A London hedge fund founded by Norwegian Nicolai Tangen that makes long-term bets on high-quality companies.
Life story
AKO founder Nicolai Tangen was born in 1966 in Kristiansand, Norway. He trained in the Norwegian Intelligence Service as a Russian interpreter and interrogator, then studied at the Norwegian School of Economics and at Wharton (1988–1992). He later earned master's degrees in art history from the Courtauld Institute and in organisational psychology from the London School of Economics. Little is publicly known about his parents.
How they got started
Tangen worked as an analyst at Cazenove, moved to Egerton Capital in 1997 and left in 2002. In 2005 he launched AKO Capital in London with Gorm Thomassen, a colleague from intelligence training. The firm grew quickly, reaching $18 billion in assets and 70 employees by 2020, with its main fund well ahead of the market since inception.
In 2020 Tangen was appointed CEO of NBIM, which runs Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest. After criticism over conflicts of interest he gave up all control of AKO and transferred his 43% stake to the charity AKO Foundation. Since then AKO has been run by Patrick Hargreaves (CEO) and co-founder Gorm Thomassen (CIO).
Investment style
AKO invests in high-quality companies that can compound over long periods, using a systematic process. It has dedicated teams for forensic accounting, behavioural analysis, market research and traditional equity research. Tangen required portfolio managers to write down the reasons for every decision so they could be reviewed later.
Best decisions
The firm itself (2005–2020)
According to public sources, AKO's main fund returned roughly three times the market from its October 2005 launch to 2020, as assets grew to $18 billion. Results of individual investments are not public.
Biggest mistakes
Insider-trading case (2009–2010)
A former AKO trader pleaded guilty in 2010 to passing information about the firm's planned trades to a friend. AKO itself was not accused of wrongdoing and assisted the prosecution.
Today
In 2026 AKO Capital continues to operate in London under Patrick Hargreaves and Gorm Thomassen. Nicolai Tangen has led NBIM since September 2020 and has no role in AKO's investment decisions — so this portfolio is no longer his personal pick list.
What to learn from following the portfolio
- AKO invests largely in European and global quality companies; the 13F only shows long positions traded in the U.S. — not the fund's full picture.
- For quality investors like this, long-held positions and steady additions are the most meaningful signals.
- A focus on high-quality, low-debt companies often overlaps with halal screens, but that is no guarantee — check each position's halal status in the Portfolio tab.
- 13F data lags up to 45 days; short positions are not shown.
An introduction based on public sources — not investment advice. Spotted an error? Let us know.