Norway’s $2.3 trillion wealth fund supported all shareholder proposals at Palantir Technologies Inc. as the fund’s growing politicization puts its investments under closer scrutiny by the Nordic country’s public.
Norges Bank Investment Management backed motions on conducting human rights due diligence and impact assessment, and reporting on political contributions, according to a voting record posted on its website on Friday ahead of Palantir’s annual general meeting June 3.
The motions stand little if any chance of passing, as Palantir’s co-founders Peter Thiel, Alex Karp and Stephen Cohen control the board in perpetuity. In contrast, the Norwegian fund held just 1.22% of the company’s shares at the end of last year with 0.89% of votes.
The move signals how the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund is becoming increasingly political, facing pressure from the Norwegian public. Human rights organization Amnesty as well as a range of political parties have decried the fund’s investments in Palantir.
Palantir develops software used by governments and corporations to analyze large datasets with deep ties to surveillance and defense work, including contracts with the CIA, Pentagon, immigration agencies and Israel’s military. The company has become one of the highest-profile beneficiaries of rising spending on AI and military technology, with products also deployed across intelligence, healthcare and logistics industries.
NBIM’s investments in companies with products or services related to war and conflict have come under closer scrutiny in recent years, with a move by the fund to divest from Caterpillar Inc. causing a backlash last year.
The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund owns shares in about 7,200 companies and votes on 110,000 resolutions at more than 11,000 annual shareholder meetings annually, according to its website. Last week, the fund backed shareholders on five of ten motions at Meta Platforms Inc.
The Norwegian fund supported all three shareholder proposals at Palantir in an exceptional move as the fund generally tends to back the management. Last year, it followed the board’s recommendation in 94% of all resolutions across the companies it is invested in, and voted for 23% of sustainability-related shareholder proposals.
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