1. originally the directive from Alfred Nobel was to place the funds in real estate or similar safe investments, however since 1953 the foundation was allowed by the Swedish government to invest in shares, which stopped the hitherto depletion of the funds.

2. The funds are at the moment approx US$ 500 million in total (it shrunk approx 20% last year).

3. The management is not done by the foundation itself, it is split across several (I think 10) portfolios managed by different asset managers in Sweden and other countries, the spread across countries and by asset type can be found here:

http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/finan-manag.html

4. As late as 2005 I found an explicit admission from the foundation that there are no ethical guidelines issued to the asset managers

(www.dagsavisen.no/innenriks/article256458.ece?service=articlePrint - in Norwegian)

5.There have been several ’scandals’ surrounding the asset management, presumably deriving from the lack of ethical guidelines from the Nobel foundation

- In 1998, the Observer made an investigation into the investments and found that many of the world largest arms manufactureres (including Boeing, British Aerospace, GKN och Smiths Industries) were in the Nobel foundation portfolios (http://www.aftonbladet.se/ledare/9812/17/ledare.html - in Swedish)

- in 2005, a Norwegian organization ‘Norwatch’ looked specifically into the portfolio handled by a US firm group called T Rowe Price who in their general portfolios have manufacturers of both cluster bombs and atomic bombs (Lockheed Martin).

The Nobel foundation did not exclude the possibility that their funds were invested in such shares (same Norwegian link as above).

6. I have not been able to document any specific investment in the Bofors group, but it is probable that such investments are held in view of the above.

However, dynamite and related products was the original invention and business which gave Alfred Nobel the means to set up the prize in the first place, and he was the owner of Bofors from 1894-96, during which he “had the key role in reshaping the iron manufacturer to a modern cannon manufacturer (…)” : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors

No doubt the prestige of the prize to a large degree derives from the large sums involved, but is therefore also stained by the way the money was and is procured.

But the prestige also derives from Alfred Nobels testamentary wish to promote peace and international understanding. The paradox is obvious in an investigation and many people are unaware of this situation.