The fund posted a return of -1.31% in October and is down -1.31% over the past 12 months.

October was a month in which energy prices, inflation, and monetary policy dominated the fixed-income markets. Brent crude ended the month at around $118 per barrel, the highest level since April, and inflation in the eurozone rose to 3.8% in September. The European Central Bank kept its deposit rate unchanged, but the market is pricing in a rate hike in December. The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady, but two of its members voted for another rate hike. Norges Bank will hold its monetary policy meeting on November 5.

Long-term interest rates were volatile throughout October. Toward the end of the month, weaker signs of growth and turmoil in the equity and credit markets triggered a flight to safety, with buying pressure on German and U.S. government bonds. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell from 5.29 to 4.94 percent, and the German yield fell by more than 0.2 percentage points to around 3.34 percent. Investors sold off French government bonds, and the yield spread between French and German 10-year government bond yields widened from 82 to 165 basis points. France now pays a higher interest rate on its debt than Greece.

Warner Bros. Discovery fell after Paramount Skydance issued new debt to finance the acquisition. The decline is not due to a weaker ability to pay on the part of the company, but the market repriced the company’s bond. This downgrade does not change our current assessment of credit quality. We also took the opportunity to purchase one of the new bonds issued by Paramount Skydance, which has an investment-grade rating and was issued on attractive terms.

We have a portfolio of high-quality companies with strong fundamentals. We will continue to invest where we believe we receive the best return relative to the underlying risk.

As of the end of the month, the fund has a current yield of 6.42%* and a yield to maturity of 7.22%.*

*Before costs related to management. Will be subject to change from day to day, and is therefore no guarantee of the return in the period for which it is calculated.

Sincerely

Øivind ThorstensenSimen Aarsland Øgreid