The world's largest sovereign wealth fund wants to say «no» more often at future general meetings. In addition to net-zero emissions targets and management diversity, excessive CEO salaries are likely targets.

Nicolai Tangen, the managing director of the $1.3 billion state oil fund Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), set out a clear direction at a London conference.

The fund seeks to be more aggressive on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues and position itself as a critical and long-term investor, he told the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) at an event.

«Yes, we can be [more vocal] and I think we will be . . . we can vote more against the companies where we have different expectations about how they behave,» he said.

His statements are likely to be taken as a bellwether by managers worldwide since the sovereign wealth fund owns an average of 1.5 percent of every listed company.

Active Shareholder

The fund is financed by the country's oil and gas revenues and has grown sixfold since the 2008 financial crisis and become a more active shareholder recently. Generally, the fund publishes its voting intentions five days before each general meeting.

Tangen, a former hedge fund manager, issued a special warning to managers of companies that have not yet set a net-zero emissions target. The fund will vote against them, he said.

«Only 10 percent of companies have clear [net] zero targets already in place,» he said but account for about a third of the emissions of the 9,000 companies in which the fund has a stake.

Unhealthy Levels of Greed

On executive compensation, he pointed out that in the US, the average compensation of a top executive is nearly $15 million, and that's during a cost-of-living crisis. «Executive pay and corporate greed has just reached a level that is really unhealthy," Tangen said.

US investors are often unwilling to hold companies accountable because their own top bosses are also so well-paid. «If you are in charge of an asset management organization and you make an absolute killing yourself you are not going to criticize the other CEOs,» he added. Instead, executive compensation should be more focused on the long-term and aligned with shareholder interests.