AI use must for employees of world's largest wealth fund
27 May 2025

Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norway's $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund, has said that employees who don't use artificial intelligence (AI) in their work have no future at the organization.

He stressed that using AI isn't optional and failure to do so could hinder career growth or job security within the world's largest wealth fund.

AI integration in asset management industry
Industry shift

The asset management industry is rapidly adopting AI to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance decision-making.

Investment firms are integrating AI tools into their operations across trading desks, research teams, and back-office functions.

Tangen has been actively encouraging his staff of around 670 to embrace this technology since 2022.

Tangen's relentless push for AI adoption
Advocacy

Tangen is a vocal advocate of AI in Norway and beyond, promoting its benefits at every opportunity.

He has formed an "AI enabler" team of six and appointed 40 AI ambassadors to promote the technology within his organization.

Despite initial resistance from some employees, Tangen has seen significant progress with around 300 staff now using AI-assisted coding.

Impact on efficiency
Performance boost

An internal survey at the fund showed a 15% rise in efficiency last year, a number Tangen expects to rise to 20% in 2025 and again in the following year.

He believes that using AI gives them an edge over non-AI users by as much as 50%.

The fund uses several key tools including Claude by Anthropic, Microsoft's Copilot, and OpenAI's Deep Research.

AI's role in decision-making
Strategic use

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, owned by Norges Bank and operating under guidelines set by the Norwegian finance ministry, uses AI to make informed decisions.

Tangen said they feed complex documents into the system along with their guidelines and past voting history on pay packages.

The system predicts with about 95% accuracy whether to vote yes or no on such matters.