The Swedish and Danish hedge fund industries remain closely matched in size, with Denmark recently edging ahead of Sweden. While still less than half the size of its Danish and Swedish counterparts, the Norwegian hedge fund industry is expanding rapidly. According to fresh data from the Norwegian financial regulator, hedge funds in Norway managed €6.02 billion in assets as of the end of 2024, up from €4.58 billion the year before. This sharp increase was largely driven by the launch of a newly established fund, which became Norway’s largest alternative investment fund – not just among hedge funds – by year-end.
The Norwegian hedge fund industry has experienced noticeable growth over the past six years, albeit in distinct leaps. Assets under management hovered around NOK 32 billion at the end of both 2019 and 2020, before climbing to NOK 43-44 billion by the end of 2021 and 2022. A further increase brought the total to NOK 51.5 billion in 2023, and a substantial jump to NOK 71.04 billion by the end of 2024. Remarkably, this growth came despite the closure of two prominent funds in 2024: Oslo Asset Management’s energy-focused long/short equity fund and Sector Healthcare Fund, one of Norway’s longest-running hedge funds.
The significant increase in assets within Norway’s hedge fund industry last year was largely driven by the launch of a new hedge fund. According to Finanstilsynet, this fund ranked as Norway’s largest alternative investment fund by total assets at the end of 2024, with all investors being non-financial corporations and households. For context, the largest Norwegian hedge fund listed in the Nordic Hedge Index at the time was the long/short equity fund Pareto Total, managing €883 million in assets. This suggests the new entrant could very well be a billion-euro hedge fund. But which fund, launched during 2024, may have quickly become Norway’s largest hedge fund?
HedgeNordic has reported on the plans of Mads Thamsborg and several former Bodenholm members to launch a short-focused, low-net equity fund on Sector Asset Management’s hedge fund platform. By mid-2024, the strategy was already operational, managing $200 million in a managed account for a U.S. investor. Could this fund be behind the significant asset growth in the Norwegian hedge fund industry? Or is it perhaps the new venture launched by the former portfolio managers of the now-closed Oslo Asset Management?
When Harald James Otterhaug decided to close the energy-focused long/short equity fund he had managed for nearly two decades, his co-portfolio managers Lars Tjeldflaat and Ole-Jacob Storvik chose to continue running a similar strategy independently. Alongside Simon Johannessen, former portfolio manager of the successful market-neutral equity fund KLP Alfa Global Energy, and other team members, they have been working on launching the Fearnley Energy Alpha Fund – a long/short equity hedge fund focused on shipping and energy. The fund is set to operate under Fearnley Asset Management, the asset management division of Astrup Fearnley, one of Norway’s oldest and most prestigious names in shipping.
A report in a Norwegian news portal from September last year indicated that Astrup Fearnley was preparing to launch two new shipping funds with a target of $380 million in assets under management. However, the Fearnley Energy Alpha Fund has yet to launch, which means that last year’s largest hedge fund launch in Norway may not have originated from Fearnley Asset Management. It could potentially be a different fund altogether. The mystery remains – who is behind Norway’s biggest new hedge fund?
