Assets under management of the world’s 300 largest pension funds rebounded 9.7% to US$22.6 trillion last year thanks to improved market conditions, according to Thinking Ahead Institute.
The recovery came after the funds’ assets fell 13% to $20.6 trillion in 2022.
Markets in 2023 “stabilised somewhat from the high level of global economic uncertainty in the previous year”, Thinking Ahead Institute, the nonprofit research organisation of UK insurance brokerage and advisory firm WTW, noted in a statement on September 9.
Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund was the top-ranked pension fund with $1.59 trillion of assets. Norway’s Government Pension Fund was second with $1.58 trillion of assets and Korea’s National Pension Fund was third with $801.86 billion.
Singapore’s Central Provident Fund was in eighth spot with $432.51 billion, and China’s National Social Security Fund was ninth with $364.35 billion.
Pension funds in Asia Pacific have continued to increase their share of assets among global peers, according to Leong Kar Wye, director of investments, Asia at WTW.
“We expect to see this trend continue as most Asian countries are still in their accumulation stage, have relatively younger populations, and have set aside public reserve funds to safeguard wealth,” he says.