Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, posted a 12.2% return in the year to June 30 2025, lifting its total value above A$250 billion (US$164.88 billion) for the first time since its inception.
The gain added A$27.4 billion to the fund’s assets, bringing the total to A$252.3 billion, the Future Fund Board of Guardians says in a statement on September 9.
Chair Greg Combet says the result was achieved despite geopolitical uncertainty and volatile markets. “These returns are equivalent to the total interest paid on Australian government debt, demonstrating the importance of the Future Fund’s contribution to the nation’s long-term financial position,” he says.
The fund also directed capital into sectors aligned with national priorities under its new mandate. These included expanding its stake in CDC, the country’s largest data centre operator, to support productivity growth driven by artificial intelligence and demand for renewable energy.
It also invested in infrastructure and housing, including a 10% holding in electricity transmission operator Transgrid, as well as student housing and retirement-focused land lease developments.
Chief Executive Raphael Arndt says the fund had doubled its 6.1% mandated target return by repositioning the portfolio for what it calls the “New Investment Order.” Equity markets were the biggest contributors, alongside infrastructure, private equity, credit and alternative assets.
“We increased structural risk to improve long-term real returns and diversified into developed market currencies and commodities, including gold,” Arndt says.
