Global pension assets rebound past USD 55 Trillion - Seite 2

In Australia, defined contribution assets already make up 88% of total pensions assets while Canada, formerly home to a clear DB majority, has seen DC rise to a considerable 44% share. In the UK, DC now exceeds a quarter of pensions assets, leaving UK DB assets at 74% and steadily declining as a share of the total.

Jessica Gao, director at the Thinking Ahead Institute said: “Pension assets are growing once again – just as the importance of the pensions industry itself consistently increases in a world facing new challenges and opportunities for future prosperity. Growth is back on the agenda.

“This global growth is not yet rapid, and pension assets remain behind their pre-2022 position, but it is far better than the experience a year before. Inflation has moderated, and as a result financial markets have remained supported by interest rates which appear also to have peaked, at least for now, in most countries.

“Alongside this encouraging bounce-back, there are still essential lessons and warnings. Systemic risk, which is the possibility of a malfunctioning of the system, is still rising. So too are the day-to-day expectations on pension funds to adapt fast in a changing world. We are already seeing many asset owners redefine their operating model as a partnership of HI and AI – human intelligence and artificial intelligence – to craft and deliver innovative financial solutions, produce more accurate and timely reporting and foster organizational agility.

“Meanwhile, the pensions industry also faces a growing interest from regulators. Government influence on pension schemes is also at high level as governments look for new ways to fund the systemic investment needed to overcome capital-hungry systemic issues such as the energy transition, climate change mitigation and sustained high-tech growth.

“To maintain positive momentum and well-funded future pensions incomes for end investors, any truly long-term investor must continue to pay attention and think in terms of complete systems – especially as the world approaches the end of the first quarter of the 21^st century.”

Notes to editors:

*As of December 31, 2023

• The P22 refers to the 22 largest pension markets included in the study which are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US
• The P7 refers to the seven largest pension markets (91% of total assets in the study): Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and US.
• All figures are rounded and 2023 figures are estimates.
• All dates refer to the calendar end of that year.

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