The 2010 Financial Management of the Nobel Foundation

On Friday, April 29, the Trustees of the Nobel Foundation approved the 2010 financial statements of the foundation:

• On December 31, 2010, the market value of the Nobel Foundation’s invested capital amounted to SEK 3,151 m. Total return on equity (growth in foundation assets after adding back the overall sum for Nobel Prizes and operating expenses) amounted to 5.5 (14.4) per cent.

• Net assets, that is, the market value of the foundation’s equity calculated as invested capital at market value adjusted for other balance sheet items, increased by 1.7 (9.9) per cent.

• The market value of the foundation’s total equities portfolio, which comprised 54 (53) per cent of the total portfolio at year-end 2010, increased by 8.7 (27.3) per cent. Over the past five-year period, the average yearly return on the equities portfolio was 0.3 per cent, compared to 0.4 per cent for the benchmark index. The MSCI World showed an average yearly return of -0.8 per cent during the same period.

• The Swedish bond portfolio showed a return of 1.0 (3.9) per cent, compared to 1.1 (1.9) per cent for the benchmark index. This portfolio accounted for 12 (14) per cent of the foundation’s portfolio capital at year-end.

• During 2010, the Nobel Foundation’s book profit amounted to SEK 68.0 m.

• The 2011 Nobel Prizes were set at SEK 10.0 m per prize (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace). The total amount of all five Nobel Prizes is SEK 50.0 m. In addition, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel will amount to SEK 10.0 m.

Lars Heikensten new Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation                                         
Making a change in its earlier decision regarding a starting date of May 1, 2011, the Trustees of the Nobel Foundation decided today to elect Lars Heikensten as a member of the Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation starting in June 2011. The delay is due to the ongoing process of appointing Heikensten’s successor on the European Court of Auditors. Lars Heikensten will succeed Michael Sohlman, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation, who is retiring. Sohlman will remain in the post of Executive Director until Heikensten assumes this position.  

Lars Heikensten (born 1950) has been a member of the European Court of Auditors in Luxembourg since 2006. He earned his Doctorate in Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics. In Sweden his positions have included Director-General and Head of the Economic Affairs Department at the Ministry of Finance, Chief Economist at the National Debt Office and at Handelsbanken, as well as Deputy Governor and Governor of Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank).


The Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation consists of:
Mr. Marcus Storch, MD h.c., Chairman
Former President and CEO of AGA AB

Professor Göran K. Hansson
Secretary of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet and of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine

Mr. Michael Sohlman (until June 2011)
Executive Director

Professor Peter Englund
Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy

Mr. Tomas Nicolin, MSc

Mrs. Kaci Kullmann Five
Deputy Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee

Professor Staffan Normark
Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Dr Lars Heikensten (from June 2011)

Deputy members

Professor Astrid Gräslund
Secretary of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry 

Professor Lars Bergström (from May 1, 2011)
Secretary of the Nobel Committee for Physics 

Announcements of the 2011 Nobel Prizes
The prize awarding institutions have set the following dates for their announcements of 2011 prize decisions:

Monday, October 3, 11:30 a.m. at the earliest
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Wallenbergsalen, Nobel Forum, Nobels väg 1, Stockholm

Tuesday, October 4, 11:45 a.m. at the earliest
The Nobel Prize in Physics
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Sessionssalen, Lilla Frescativägen 4A, Stockholm

Wednesday, October 5, 11:45 a.m. at the earliest
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Sessionssalen, Lilla Frescativägen 4A, Stockholm

Friday, October 7, 11:00 a.m.
The Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, The Norwegian Nobel Institute, Store Sal, Henrik Ibsens gate 51, Oslo

Monday, October 10, 1:00 p.m. at the earliest
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Sessionssalen, Lilla Frescativägen 4A, Stockholm

According to tradition, the Swedish Academy will set the date for its announcement of the Nobel Prize in Literature later.

The announcements will also be made on the official website of the Nobel Prize:
http://nobelprize.org

Stockholm, April 29, 2011

THE NOBEL FOUNDATION / Michael Sohlman, Executive Director

Contact: Annika Pontikis, Public Relations Manager, the Nobel Foundation
E-mail: annika.pontikis@nobel.se, tel: +46 8 663 14 70, +46 70 454 76 72 fax: +46 8 660 38 47

The Nobel Foundation is a private institution established in 1900 based on the will of Alfred Nobel. The Foundation manages the assets made available through the will for the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace.

© The Nobel Foundation 2011. Nobel Prize®, Nobelprize.org®, and the Nobel Prize® medal design mark are registered trademarks of the Nobel Foundation.

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