At a time when wealth managers have been highly visible in sponsorship of some sports such as Formula 1 motor racing and yachting, the issue of whether government-backed sovereign wealth funds should invest in the area has been given a sharp jolt in Norway.

At a time when wealth managers have been highly visible in sponsorship of some sports such as Formula One motor racing and yachting, the issue of whether government-backed sovereign wealth funds should invest in the area has been given a sharp jolt in Norway.

The country’s $850 billion SWF, the world’s biggest and backed by the oil revenues garnered by Norway, must answer questions on an acquisition of a stake in Formula One, Reuters has quoted Norwegian parliamentarians as saying.

The fund bought a $1.6 billion stake in the motor racing series in May 2012, along with BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, and Waddell & Reed, the asset manager.

UBS, the Swiss bank, has been a global sponsor of the sport in recent years; Saxo Bank, the Denmak-headquartered wealth manager, entered a sponsorship deal with Lotus in January; Falcon Private Bank has sponsored the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team.

The news service said the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv questioned whether the fund violated its mandate by making the F1 deal. The fund can only buy a stake in an unlisted company if the company plans an initial public offering. After the deal was made, a planned Formula One IPO was cancelled, it said.

"The report brings a need to clarify under which conditions the fund can invest in companies with unlisted shares," Hans Olav Syversen, the head of the Norwegian parliament's finance committee, was reported as saying.

He said he would question the head of the fund and the central bank about the deal during a parliamentary hearing due in coming weeks.