Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) is to reorganise its investment departments, appointing three new CIOs, and expanding its real estate management team.

The asset manager for Norway’s NOK5.5trn (€556bn) Government Pension Fund Global will be “strengthening” the management of its real estate investments through the launch of a standalone leader group, according to Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive at NBIM.

“We’re aligning our investment departments with the fund’s main strategies, and we’re strengthening our risk and control activities,” he added, as the fund confirmed quarterly returns of 3.3%.

As part of the reorganisation, current global head of allocation strategies Ole Christian Bech-Moen will assume the role of CIO for allocation strategies from October this year.

Bech-Moen, who joined NBIM in 2009 and previously worked as senior analyst before being promoted to head of macro and portfolio research, will work alongside Øyvind Schanke, current global head of equity trading, and CIO of equities Petter Johnsen as heads of the new departments.

Schanke will become CIO for asset strategies and Johnsen will maintain his brief, with his job from October referred to as CIO for equity strategies.

Schanke has been with NBIM for a decade, joining as senior trader in 2001 and being promoted to head of trading in 2005 before assuming his current role at the end of 2007.

Johnsen, meanwhile, spent seven years as portfolio manager at the central bank’s asset management division, rising to global head of sector strategies in August 2010 before being promoted to his current role in April 2011.

NBIM has also set up a real estate leader group to prepare the division for growth in its property holdings, which it recently concluded could move outside Europe and the US.

Karsten Kallevig, who joined NBIM in September 2010 as global head of real estate, will remain as CIO of real estate, with Lars Dahl as chief risk officer assessing potential property holdings.

Nina Hammerstad, who took over from Kallevig as global head of real estate asset management in September 2011 following his promotion to CIO, will become the department’s COO, while Mie Holstad will become its chief administrative officer.

Hammerstad was previously a partner at PwC, while Holstad has worked at PwC and Storebrand prior to joining NBIM as senior analyst in 2010,

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