question, given all the trouble stirred up in Norway, is whether Tangen “still wants” to quit his charmed life in London for the icy north – with a substantial pay cut, says The Economist. There’s not much doubt about that. “This isn’t only my dream job, this is my childhood dream,” he outlined last month. Admirers reckon “it’s good to step on a few banana skins early”, says the FT. The question troubling some of Norway’s more conservative citizens is whether Tangen plans to make a habit of it.
-
Why Chinese stocks are so far out of favourThere’s little appetite for Chinese stocks despite low valuations.
-
The 62 UK areas where you could be priced out of using your Lifetime ISASaving for your first home in Croydon, Ealing, Brent or any one of these other locations? You could be at risk of being priced out of using your Lifetime ISA
-
Trapped in a time of zombie governmentIt’s not just companies that are eking out an existence, says Max King. The state is in the twilight zone too.
-
America is in deep denial over debtThe downgrade in America’s credit rating was much criticised by the US government, says Alex Rankine. But was it a long time coming?
-
Bank of England raises interest rates to 5.25%The Bank has hiked rates from 5% to 5.25%, marking the 14th increase in a row. We explain what it means for savers and homeowners - and whether more rate rises are on the horizon
-
UK inflation remains at 8.7% ‒ what it means for your moneyInflation was unmoved at 8.7% in the 12 months to May. What does this ‘sticky’ rate of inflation mean for your money?
-
VICE bankruptcy: how did it happen?Was the VICE bankruptcy inevitable? We look into how the once multibillion-dollar came crashing down.
-
Would a food price cap actually work?Analysis The government is discussing plans to cap the prices of essentials. But could this intervention do more harm than good?
-
UK inflation slides to 8.7% - what does it mean for your money?News Inflation has dropped below 10% for the first time in months, but with food prices at a 45-year high, is this good news and what does it mean for your money?
-
Why the UK equity market is shrinkingAnalysis The crisis has been building for 25 years, says Max King, and it will take decades to reverse the trend.
