Norwegian oil fund raises equity holdings Norway's oil fund has raised its holdings in equities to a record level as the world's largest sovereign wealth fund continues to demonstrate its dislike of bond markets. Equities accounting for 63.4 per cent of the fund at the end of the second quarter while bonds represented just 35.7 per cent, a record low. "I have said before it is less a reflection of enthusiasm for the equity markets and more a lack of enthusiasm for the bond markets," said Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive of the $760bn oil fund. The oil fund - which is managed by a part of the Norwegian central bank - has been wary of openly criticising the policy of quantitative easing used especially in the US, UK and Japan but has signalled its unease with the consequences by reducing its bondholdings. In the second quarter, the fund backed by Norway's oil and gas reserves returned just 0.1 per cent. Equities returned 0.9 per cent while bonds lost 1.4 per cent. The oil fund also confirmed that it would set up a corporate governance advisory board to further its move towards becoming a more active investor, first revealed by the Financial Times. Tony Watson, John Kay and Peter Montagnon - three British corporate governance and financial experts - will make up the board to be used for advice on director appointments at single companies as well as a sounding board for general ownership issues.