Norway's $300bn (£151bn, €222bn) Government Pension Fund, which invests the country's enormous oil wealth on behalf of its 4.6m people, is to make a big increase in its exposure to global equities from 40 per cent to 60 per cent.

In a significant reassessment of the fund's attitude towards risk, it also announced that it will bolster investments in smaller listed companies, may invest in real estate and will also consider investments in private equity and hedge funds in coming years.